Yesterday was one of those days I’ll completely forget about. Nothing special happened. No pictures were taken. It was a pretty normal day in the span of parenting days. And I think those are the days I’ll wish I could remember. Those normal, every day happenings with three growing children are the ones I’ll try to grasp someday when I’m done with the hugging and lunch packing and laundry folding and homework checking. This is what happened yesterday…
There was a two hour delay because of dense fog so all the kids got to wake up on their own schedule. Kind of a nice treat really. The oldest hopped in the car pool to school. The middlest stayed home with a bad case of tonsillitis. The youngest didn’t have school because that two hour delay cancels morning kindergarten. However, Thursdays are my days to make appointments and J’s days to hang out at the Y after school. So around 10:15 I took him to the Y for the rest of the day figuring it would keep him away from his sister’s germs and give me time to do a few things.
I had already figured out how to keep my appointments and leave Miss E home alone for only short bursts of time. The neighbor across the street was home if needed. E was cozily bundled in the upstairs guest room with a drink, some movies and the phone by her bed. No one would ever know someone was here and since everything I was doing was around lunch time my husband came home in the middle of my time away. E was home for not quite an hour on her own, then her father came in and I was home 15 minutes after he left. I thought that was okay for an almost-10 year old. She said it was okay too but 15 minutes after I left she called her dad to see when he was coming home (even though she had been told multiple times). Then after he left she instantly called me to see when I was coming home. She SAID she was fine staying home for a little bit on her own. In reality, I don’t think she felt very comfortable with it. Makes me feel bad but at the same time I have to shake my head and laugh. This is the child that was born to snuggle. She loves to be rightnexttome whenever possible. And even as she’s growing up, she still likes to have people around her.
Later in the day I ran out to pick up K from track practice. One of my appointments in the morning was to get my hair cut. I already have short hair but decided to go even shorter and for the first time in a long time cut off all the highlights and let my hair be dark for a while. She got in the car and after two minutes said, “mom the short hair is okay but…” But what? I said. “Well, I’m sure dad would say you’re beautiful no matter what and your friends might not say anything so I will. It’s a boring mom cut now. Those highlights made your hair fun and cool but now it’s just a mom haircut. Oh and it makes you look older too.” Ooof… she wasn’t mean about it but I’m now ready to call my hairdresser and get some highlights added back in. On top of that last night when I was brushing my teeth I noticed a few grey hairs sprinkled in there. I want my highlights back!!
In the middle of the night, around 4:30 to be exact, my youngest came padding into my room. He had a bad dream. Sometimes he just needs to be tucked back in but this time he said his room was too scary and he wanted to sleep by me for a while. I scooted over and he snuggled right in. It was a bit of a guilty pleasure for me I have to admit. This boy of mine is getting so big that I know these moments are limited. I should have carried him back upstairs but instead, I shut off my alarm and held him close until I needed to get up.
Three glimpses into a day that’s really quite ordinary. I did laundry. I made dinner. I baked cookies. I ignored the mess on my office floor that is a 4th grade social studies project. I put books away before flopping on the couch to watch some tv. I pushed the ever-creeping pile of legos out of my walking path instead of actually putting them away. A normal day that I hope I never forget.
quick like a bunny! 