Start Again

It's a new hour, so I'm going to start again.

This is one of those days.

You know the sort. Every little while you stop and think, OK, that was the worst of it, now I'm just going to take a deep breath and begin again. The problem is every start so far today has been followed with yet another reason to take another time out for sanity's sake and begin again.

So here I am. I'm taking the umpteenth sanity break this morning. Yes, it's still only morning.

Maybe I should blame it all on the Packer's loss last night. Or maybe it's because we've been so very busy lately. Maybe it's the really cold weather.

Maybe, just maybe, it's life.

I'll give you just the shortest run down of the long list so you can nod your heads over your coffee cup and laugh, thinking of your own days that go this way. It's OK, that's what I do at your blog too.

So here goes.

We will begin with the very traumatizing Packer's loss. Then The Little Miss refusing to just go to sleep and stay asleep. That was followed shortly by The Mr.'s alarm. Breakfast meeting--those words should bring joy to my world. You see, it means that even though he's getting up stupid early, I don't have to. The kids and I can sleep in.

Sleep in. Yeah right, not in my house.

6:15 AM, yup, that's the sleep in part, what sound do I hear? Two little men chatting it up in their bunk beds. I stumble in ready to tell them to be quiet and go back to sleep. Instead I find a bed that really needs to be stripped and a Little Mr. that needs to do some cleaning.

I leave the scene to get disinfecting wipes--a miracle product--and find a nice yellow puddle in front of the toilet in the bathroom. No, it wasn't the dog. Now, it's 6:30 and I have 2 Little Mr's busy on clean up duty.

Insert big deep breath here. Calm thoughts. It's OK. I'll just go down stairs quietly, read the paper and drink some coffee.

Lady, our petite 75lb basset hound, thunders down the stairs like her tail is on fire and runs around the kitchen like she hasn't been feed in weeks. Poor thing, it's only been a few hours. Next down the stairs, thundering boys.

Shh, I hiss at them. Let's at least let the baby sleep. She really needs it, plus she's staying with us all day today. Her visit is off. Let her sleep. There's no reason to get her up, there will be no pick up.

The next sound we hear is, of course, her screaming and throwing things out of the crib.

Ah, what bliss awaits a mom before 7AM?

By 8:30 I'm thinking this is salvageable. We're making some progress. Most of us are fed. Some are even dressed. I've begun the laundry request. You know it, Mom's, say it with me...if you want it washed, make sure it gets down the chute, in the laundry, to the washer, whatever, take your pick.

It's 8:50. Little Miss has arrived in the play pen with PBS. The Little Mr.'s are in the play room. I'm heading to the shower.

Breath deep. Shower. Start over. It's not that bad.

Turn off the water and be welcomed back to the sounds of your life. Little Miss is now screaming again. The Little Mr's are running all over the first floor playing warrior--translation--lots of loud noise. And, oh joy, what do I hear over all of that?

The door bell.

So, wrapped in a towel, covered by my robe, hair dripping wet, I answer the door. Doesn't every mom? It's the driver. But there's no visit. So he stands around talking to me. Roads are slippery, ma'am. Them Packers played real bad last night. Shame, isn't it?

All the while I'm having polite small talk with this man, who I like by the way, I'm thinking, hello!! Can you not see that I'm in my robe and my hair is freezing to my head as I'm standing in the door way!! There is no visit!! Go away!!

The drivers are great men. Very professional and I have no complaints about their service. Quite the opposite. They have a pretty hard job, traffic, construction, dealing with foster kids before and after their visits, dealing with birth parents. Not a job I'd want. And, they make my life easier. Without them, I'd be driving all over Milwaukee several times a day, several days a week. No thanks.

But, I was in my robe...

9:40, I'm finally dressed. Forget the hair, make up and jewelry today. I'm shooting for clean clothes at this point. I keep having this fleeting thought. More coffee. Off to the laundry.

Wait, not quite. Massive diaper stink and cranky baby. Stop there, handle that first.

Laundry. No, break up the boys. Again.

Deep breath. Contemplate that we should give up now and abandon the "schedule" for the day.

No, I'm just being silly. The laundry's not that bad, nor is the weather. I'll get the laundry going and we'll head out to the library, just like planned. Even though we'll have Little Miss. Even though it's really cold. And snowing.

Laundry. I always start it on Monday. It seems like it now takes until Wednesday to get it all done. I sincerely believe that our laundry spawns in the darkness, but never into anything new for me to wear.

10:30, time to get going to the library. Kids, get your books ready. Put on socks and shoes, coats and hats. Yes, I still have to insist on socks. Snow and freezing temperatures are not enough of a natural consequence to convince them that socks are necessary. I can't help that. I just work with it.

11, we're in the van, making progress, actually heading towards the library.

Hey Mom, that's my name you know, Hey Mom, why is the car so loud, and wobbly and leaning.

Um. Just a minute kids, Mom's thinking she should stop and take a look at the van for a second.

Can you guess? Flat tire. No, not a little flat, way flat, like barely able to drive flat.

Oh yeah, that library trip, off. Tae Kwon Do, I don't think so.

Deep breath.

Kid's go to the TV. Mom's going to get a cup of coffee and some sanity. We'll begin again, in a few minutes.

And so we will. We'll begin again. But now that it's noon, we'll begin again right after lunch.