This post got out of hand. I may want to post more than once a week if life is gonna be like this. You may want to read in doses:
Yesterday’s scripture study reminded me of the value of bearing each others’ burdens. I was struck by how, in relationships that last, helping and supporting has to go in both directions. No one likes to be the one scrubbing and cleaning while the other supervises and/or plays. (Not referencing Martha and Mary here, but it does sound similar. One was cleaning and serving while the other actively learned from the leader among men. Both are noble tasks. We just need balance.)
I probably shouldn’t write about my feelings this week since it has been a busy one. Maybe you should opt out of this post now, so I will start at Thursday and let you know a story is live on Substack.
Now to rewind the film and review. We started with a long weekend, three days for the hubby and four for the babies. (None for me. Mama doesn’t get a day off.) Most of you have probably picked up that I don’t enjoy being the only person cleaning while everyone else plays or continuously blocks my progress. But we were having friends over Monday and I try not to scare away my friend with my filth.
So I woke up last Friday with a sore throat brought on by my new friends, allergies and sinus drainage. I still wonder if I wouldn’t basically come down with a man cold every time they hit had I grown up with allergies and adapted to their place in my life. I muddled through and cleaned some things, continuing my ongoing efforts to tidy my house one toy, one piece of junk mail, and one mystery item at a time. My husband swooped in and boxed up some items I had left in hopes the kids would help. He informed the kids he threw them away. No one enjoyed the resultant screams and complaints.
By Monday we felt capable of hosting our guests so the kids could play but I wasn’t up to the full day of excitement. Thankfully, one of my friends suggested we skip the dinner portion. (I still sent them home with brownies and have some left. Guess who isn’t eating healthy today or tomorrow?) Another guest pointed out that our house was hotter than outside. It only reached 80 degrees, so I hadn’t clued into our AC needing a checkup.
I just adapt if the temperature falls between 50 and 80 degrees. (I am the lady in sandals, shirts, and a t-shirt when others have pulled out their down-lined parka.) My body was trained to adapt to that wide array of temperatures at a young age. All the fans in my house growing up pointed at my mother to keep her from melting and the trailer wasn’t well-insulated. In fact, my mom insisted on rolling down the windows of the car in the middle of winter because she was hot. Wisdom dictates that I am not in charge of the temperature for the happiness of people who are zero to fifty percent polar bear.
The following day, a tall young man came to help resolve our temperature issues. I think confirming with my husband that we wanted the repair took longer than the rest of the visit, which included replacing the faulty part. I appreciated this efficiency as I had other things on my mind…
Wednesday was a perfect day for cake and celebration. That date requires such pageantry since I officially became a mom. My little pooch enthusiast even started her day off right by petting a neighbor’s dog. She may have gotten some stuffed puppies of her own since allergies preclude a real puppy or kitty taking over our hearts and home. I think baby sis almost exploded from excitement while waiting to present her gift. Overall, satisfaction and happiness stemmed from the givers and receivers.
Thursday found more confusion on the bus route. Because we live off of a busy, fairly straight road, I can see the three stops before ours as I wait for the return of my cuties. The bus barely stopped at the first one, zipped past the second one though the mom tried to flag him down though the child was nowhere in sight, grabbed the girl at the stop before us, and then he stopped for us. The sub informed me that the stop I referred to didn’t exist and drove off. So someone got to experience car line.
The afternoon was even more traumatic for another child and their parents. We had been informed of a bus change. Then another change was announced. The app said the kids were still on the first substitute bus. I decided to live by the adage “don’t trust the app” and hurried to the bus stop. The bus stopped at the stop below us, where it released the child it forgot to pick up earlier in the day, but the other student who got off at that stop didn’t have a visible parent, so she got thirty to forty more minutes on the bus. I feel like they should let us list people we trust to guard our kid in case we get caught in traffic or such, but no one at the bus depot has approved that idea when I put it forth in the past.
Retrospectively, the dad may not have been able to get down the street with his car and had a younger child with him. About an hour before I raced for the bus stop, a loud hissing sound from outside made me think my neighbors were having their house power washed. I was later informed that emergency vehicles had the road behind mine blocked off, so it may have been a water main break or a gas leak.
Thankfully, the substitute bus driver didn’t question me claiming all the kids from my stop since work delays kept my neighbors from reaching the stop before the bus. Another neighbor let my children pet their dog, so it was a puppy love win again.
The rest of the day and night was spent working on my prize of the week: the story I mentioned before. Have you read it yet? Offer me moral support.
Yesterday was a little less frazzled aside from letting one child’s stuffies take a ride on the amusement park rides we know as the washer and dryer. I may be testing a hypothesis about weather one can wash them repeatedly without having to play Doc McStuffins. I should inform you that fluffy friends purchased at the dollar store don’t take this kind of treatment well. Thankfully, I keep needles and thread close at hand.
Now I must leave you, but I must tell one last little story about how my life is going right now. I drove down to the church today. As I neared the building, I noticed that the larger parking lot was completely blocked by a huge tree. I promptly parked in the smaller lot, jumped out of my car, and wandered over to take a picture. I proceeded to send said picture to people I hoped could handle this situation with wisdom and alacrity. I then went to check on the neighbor to see if they had input on the subject of the tree.
I believe our accents, hers adorable and probably from some lovely European country and mine from the south of this multi-faceted country, were working against us. At one point, she assured me she didn’t pushed the tree over. It was a large tree. She is a sweet, tiny lady older than myself. That thought never crossed my mind. By the time I left the church, a tree crew had arrived to help assure plenty of parking for tomorrow morning. I have done my due diligence. We shall see what this following week brings.
Spoiler: a party is happening and cake is being baked.
