Abe and I were reminiscing just now about my old dog, Lulu. I got her as a six week old lab puppy four months before I met Abe, and Abe just now remarked what great preparation she was for having kids. During the time I had her, I never once got a full night’s sleep (usually she’d have potty runs around midnight and then again around 4am, and often would not sleep in between), and a bunch of my favorite clothes and personal items were chewed to death. I was constantly sweeping my studio apartment to keep the mess of dog hair at bay. The parallels are there, but then I remembered: I gave Lulu away. I would never, ever give my children away, but I guess the point is, it’s not in my nature to endure messes, chaos, and interrupted sleep without feeling kind of maxed out at times.
Today was a maxed-out day. Basically, I just gave up and spent the whole day reading in bed while my children tore apart the upstairs around me. They seemed to enjoy their activity, and even though now Lydia’s entire bed is colored on and I’m discovering toothpaste all over, it felt like what the doctor ordered. The craziest part is that I just can’t wait to get back to bed.
I did interrupt my self-imposed bed rest to feed the children multiple times, clean the kitchen multiple times, bake cookies with Lydia, and make another sweet potato souffle…but there are thirteen hours between when Lydia wakes up and when she goes to sleep again, and those activities aren’t that long in comparison. Basically, I’m not exaggerating when I say I spent most of today in bed.
Abe and I chatted while he ate dinner after the girls went to bed. It’s been so long since we got to talk over a meal, I’d almost forgotten what it felt like. He loves his new job and is so thankful to have work friends. He gets a whole hour at lunch to play games, socialize, read scriptures, call home, and eat. And he goes in an hour early and stays an hour late (on days when I don’t have cooking school) so that he can get everything done that he wants to. He hasn’t felt this healthy in eleven years. It’s a really thrilling career change for him, and it makes me SO happy to hear my husband effuse over his work situation.
Here are some pictures from this evening, when Lydia decided she wanted to learn how to jump rope:
Mary struggled a bit more to catch on to the concept…but she (clearly) had fun.