A long time ago (in relative terms) Benjamin started playing “tent” with his Grandma. They would climb into “her” bed (the guest bed at our house) and pull the covers over their heads. They’d bring a flashlight, and lots of toys, and sometimes books to read, too. Benjamin LOVES this game — it’s one of the first games he ever played, and he plays it enthusiastically with anyone who will participate.
Archive for the ‘Em’s blog’ Category
Playing tent
Monday, September 19th, 2011Getting better?
Sunday, September 18th, 2011I think we’re all nearly better. I think so. We had one of those days today where you kind of almost feel ok, and then you go out to walk the dog and come back sweating, with your pulse pounding, breathing hard and completely exhausted. So, most of the symptoms are gone, but your body is obviously still working on something.
We spent our weekend on half-speed, trying to take good care of ourselves but starting to go a bit stir crazy and getting a little impatient with the state of the house. Living at half-speed is actually a pretty nice way to spend a weekend. We got some basic things done around the house: some of the vacuuming, a little bit of laundry, straightened a little. I made some chili, Dan went to the grocery store. We all took naps at the same time (more or less) and tried to recuperate a little. It wasn’t a very remarkable weekend, but it was really nice and quiet.
Hopefully, we will all sleep well tonight and wake up rested and ready to go in the morning. I’m really ready to get back to “normal” (whatever that is). I’m ready to get B back to school (for more than the hour he went for on Friday), to get Dan back to work and for Liam and I to start figuring out what it means to have B at school and Dan at work. If there’s one good thing about being sick, it’s the appreciation it gives you for how nice things are when you’re not.
Selling the house
Saturday, September 17th, 2011Our house was sold yesterday. I’d say, “We sold our house yesterday”, but the truth is, my mom handled all of it — preparing it for sale, dealing with the details of selling it and getting it finally done. She’s the best mom (and realtor) ever. She saw us through 4 contract negotiations, and just when we were about to give up and rent it, we finally found a serious buyer . . . and one who was in a hurry, which was an extra bonus.
First steps
Friday, September 16th, 2011Liam is now mobile. Well, he’s been mobile for a while — ever since he could roll over he appeared to have a destination in mind, and once he started crawling, he was off to the races. I have seriously never seen a child crawl as fast as he does. Given that we have parquet floors here, his crawling was even at some personal cost: he’s regularly gotten blisters on his feet and hands ever since he started speeding around our hard floors.
How being sick is supposed to work
Thursday, September 15th, 2011So, I understand it’s supposed to go something like this: you wake up, you feel crappy, decide you’re sick and the best thing is to rest. So, you do that. Your day goes along, you do the stuff you have to do (in my case, watch the kids, make sure no one gets profoundly injured, feed and clean everyone) but other than that, you rest, you take care of yourself, you get better. Nonessential tasks are put on hold.
Grumpy pants
Wednesday, September 14th, 20112 sick kids, 2 sick grown ups, almost no sleep plus a cup of coffee spilled all over the floor, the walls, the end table and the side of our big, comfy living room chair = me as Ms. Grumpy Pants. (Nice to meet you.)
I haven’t been in a foul mood all day, but it’s been there, just under the surface. I have a lot to be happy for today, actually, and when I remember that, things go better. It looks like out house will actually be sold sometime in the next 7 days, drastically improving our financial picture. Dan joining the rest of the family in the ranks of the ill is a bummer, but at least he was able to get excused sick leave from work today, so he was able to be home with us most of the day, without being charged any time off for it. My kids are sweet and funny and wonderful (when they aren’t being fussy, whiny and incredibly needy).
Truth is, I hate being sick. I have never been good at giving myself a break, psychologically or practically, and I am constantly giving myself a hard time for not doing more, regardless of how I’m feeling. So, regardless of my understanding that I’m sick, it starts to get to me that the house is in such a state, the laundry isn’t getting done, we’re watching tv all day and we’re eating carryout for dinner.
Here’s hoping that we wake up feeling better tomorrow, or at least that I do better on excusing myself for my daily responsibilities.
Missing school
Tuesday, September 13th, 2011Both yesterday and today, we kept B home from preschool. Not at all because he’s objecting to going (technically, he isn’t objecting to going — he’s very clear on the fact that what he’s objecting to is my leaving). He’s sick. Nothing serious — sniffle, cough, slight fever — no more than to be expected, considering he’s being introduced to a whole new world of “kid cooties” that he’s missed out on being exposed to thus far in his life.
Why school isn’t just a big party
Monday, September 12th, 2011Yesterday, we went to a birthday party. The birthday boy is turning three, and Benjamin was in heaven at this party. The majority of the party was in the backyard – Benjamin rode bikes, a scooter and a train, he played in the sandbox, with toy cars and trucks, he ate pizza, cake and cookies – all on plates with Lightning McQueen on them. There were about half a dozen kids there of roughly the same age, plus a complement of little brothers, all Liam’s age or younger. He had an awesome time. From about 5 minutes after we got there, he played on his own, or with the other kids, almost entirely without our help (except for a couple of times when we were asked to extricate a ball from the hedge, or a toy from a shelf). The boys all played together and shared very well with little intervention on the part of any of the parents. We checked in with him, from time to time, and had to convince him to leave the toys for a few minutes in order to scarf down some dinner. He asked for my help to ride the scooter (which he’d never ridden before) but, although we kept a close eye on him, he spent large spans of time playing on his own.
10 years ago
Sunday, September 11th, 201110 years ago, Tuesday, September 11 started as a regular day at work. I was in a hurry — I was headed out on my first business trip that afternoon. A year later, I wrote about my experience, and reading it takes me right back to those moments: http://blog.danandem.com/2002/09/10/i-was-supposed-to-fly-that-day/ .
I’m surprised at how tender the wound still is. I’m shocked at how hard it hits me if I let myself think about it. The loss of life, the shock, the fear — the profound damage done to our sense of security and safety. But mostly, the loss.
Getting the joke
Saturday, September 10th, 2011Dan’s young (25-ish) office mate had a road trip planned for this weekend with 9 friends. Destination: Poland. Dan has lamented, over the past few days, that this sounds like exactly the kind of thing just-out-of-college-youth should be spent on (and I agree — I think back to the many nights we spent eating pizza in front of the tv, times when we were actually BORED and think of what a waste it was). His coworker has suggested, recently, that maybe Dan could come along next time. Dan has said it would be up to me. Then, yesterday, at the last minute, it turned out that someone was sick and Dan’s friend suggested (jokingly) that Dan call me to ask if he could come along, but that he imagined there would be lots of yelling if he did. Dan replied that no, in fact, I’d help him back his bags . . . just for a much longer trip.
Har, har. I get the joke: “My wife isn’t the yelling and screaming type, but she wouldn’t permit that. She’d kick me out just for asking.”