18 October 2010

There'll Be Days Like This

Mama said there'll be days like this,
There'll be days like this my Mama said. . .


Today, not unlike most days, I managed to:

• Sweep all the floors and mop them. (This helps to keep the ant invaders at bay; notice I said “helps” but does eliminate the little buggers all-together. Did you know that big black ants stink when you smoosh them? Must be a warning adaptation, except the rest are not heeding the warning!)

• Make a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner for my family—including the requisite fruit (easy) and vegetables (not so easy) for the day.

• Wash and hang to dry three loads of laundry.

• Iron, gasp, yes—IRON shirts and slacks for hubby’s work. Ack. There will be a day when the iron will be retired for all eternity, and I won’t miss it.

• Wash two loads of dishes, by hand. This is because maids in this country do not need dish washing machines (oh really?!) and so our villa was not equipped, nor does it have space for one—not that we could find one anyway.

• School-at-home my eldest son (not the same as home schooling as I am finding out—more on this later) while engaging in meaningful and educational activities with my youngest son. He is starting to read—blending sounds in three letter words. Atta boy!

• Fold and put clean laundry away.

• Bake two batches of bread.

• Cook a pot of home made creamy chicken wild rice soup—yum!

• Bake a batch of home made chocolate chip cookies (and freeze another batch for another day).

• Pick up enough toys to outfit a small island nation.

• Read a book . . . to the boys. My book-a-day turned book-a-week turned book-a-month-if-I’m-lucky reading habit has turned to more the seasonal variety of reading (and there are only two seasons over here!) But someday the boys will be old enough to read a whole book all by themselves and I will read again. Yes I will.

• Watch my children play at the park, my bum firmly planted on a bench as I was too exhausted to move, mostly. I did do two laps around the park, the boys on the plasma car while I loped along behind in my flip-flops.

• Get teeth brushed (the boys’ teeth, not mine. Yet.)

• Check email. Yikes.

• Take out the rubbish.

• Write this post. And judging from the long spaces in between posts I will say this is quite an accomplishment, yes it is.

What I managed not to do today:

• Get a much needed and even more deserved nap (it’s been over five years since I’ve had a decent sleep).

• Take a shower. Enough said.

• Take time for myself (except the fifteen minutes before hubby came home when I locked the children in the TV room and escaped to the bed to look at photos of the boys when they were smaller to remind myself how much I love them. . . because

• I did not give my sons away to a band of roving gypsies even though I would have been sorely tempted to do so. Today. Right now I’m really glad there were no gypsies to tempt me. I have wonderful boys and I think I’ll keep them, thank you very much.

• I did not bake the snickerdoodle cookies I’ve been craving. Although, perhaps if I had made and eaten the snickerdoodle cookies, the boys’ bickering would not have driven me to think of giving them away to gypsies. . . or was it the “I’m not going to love you anymore!” I got from the oldest, and the “I’m not going to clean up, I’m not!” from the youngest? Really, they are very sweet boys and quite well behaved and wonderful helpers, most of the time. Just not today.


Mama said, Hey! Don't you worry. . .

Maybe Mama knew what she was talking about. Some days I can’t see the forest for the trees. But most days I’m ever so grateful for this life I’m living.

And for the record, the big boy still loves me! and the little boy did pick up his toys. Hubby did the last load of dishes after supper and I did take a little time for myself, right now, to write this all down, while Daddy is reading stories to the little guys. Life is good.

3 comments:

  1. You've done more in one day than I get done all week!

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  2. I can't believe how much you get accomplished in one day. Baking bread besides? Just curious, what kind do you make? It's feeling like bread-baking season in northern MN. I'm ready to pull out my big bread dough bowl. Sue D.

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  3. Christina- And this is a "normal" day. No wonder I'm collapsing in bed by 8:30/9:00! Miss you guys :)

    Sue- So jealous you're in Northern MN right now! It must be nice to have all the cool weather foods. As for bread, I've had bad luck over here for two years, but I've come up with a whole wheat recipe that seems to be working for me, and I've been experimenting with a 1/2 wheat 1/2 white. I'll try to post the recipes soon :)

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