Sunday, December 3, 2023

Frayed

Inspirational song: Don't Dream It's Over (Crowded House)

Oh, my, we were extra today. Big activities, big emotions, big crashes. Kids were into everything, bouncing off the furniture, and unfortunately not bouncing when they hit the harder surfaces. I believe the refrain can be summed up by "giggle--shriek--giggle--stomp, stomp, stomp--giggle--thud--Waaaaahh!!" Grandpa had a lot of grading to do and I was completely frayed on all my edges. It was rough. I'm sure I was a bit too harsh in my "NOs," trying to keep grabby hands off of the Christmas tree, my candle storage shelf, or any not-child-safe bottle in reach. I had a post-bath girl in my lap, struggling to get a hairbrush through the tangled tresses on her head. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a chubby hand sneak out from behind my chair, towards the bottle of detangler spray next to me, and as soon as I said "no!" there was a clean snatch and dash into the bedroom. Boy knew exactly what he was doing, and now that they have gone home and things are quiet here, I can giggle about the cinematic perfection of the moment. 

When I was first pregnant with my younger daughter, we spent Christmas out in Birmingham with my parents. One of my step-cousins came by with her kids who were a little older than my older daughter (who was one at the time). They were preschooler boys, and they rough-housed almost exactly like we experienced today. I have thought about that visit many times over my life, always thinking how glad I was that I had girls. Here I am with a future NFL star, and I can now say with confidence that the universe protected me by giving me petite girls. I would not have survived heavier, sturdier boys. Not then, and I'm not sure I will now.

I'd like to say I have time off to recover now that they've gone home, but it's not true. I have a lot to get done this week, before heading to Florida next week. We have been looking forward to this trip all year, but that doesn't mean I have all my prep done yet. I have loads of panicking to go between now and then.

(In the above, Dmitri stole a rock out of one of my plants and tried to lick it, and Valerie hid under a blanket and played on a tablet.)

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