A Good Morning Moment

Sitting on the sofa in the dark with Gracie & Graham this morning, Graham spontaneously sang a little song.

I'm a chilly bean
In a chilly pot.
I am cold,
I'm not hot.

When I asked where he learned it, he said that he had just made it up.  And it's made me smile as it runs through my mind all morning long (well, so far -- it's only 7:30).

Single Mother Survival

When I was nineteen, I took care of three little boys for a week. I was "not the mama" to a six year old, a four year old, and an almost two year old while their parents were in Cancun. I learned a lot in that week. The most important was that I would NEVER do anything to become an unwed mother. (I still think caring for someone's children would significantly reduce teen pregnancy rates.) Single parenthood is tough!

I find myself back in the position of taking care of a six year old, a four year old, and a sort-of-almost two year old by myself. It's again just a week. But the same most important survival technique remains: do something away from your house each day.

I have a list up in the kitchen. Cami read it this morning & thought it was the list of everything we were going to do today. It's my "what to do when Jason's gone" list. She was so excited to read "library" that we were out the door by 9:45 this morning. A walk through the park, some little errands on the way, & twenty minutes in the book borrowing facility made my life so much easier. I need that outside time. And the big stack of new books kept Cami pretty happy when Rose was napping.

When Rosie woke up, outside we went again. It was just a run to the corner store for some soy milk, but at 4:30, it's pretty dark outside. That made it a grand adventure. So, with imaginative dragon-slaying along the way, the kids had fun.

Now, the other single mother survival technique is adequate sleep. It's only 9:15, but that's pretty late for me. Good night, world.

P.S. Jason I hope your flight went well. I love you!

The First Day of Mid-Term

The kids get this week off school. It's called the Mid-Term Holiday, but I think it should be renamed the Recovering From Colds & British Summer Time Holiday.

It seems like everybody has been ill & the clocks fell back for fall yesterday. We are back on Greenwich Mean Time. It means that it's 9:41 in the morning & it feels like 2 in the afternoon. We've had more than one fight, a broken photo glass, & the four hours of tidiness I experience every day when Cami & Graham are at school will resume next Monday.

Motherhood Memories

Rose turned 18 months old on Monday. She can now officially be left to cry her heart out for two hours in the church nursery!

With Graham & Cami at school six hours a day, I'm getting to play with her more. For whatever reason, while she was in the bath this morning, I was remembering one of my favorite people. Aaron was three when I met him -- I was fifteen. I loved spinning him in circles or playing "airplane" with him. I thought that's what being a mom was all about. . .making a happy child giggle & scream with happiness.

Motherhood has taught me otherwise. But I took some time to play airplane and chase and peek-a-boo with little Rose today. And she screamed with happiness.