It’s late in the day and I am tired. It has been a hard week – both emotionally and physically. As I look towards my evening, I fantasize about going home to a quiet house, pouring myself a glass of wine, and immersing myself in a tub of hot water and bubbles. Unfortunately, my evening will look something like this:

I will pull into the driveway and try to avoid running over my dog who stands in the path of my car, barking and leaping thrilled that the one who feeds has finally returned home. I will walk in the door and hear brief squeals of joy from my two children. This will quickly turn to screaming and shouting as one child will inevitably hit the other or take a toy or step on a toe or whatever it is that they do that causes the hourly outburst.

After dealing with the crisis, I will try to make my way upstairs answering the barrage of questions coming from below:

“When do we eat?”
“What are we having for dinner?”
“Can Andy come over and play?”
“Can we watch TV during dinner?”
“Can I have some money?”

As I finally reach my room, I attempt to change clothes while my three-year-old dances around singing, “I’m Poopy! I’m Poopy! I’m Poopy!” The truth is, before I take off a high-heel or look through the mail, I will:

1. Referee four wrestling matches
2. Zap dinner in the microwave
3. Clean up spilt milk and dropped peas
4. Change two diapers
5. Answer seven phone calls
6. Wash four dirty hands and two filthy faces
7. Decide I am too tired for a bath for myself or my kids
8. Try to find two identical pairs of pajamas
9. If can’t find two identical pairs of pajamas, try to convince my three-year-old that Blues Clues pjs are as cool as Sponge Bob pjs.
10. Read three stories and say two prayers
11. Give sixteen kisses and seven hugs
12. Tux them into bed
13. Tell them to go back to bed
14. Demand that they go back to bed
15. Threaten them that if they don’t go back to bed, they cannot watch TV in the morning
16. Whimper and maybe cry a little

Not until those tasks are completed will I finally crawl into bed grateful that I survived. With my body exhausted, I hope my mind will follow-suit and shut down for a peaceful night’s sleep. However, that even eludes me and I lie awake, reliving my day, and anxious for tomorrow. GIVE ME A BREAK!

1 Comments

chris said:

Paige,
I'm just wondering...does Shay get that extra hug or is that one given for good behavior?

Chris

June 5, 2007 7:53 PM

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