Helpful kinds of help

Things I think single parents everywhere should have free access to:

Bedtime police
Housecleaning fairies
Push-button hot suppers

Post-camping joy

In spite of the exhausting nature of that camping trip, when I think about it now, the fun parts were enough to compensate.

I loved how excited my kids were to be camping. I loved their sheer enthusiasm for sleeping in a tent, in sleeping bags. I loved letting them help set up their beds, unroll their sleeping bag, put the pillow & blankies just so - and then proceed to make it all messy by tumbling onto the bed just to check it out.

I loved watching them learn how to cook hot dogs over a campfire, and wait for a marshmallow to get roasted. I loved listening to their conversations at night.

"Don't those noisy people know it's bedtime?"
"Why is there smoke in the sky?"
"Can I have another marshmallow"
"Hey - you kids, it's night time and people are trying to sleep!"
"Mom, maybe next time, it would be a good idea if we brought some earmuffs"

And sometimes, I just wanted to gobble them up. "Grandpa, your camper is like a dollhouse!" "Your little house is AMAZING!" And while it was challenging to cope with both kids in the ER, having daughter there too helped to keep both me and son calmer. "Mom, can I have a snack? Do you think this TV works? Hey little guy, it's okay. Do you need a hug? The nurse will help you. Nurse Emily, did you know I'm allergic to 3 kinds of medicine? I get a big rash, and sometimes it makes me barf."

Then there's the marvelous and yet heartbreaking way a 3 year old explains a head injury.
"I fell and got a noggin floggin. Then it was blood on me. Then I went to the hobbital. They did a squirty thing, and I cried. I didn't like it. It was stinging me and I was bleeding. Then the docker was going to put stick-es in me, but he only painted my noggin flogging. I didn't like that, it made me cry and I was sad."

But we got back to the campground, and family was there, waiting with love, and hugs, and a hot dinner, and more marshmallows - and those are some of the best moments ever.

A weekend - summarized

A camping we will go... or, what happened when I went to a family reunion 2 states away from home.










Friday:
Long ass drive. Set up tent. Visit with family. Have dinner. Roast marshmallows. Attempt to sleep. Listen to daughter randomly wish that everyone had to go to bed at the same time. Fall asleep. Put son back in after rolling out of bed. Put daughter back in bed for same. Repeat about 3 times. Listen to rain start. Fall asleep again.
















Saturday:
Wake up. Eat breakfast in rain. Go to reunion. Return to tent to change son out of soaked-to-knees pants after building sandcastles with his cousins. Go to reunion. Return to tent to change completely soaked daughter after she "accidentally" went swimming when helping Dylan to build a raft. Decide energy is all gone, and nap is needed to restore it. Rest for 3.1 minutes. Sun comes out, tent gets hot. Give up and bring kids swimming. Feel bitchy the whole time. Go back to campground to put kids in shower & rinse off sand. Put daughter on potty, hang things on hooks, hear son WAIL. Pick up sad boy from floor, realize he's got a laceration in his forehead that goes to the bone. Put towel to head to stop the bleeding. Pick up stuff from hooks. Throw towel around naked daughter, walk as quickly as possible to parents camper. Hand son to Uncle, get paper towel & ice pack for head. Put clothes on daughter. Walk over to my campsite, get van. See park ranger, ask for directions to nearest ER. Put kids in van, drive to Ishpeming. Talk to son the whole time so he stays awake. Verdict: mild concussion, laceration irrigated (squirted) and sealed with dermabond (painted). Drive back to campground. Keep kids up too late to make sure son doesn't have adverse effects from glue or concussion.









Sunday
Wake up too early. Pack up camp. Drive. Drive. Drive. Drive. Drop brother off in Hibbing. See sister, husband & nephew. Drive. Drive. Drive. Home at last.

Bright and shiny

Today started out on the ridiculously grumpy and crabby end of my emotional spectrum. I woke up too early. It was raining. I forgot to eat breakfast before leaving the house. Traffic sucked. My computer was horrifyingly slow and email wouldn't open. I stopped for good coffee and a scone. It got me through restarting every thing and then calling tech support. One hour of the morning - gone.

This doesn't sound like an auspicious beginning to the day, and quite the opposite of bright and shiny. Depressing and sad almost. Stupid morning.

But... dah-dah-daaaah (pretend that's a heraldic blast of trumpets) Co-workers to the rescue!! The email issue was not just mine, and I was not the only writer in my aisle who woke up too early on the grumbly side of the bed. "Caribou coffee?" was the query - and the day that was all gross and grumpy started to improve.

So what if I was hopped up on caffeine for most of the day. So what if technology was a thorn in my side. I work with some really bright and shiny friends - and I'm so glad.

Plus - any group of co-workers that has an un-official plan for dealing with a zombie apocalypse is pretty darn awesome. You can be jealous now.

I don't love it.

There's something magical about language development in children. The first "mama" or "dada." Or a soft and complete little "have dat, pwease?" In spite of myself, in those moments, I am always certain that it is my FAVORITE moment. But time moves forward, and the moment passes, and the memory fades. But this time - oh - this time....

"I don't love it." That's what Little Boy says when he can't stand something. He doesn't love strawberries, or steamed cauliflower, or cheese with holes in it, or when there are no more fruit snacks.
"I don't love that, Muther!!" He won't say that he hates it - it's just the opposite of love for him.

Can you stay just exactly like this, little boy?

But I know you can't, because time moves forward.... and sometimes I don't love it.