it is 8:21 a.m. and the kids left about 40 minutes ago to get to their early morning Foreign language classes taught at our school. My plan has been to rush to the gym as soon as they leave but I found myself today in front of the computer. So I thought I'd just procrastinate a little longer and post a 'verbal snapshot' of this very moment in my life.
My kitchen counter is a mess. At this moment I have a pile of clean dishes that John washed on Tuesday night while I sat huddled in my bedroom finishing "The Hunger Games" (did you like that book? did you hate it? Children being forced to hurt other children? Disturbing, and riveting, and sad, and interesting...she is not the most incredible writer but she did have a good story). If you put your eyes level with the counter, you can see the crumbs from last nights grilled cheese sandwiches still scattered all over the granite surface. We had 20 minutes from the time we stepped into the front door from Molly's dance class to the time we needed to step out the door for Brynley's musical performance. Grilled cheese and left over chicken noodle soup. Thank goodness I didn't break down and buy hamburgers on the way home from dance; this was less expensive and better for our bodies :) But now I have crumbs to show for our hurry to get out the door and see Bryn.
There are wrappers on the counter, wadded up Hershey kiss wrappers from the chocolate bites Brynley stole after school yesterday. She is a skinny little thing, but her diet wouldn't be the reason! Chocolate kisses and chocolate mint balls were her after school snack, and I think her dinner was white bread with butter (I had purchased the white bakery bread as a way to get her to eat a grilled cheese sandwich; but since she had to be ready and gone before I got home from dance, I could gather that the bread never got grilled with the cheese, and she wouldn't touch leftovers with a ten foot pole so no soup made it into her stomach).
Also on the counter, a hairbrush and a book; "Mercy Watson" to be exact. We tend to like books about pigs around here. Poppleton is a standard favorite, and now Mercy has entered the scene. Madi loves pigs; she has since she was tiny. She won't eat ham or pig in any form with the very important exception of bacon. Madi will eat bacon. Mercy Watson is not bacon, so Madi won't eat that; which brings me to wonder why Mercy Watson is on our kitchen counter? Oh, because one of the little girls wanted to read while I was brushing their hair (thus the hairbrush nearby).
Two cups of breakfast smoothie, one with a straw and one without, are standing near the sink. And I've found two pieces of whole wheat toast with peanut butter and either honey or jam on the counter this morning as well. Breakfast had been started by a couple of the kids but forgotten or left so they'd be on time for school. The smoothie? One of them is mine; filled with kale and frozen banana and berries and some yogurt. It churned from green to purple this morning as the children watched the berries camouflage the kale in the blend tech mixer (which is also still on the counter). They'll eat the smoothies if they are purple. They will gag if they are green. But the wrong child watched the color turn this morning; the disguise was not made complete because the green was seen before the purple overcame it and so it goes uneaten.
And finally, along with scattered dirty dishes and a few perhaps but not likely clean dish towels there are some old fashioned ice cream sundae cups stacked and waiting to be put away. They were used to hold toppings for a frozen yogurt bar we spread out for some out of town friends last weekend. The kids don't know where I stash all of our serving items, so it is common when I come to see how they've unloaded the dishwasher to find stacks of things on the counter but not put in their proper places. It seems that even when I show them where and how to settle in those clean items they don't register this new information, and again and again they must be shown until finally they will put those things away instead of stacking them to wait for me.
Now I will go clean up the counters. Then I will read my scriptures. From there I'll put on my exercise clothes and make my way to the gym.
This morning, as you can surmise from the description of my counter, has been a difficult one. Though I've been awake since 5:30 a.m. I have little to show for it. Rousting our children from sleep to scripture study was a monumental task today, and one that involved a lengthy disciplinary experience with Molly (she sometimes wets the bed. In her incredible embarrassment she likes to insist it hasn't happened. Sometimes I find I am forcing her into a bath or shower completely against her will. It becomes painful and frustrating for both of us. Until the girl is clean. Somehow the warm water is the wake up call to the reality that being clean is necessary. Then there are tearful apologies-sometimes from both of us-and the bed is stripped and we go on with life. But it takes time away from dutiful counter cleaning and dish washing to wash the little girl who is more important than sandwich crumbs or any amount of mess).
The day is young, and yet I've already had 'a day' and now must muscle up the gumption to go onward and upward, through the many more hours that come between me and tomorrow. And much to manage as well. Two birthdays next week, a short out of town trip for a family gathering this weekend, and the school muscial, a swim meet, a rugby game and a church party all happening while I am away. It will be a race from now until sleep tonight. And another race all through tomorrow to have things organized and ready for me to be away from the family for the third Saturday in a Row. (Last week Bryn danced in a competition while I watched and the week before I learned about photography; a fantastic gift from John to me last Christmas. I can hardly remember what I learned from that day, it feels like a year ago. But I have my notes and intend to practice at the family gathering this weekend).
Here's to clean counters, a sweaty work out, and a smile on my kids' faces when they come home from school this afternoon. Here's to our only 'sit at the table' dinner of the week-happening tonight after swimming and rugby and before the school play. Here's to the rest of my Thursday.
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