Monday, July 18, 2011

going 90 mph all the time

Summer is supposed to be fun right? Picnicking with friends by the pond, reading a book on the porch, canoeing on the lake are typical Maine summer activities. I am squeezing in those things, but my typical day looks more like this:

  • awaken at 5am with a toddler kicking my fanny because she crawled in at 2am and likes to sleep sideways

  • go out to the garden to dump the compost bucket and enjoy the quiet and the birds

  • sneak down to the furnace room for a little time reading email and my favorite blogs

  • fix 7 breakfasts, empty dishwasher, fill dishwasher, clean up counters and table

  • direct older children to practice the piano and finish up those last stubborn school subjects (Mary is down to spelling, Charlie has 3 stories left, and Will has vocabulary, spelling, and reading left)

  • wash, dry, and fold 3 loads of laundry

  • make lunch and clean up

  • run 7 miles

  • recharge the riding mower after some little kid drained the battery, direct Will to mow the grass

  • get on the big tractor and mow around the edges of the fields

  • sweep all the floors in the house except the kid's bedrooms and bathrooms

  • mop the entire 1st floor after Julia Ellen spills red Koolaid




    • sit on the front porch with a cold bottle of beer, enjoying the view

    • decide what to have for supper and make it, clean up afterwards and run another load of dishes
    • go out into the garden to escape the children, only to have the little ones follow to help and peer into the compost bin
    • trudge inside at dusk to bathe the 3 younger children, brush teeth, and harass the older ones into showering make sure all the garage and barn doors are shut
    •  read aloud on the sofa
    • put the baby and little boys to bed
    • crawl into bed and read until my eyelids droop shut
    • turn off the downstairs lights so the big kids will go to bed
    • fall asleep at about 10:30pm
    rise and shine ready for a slight variation the next day , and the next, and the next...

    I do realize that my life is a bit easier now than it was with a newborn or infant, but I know that lazing around eating bon-bons on the sofa while watching TV is not going to be a major part of my daily routine for many, many years to come.  

    1 comment:

    analisa said...

    This sounds much like my days used to proceed when school was out for the summer when I had both boys at home. One is grown now, so we no longer have the days that zoom by and I promise as the children grow older, days do go slower and you learn to cherish the moments with the children. ENjoy them.
    Please follow me back: http://biguniversesmallworld.blogspot.com