May 10, 2013

• Ready, Set, Go

  Well, if I haven’t succeeded in perfectly organizing my life, our home, and our family’s schedule in the past 10 years as a full-time stay-at-home mom, I guess I won’t be doing it this week. I have run around like a chicken with my head cut off, making lists and checking things off, but clearly there will just be another list tomorrow and I will get used to getting things done differently.

  So I decided to just enjoy my day and fill it with all the best things I have been able to do over the years by not working outside the home. Took a great workout class this morning, got a pedicure, having lunch with friends, and stopping at the mall before leisurely meeting the bus. Sounds like happy hour with the neighbors is in the works for this evening, too. And having Mother’s Day fall the very last day before I start the job is pretty much as appropriate as can be.

  Yesterday, I went to school to read to our son’s class for the last time. Next year, he’ll be in 4th grade and they don’t have parents read weekly at that point. That has always been one of my favorite ways to volunteer at school, and he is always so happy to see me walk through the door with a stack of books. So it was a bittersweet time for me, made sweet by my own boy and honestly a little bitter by some of the other kids’ behavior! I think there is a reason why not every 3rd grade class still does the Mystery Reader thing. The kids are kind of over it, I think. I even had one kid come up to me and say, “Next time, don’t bring books from that series. I don’t like those.” Uh, yeah – thanks for letting me know, dude.

  This week, we also experienced one of the dangers of getting farm food delivered all year long. During our winter share, we kind of got overwhelmed with pumpkins. (Just as we will soon be buried by watermelons.) I used the extra pumpkins to “decorate” around the house, until that became out of season and moved one to a wire shelf in the garage. When I went to get an umbrella from under that shelf on Wednesday — EEEEWWW. The pumpkin had imploded and was oozing down into the umbrella stand, which conveniently had a small hole in the bottom, making the nastiness creep out onto the concrete floor below. I started by opening all the umbrellas in the driveway and spraying them with a natural cleaner that the rain could rinse away. I’m sure all the neighbors were thinking, “Wow. That lady needs to get a JOB or something.” But, they weren’t close enough to smell the rotten pumpkin stench or they would have totally been on board with my plan.

  Thankfully, the Mr. helped with the later stages of cleaning the floor, but getting the pumpkin goo to slide through the wire shelf onto a plastic bag below was all me. I had nasty pumpkin guts on my shoes, ankles, capri pants, rain jacket. Gross! Next year, pumpkins go from the mantel straight into the oven or the compost pile.

  So although I am enjoying a sunny, warm, delightful day today, I am leaving you with a story of smelly pumpkin mess. Sorry about that. Maybe this will help get it out of your mind.

  Puppies.

   

  • 11:32 am
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