So Micah is in school. Three days a week, five hours per day, for the month of July. With Micah gone, the house is so peaceful. Quiet. I don't have to worry about what he's into, or where he's at, or what he's not wearing. I can run errands in town without fighting with car seats, or chasing the toddler through the aisles, or buying Hershey bars. I can sit and read a book (ignoring the dishes in the sink and dog hair on the floor) without interruption.
And yet, with Micah gone, the house is achingly empty. How can I enjoy the quiet with Micah gone?
(For those who pay attention, this is our fifth child. Our nephew is here as much as he's not.)
He Really Is My Baby
That Rocks
Luke has a strange fascination with rocks. Sam and I have laughed together over this, shaking our heads in wonderment. Where do kids get such weird attractions from?
Um, it would be from his mother.
I love rocks, but not just any old rocks. Big rocks. Flat rocks. Rocks that can be used for purpose. I am incredibly fortunate in that the small piece of land we got from my parents' farm is one of the many rock collection sites we had. After plowing fields in the spring, new rocks crop up as if they were growing there all winter. I never liked walking behind the wagon, bending and lifting to stack rocks onto the flatbed, only to have to offload them somewhere out of the way. Who knew, all these years later, that I'd be grateful for those castoffs?
I've done this:
And this:
And this that we started last spring and haven't finished yet:
And this was one of my first projects:
And don't forget this, that was dismantled and is awaiting a fresh start:
Part of the reason we have projects that are begun but not finished is that we're running out of rocks. No, really, we are. I've exhausted most of the supply of large and flat, leaving normal useless rocks lay in the woods. But I have struck gold. I took the boys to a local golf driving range over the weekend, and there was a heap of rocks there. Upon inquiry, I learned that they are for sale at the bargain basement price of a quarter each.
Be still my beating heart.
Today I bought rocks. I would like to tell you that I'm ashamed of this fact, but I'm too excited. I bought rocks, and they're beautiful and large and flat. I am in love. I can finish the grill surround, and the stepping stones out to the trampoline, and the pond waterfall... Oh, the possibilities.
I love rocks.
Responsibility. Get It.
I have this nasty little habit of staying up way past my bedtime. And I then have the nerve to yell at the kids about doing that very same thing. The problem started soon after marriage, 16 years ago. I am a morning person. Up and at 'em is my motto. My husband is not. At all. So in a grand effort to please everyone, I am up with the roosters, and bed down somewhere around midnight. I've been sleep deprived for so long that I don't know what normal looks like anymore.
But the last few days have knocked me out. It's taken me a while, but I have finally realized that I must have allergies. Being as I didn't ever have allergies before, you'll understand why it's taken so long for me to self-diagnose. The sinus pressure is not so fun - my apologies to all those out there who go through this on a regular basis. So anyway, the sinus pressure has me ready to call it a day by 6 PM. I manage to hold on and struggle through the pain and fog until Micah's bedtime at 8/9ish (hey, it's summer) and then join him in slumber. Not intentionally, but I just sort of fall prey to the Sand Man without wanting to.
This has posed many problems.
Upon waking the next morning, I am finding dogs who have not been locked up (thank goodness there was nothing eaten), lights on (as in ALL the downstairs lights), and food left laying on the counters.
What the heck, people?! It's common sense to put food away and turn off lights, and our family knows the dog drill by heart. Since Luke goes to bed at a semi-decent hour, this leaves a teenager and a tween in charge. You'd think, wouldn't you, that they would be semi-responsible?
Sigh.
And Sam wonders why I stay up so late on a regular basis. Apparently things don't get done around here if I don't take charge. I should go away for a week, all by myself. Maybe I'd be a little more appreciated when the light bill doubles, all the food is spoiled, and there is no clean laundry.
The Dryer Cycle
Our clothes dryer is not functioning the way that it was meant to. Sure, it dries clothes, but nothing stops it from doing that job. Not even when you open the door. That's right, if the dryer is on and the clothes are tumbling around and around and someone opens the door, the clothes continue tumbling around and around and right out the open door. Fun times.
Micah learned that when the Round Up Gang goes swimming, they are very wet. They don't dry off as quickly as he does when you towel them, so he watched mommy perform a little trick by putting them in the washer with a load of laundry, then pulling them out of the dryer a few hours later completely dry. Presto! It was magic.
Except that he doesn't grasp the concept of time. And waiting. And how the whole magic trick works. His theory is that if you toss them into the dryer, they will come out dry. If the dryer is running, it's even better. You open the door, the clothes tumbling around in there come out, you toss Woody and Co. inside, you close the door for a minute or two, and they come out all warm-like. (But not dry.)
If I didn't keep dirty clothes in front of the dryer on the floor, waiting to be tossed into the washer, this wouldn't be a huge problem. But how am I to know if the slightly damp pants of Micah's were not quite dry from the dryer cycle, or if they're the ones he wet in earlier that morning?
It's no wonder that the laundry is a never-ending job. I can't even get an entire load through without having to start it all over again.
Yard Sale FYI
So I had a yard sale. I probably won't do this again for another ten years. Come to think of it, it's been about that long since I last attempted it. Even when we moved four years ago I just hauled junkload after junkload into Salvation Army and made donations rather than going to the hassle of an attempted sale. The problem is our location I think. I made more money this go-round than any other go-round (you know, the only other two times I did this) but I had to take a chunk of that out to pay for the newspaper ad.
Anyhoo, here are some things that I learned.
1. I have way more crap than any one family should ever have. My word, the stuff. My house feels thinner after ditching so much baggage.
2. A yard sale is a great meet and greet in the neighborhood. Granted, our neighborhood is the whole R.D. of Rockingponyville, but I met people that I haven't seen in years. We're all caught up on news now, yo.
3. The extra traffic that the yard sale generated on our rural road also generated extra gossip. Micah is doing very well with his mad potty training skillz, but only as long as it's his own idea. His own idea includes dropping his drawers right there on the lawn, completely oblivious of the extra guests we have. I couldn't even be upset about it because he was going potty somewhere besides in his underpants.
4. The cash money made from a yard sale is just enough to eat out for one evening (sans kids, except Micah), take the kids to the movies with, and hit a few clearance sales. While it's certainly not a windfall by any standard, it did give me something fun to play with for a weekend. If only I could do this every week, but then the IRS would probably be knocking on my door.
5. While I managed to offload huge amounts of stuff, I was left with even huger amounts of stuff remaining. With very few exceptions, that stuff will never see the inside of my house again. It's loaded onto the back of the truck awaiting a donation run into town.
6. Things that the kids haven't played with in years are now The Best Toys Ever. I was all set to make a small fortune on Legos, but the boys rediscovered the joys of building. As long as they're willing to play with them I'm game to keep them. I love toys that inspire imagination. Unfortunately, I loathe toys that make my feet hurt in the wee smalls of the night when it's dark and I can't see.
7. I will surely use some of the money that I made to buy more stuff to fill the house with. Why do we do this?
Starbucks Giveaway Winner
The drawing has been done, and the winners of the Starbucks coupons are Michelle from Honest and Truly and Caramama. Congrats! Shoot me an email with your addresses and I'll get those in the mail.
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