Saturday with the Kidlets

Saturdays in our household tend towards the chaotic. I get home from work around noon, make lunch, and try to keep two active kidlets occupied. This week, Daddy had a run-in with poison ivy and was on the couch with his eye swollen shut.

I headed out with Jake and Phoebe so Daddy could rest a little bit. First stop--drop off teenage babysitter. Second stop--head to Costco to pick up cake for colleague's retirement party. Third stop--the dollar store!

First stop went well. Second stop, we got the cake and a watermelon--no problem. Then of course we needed some lunch. OK, 1 adult, 2 kids. Shouldn't a large slice of pizza, a hot dog, a soda, a yogurt cup and a berry sundae be, well, ENOUGH? Not with these kids!

Jake ate the hot dog, Mommy got 1 bite. Jake ate some pizza. Phoebe ate pizza. Mommy got 4 bites. Jake ate yogurt, sharing with Phoebe. Mommy attempted to eat berry sundae, but Phoebe yelled every time I tried to get some in my mouth.

Then as we leave Costco--the skies OPENED up. From the door to the parking lot, I got drenched. Soaked. Kids were yelling about being wet. I packed them into the car, and jumped in myself, feeling like a wet dog. But as we headed towards home, the rain stopped. So we went to the third stop--dollar store! I didn't find what I needed, but kidlets did. As we walked out of the store--the sky was turning BLACK. As in I was a bit concerned about our safety! We raced home as the thunder started and made it inside before part 2 of sky-opening.

The rest of the afternoon was spent inside with a monsoon pouring down. And 2 kidlets who REALLY wanted to go outside. Finally we walked the dog around 6:30, then dinner and bed.

And hey! get to do it all again today.

Blessings

So I just keep getting more bad news. But I don't want to focus on that because bad begets bad. Instead, I am resolving to focus on my blessings.

Jake and Phoebe are the number one, simultaneous, wonderful and perfect blessings in my life. I am so fortunate to have them and THAT is what I need to remember. Their joy, their love, their happiness need to be paramount in my brain. Not the b.s. of my job--which exists so I can support them.

My husband Steve is also a blessing. Despite my frustration, he truly is a good father, companion and friend. There really isn't anyone else I want to spend the rest of my life with!

My good heart is a blessing. Even with all that has happened, I am still resolute in my belief that people are basically good. The world has been trying to prove me wrong, but I refuse to go along with it.

My good health is a blessing. Years of sleep abuse notwithstanding--my body continues to function well and keep me happy. I keep promising it that I will be nicer and finally get enough sleep, but until then the ol' body is performing well.

My parents and brother are blessings. They love me, support me and have full confidence in my abilities to do anything I set my mind to.

My friends are blessings to me. They have shoulders to lean on, ears to listen and arms to hold in good times and bad.

All in all, life is a blessing and God has blessed me with so much. I have to keep these thoughts firmly in my mind and not fall victim to self-pity or other destructive tendencies.