Friday was SUPPOSED to be a two hour delay day...well...it turned into a snow day...UGGGHHH!!! By the GRACE of God...we survived it...barely!! We left the house at about 11:00am and did not get home until 6:30pm. Now, for most normal children that would have been enough excitement for one day! But noooo...not for my kids...on the way home they wanted to know:
A. "What's for dinner??..." and before I could answer that question..."Yeah Mommy...what is for dinner?? Can we have pizza...no, how about chips and dip?? Nooo...I got it, how 'bout we go out to eat?'' To this the other two replied, "Yeah Mommy...let's just go out to eat!!" I let them ramble for about 15 minutes and then I replied: "Yeah...let's go out to dinner...I want Olive Garden...." (at this point they were confused by the fact that I was agreeing with them, and then I went in for the KILL...)"So...since all of you got money for Christmas...Who's paying??" Miraculously...EVERYONE was convinced that we had plenty to eat at home. (note to parents: with a little thought...we REALLY can outsmart them)
B. "What are we gonna do when we get home?" I almost fainted...I was EXHAUSTED and they had the nerve to ask me that?? I let them talk for about 15 minutes (15 minutes seems to be a crucial amount of time in the life of a child). Of course each of them had the "best idea ever." I overheard one suggest that we go to Blockbuster. One wanted to play Dance, Dance Revolution and the little one wanted to build a tent in the loft. I wanted to go to SLEEP. Well, after 15 minutes, I suggested that we do one of two things..."1. Have a hot shower/bath, eat a hot meal and watch TV or 2. GO TO BED." Well....mama didn't raise no fools...Almost in unison they said..."Let's go home take a shower, put on some warm pj's, eat dinner and watch TV." God, I LOVE it when a plan comes together...don't you?? (quick prayer: Lord, this actually worked!! Please Lord, PLEASE let it work again...thank You in advance, 'cause I know that with You, all things are possible...Is it possible that this can happen again?? ~amen)
Friday ended on a lovely note...Now Saturday was a horse of a different color...
Saturday, EVERYONE was bored...me included and we had nothing to do except...HOUSE WORK!! That worked out well. Four of my five bathrooms got cleaned and the twins vacuumed all of upstairs. (quick prayer: Lord, please don't let CPS (child protective service) find out that I make my kids work, in my house...where they live for FREE, eat up ALL of my food and where I do their laundry for FREE... Dear Lord somewhere along the way things got twisted and children now have rights...well most children have rights, mine waived their rights when the were born. ~amen) (note to parents: if your children have rights...you might want to revoke them before they learn about CPS.)
Well, after we finished cleaning...we started a craft. We made winter hats out of fleece, fabric paint and fabric glue. (I started that post on Saturday and have not added the pictures to it yet. So I have not posted it. When I post it remember that I wrote it before this post, otherwise you might get a little confused by my references to events and times.)
The craft went OK...you will have to wait for the post to get the details...
Sunday morning at about 1:30am I was lying in bed sound asleep with visions of sugar plums dancing in my pretty little head when I felt a presence...I felt it long before I opened my eyes, I was trying to wish it away, no such luck...I felt it LONG before I heard what had to be a sound VERY similar to that of the gates of Hell opening... This most horrific sound was coming from my dear sweet 11 year old daughter, Nicole. She was standing beside my bed, in the dark, carrying a trash can and tossing her cookies!! EEEWWWW!!! YUCK!!!!! This child was making sounds that only Satan himself could replicate. She was SICK!! I mean REALLY sick...not Nicole sick (she has been known to exaggerate illness for personal gain/sympathy).
She was up about every 30-45 minutes vomiting. She came and slept on the couch in the loft so that I could hear her every wretched heave. Lucky me! (this may or may not have been payback for me out smarting her in the car on Friday (see above for details)). Well, needless to say...neither she nor I got much sleep. Alexander, her twin brother, woke up at 9:00am on Saturday and began his reign of terror! He started out with a stomach ache which soon became "cookie tossing extraordinaire." He felt the need to get up and come find me, no matter where I was in the house, to tell me that his stomach was hurting and that he was about to throw up. Just what I needed...a play, by play...Lucky me! EEEWWWW!!!
He was sick until about 8:00pm, at which time he began to feel better. Nicole was still in agony and by now she also had gastrointestinal issues as well. When it rains, it runs and pours! Welcome to my world!!
Is anyone wondering where my other two children were while all of this was going on?? Well Naomi (Age 5), was helping me take care of everyone. Noel (age 6), who very well might be the smartest person in our house, went into the guest room, stood in the doorway, waved goodbye, closed the door and cut on the TV. She only came out when it was time for her to eat.
Note: While all of this was happening, I was busy trying to figure out the best way to keep everyone else from getting sick. This is when I had the BEST idea of my life...Lysol. I had them cover up their faces and hold their breath while I sprayed Lysol on them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. To say that I was desperate to keep everyone else from getting sick, is an UNDERSTATEMENT. (quick prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for protecting my children...especially from me. I ALWAYS mean well, but sometimes I get a little desperate and...well...I...uhmmm...spray Lysol on them...Is that a sin?? ~amen)
So...I said all of the above to say...I was a little bit busy this weekend and PROMISE to post something in the next 2 days...
~Marquita
Oh, man! What a difference a day makes! Your Sunday & Monday was more work than most folks day AT WORK!! I think Lysol is like Holy Water, especially after my experience with my kids having a staph infection 2 years ago. I hope the rest of the week was uneventful.
ReplyDeleteMarquita,
ReplyDeleteYou know, your blog is really cool. Way cooler than regular e-mailing. This is really a super way to keep friends & family involved in your daily life. (And we need to know what you're doing so we can monitor your behavior!) But seriously, there is nothing like finding something to enjoy in life. And all of a sudden, the hundreds of miles don’t seem so far. THANKS.......
Well, on second thought, maybe people with an OCD and ADHACD should live some distance from normal people like me! (smile)
Invisible Mother .....
ReplyDeleteIt all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'
Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible.
The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more! Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.' I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude, but now, they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!?
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can s ay who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof, No one will ever see it. And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, i s too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become. At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.
I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree anymore.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for 3 hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'You're gonna love it there.'
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.
Great Job, MOM!
Share this with all the Invisible Moms you know ... I just did.
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I am in much debt to my invisible Mother..
God Bless.
Wow, Invisible Mother.....this is beautiful. I think this is the answer to why I was not content as Mother of 3. "...cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness..." very interesting. So, Maquita, I am on my way to Mother of 4. and finally I am so content. Invisible.
ReplyDelete