Appreciating the Up

Have you ever had one of those times when you had nowhere to go but up? That’s how my day started.


Roo woke up at midnight last night, which is unusual for him but was expected because he had fallen asleep in his car seat on our way home from my parents’ house. He just ate and went back to sleep, but remember what I said about my hubby’s snore button? Yep, still true. I thought I’d just play around online and give it a half-hour or so, but I was just too tired, so I spent the night on the couch. Until 5:45, when Roo woke up for good. Time to rise ‘n shine! :-)

I had woken up thinking about a friend and felt that I needed to e-mail her. I briefly considered typing it in Word and then copying it into the Facebook message window, since that window is tiny and a bit of a pain, but decided it would be quicker to just type it and send it all in one place. I sat down and wrote her a huge message. I pressed enter to type my closing thoughts… and my computer froze. “No, no, no!!!!” Sometimes it’ll freeze briefly and then recover (Yes, I said “sometimes”, as in, this happens regularly. That’s another story.), but not this morning. This morning I got the blue screen. GRRRRRR. I looked at the clock. It was almost time to get the big kids up. No time to reboot and retype now. At least she wasn’t expecting an e-mail from me, so she doesn’t know what she’s missing. ;-)

It wasn’t going to be a good day.

A few minutes before Lamb usually gets up, I remembered that she hadn’t gotten a bath last night and that she desperately needed one. So I got her up (and Monkey got up too—the joys of kids sharing a room), got them in the tub, and the phone rang. I immediately “knew” it was my mother-in-law, calling to say that she wasn’t going to be able to come over. (I think I mentioned this before, but she typically comes in the mornings to help get the kids ready, give them breakfast, etc. She started after Monkey was born because I had such a tough time with depression—and handling two children under the age of two—and still comes most mornings, now just because she wants to see the kids.) I was wrong—it was my dad. My parents had a 10:30 flight this morning, and my brother, who was supposed to take them to the airport, had gotten a piece of cornstalk in his eye (He’s a farmer.) and had been up all night in pain. I quickly offered to drive them to the airport, but then said I had to run because I was already behind schedule.

Since we have decided to boycott the buses for a while, we now carpool with a neighbor—I drive her girls and Lamb in the morning, and she picks the three girls up in the afternoon. I called her to see if we could switch today, and got her voicemail. While I was trying to leave her a message using my cell phone, my home phone rang. This time it was my mother-in-law calling to say she couldn’t come over this morning. While I was on the phone with her, my cell phone started ringing—my neighbor calling me back. GAH!!!!

I finally got all my phone calls handled. And then I remembered that I hadn’t packed Lamb’s lunch yet, something I usually do the night before. “Hey!” I said to Lamb as excitedly as I could. “Let’s look on my computer and see what they’re serving for lunch today. You could BUY!!!!” Big happy smiley face.

She was underwhelmed.

“No. I don’t want to.”

Fab.u.lous.

And did I mention that I was already weepy when I woke up this morning?

“It really just can’t get any worse,” I thought. “How on earth am I going to handle the two boys all day?” I could barely keep myself from crying.

But you know what? Sometimes, when you have nowhere to go but up… you go up.

Thank the Lord for my fabulous husband, who made Lamb’s lunch while I helped the kids get dressed, got the big kids breakfast while I got Roo (who had fallen asleep again) up and dressed, and took Lamb to our neighbor’s house while I loaded the boys in the minivan. My parents came and loaded their stuff up, and off we went.

The airport is close to a shopping area I don’t get to visit very often, so I decided to take advantage of the proximity. I took Monkey to Starbucks, where I treated him to a mini-doughnut and chocolate milk while I indulged in a scone and iced tea lemonade. (I love that stuff. I make it sometimes at home. It doesn’t compare. Starbucks puts crack in theirs, I’m almost certain. I’m not complaining.) I felt better already.

Next stop, Borders. I found a couple of books for myself on the bargain book shelf—Angels & Demons by Dan Brown (no, I don’t agree with his... theology, but I find his fiction interesting, and for $3.99, why not?) and one by CouponMom. I was actually hoping to find Schmetterlingszauber or Freundschaft by Conny Wenk. She is a photographer who has a child with Down syndrome, and her books contain many photos of children with Down syndrome.  I especially want the first one, as it is Down's children and their fathers.  I couldn't find them, but I didn't really expect to.  Anyway, I also got Lamb her first Junie B. Jones book, and Monkey picked out a book on trains. By this time I think I actually had a smile on my face.

By then Babies R Us had opened, which was in fact our original destination. I needed a second booster seat now that I’m taking the neighbor girls to school in the mornings (and Monkey’s going to be ready for it before long anyway), and I decided there were a few other things that we needed as well… like a toy to hang from Roo’s car seat handle. And Lightning McQueen band-aids. And Diego bubble bath. Yes, I was feeling better… and indulgent.

We ran some more errands, then went to Chick-Fil-A, where Monkey played while I fed Roo and myself. (Come to think of it, Monkey never did eat lunch today. He just hasn’t been hungry.) And while I sat there with Roo, I sat him on the table and talked to him, and he started giggling! It was the. cutest. thing. ever. Yes, I have heard him giggle before, lots of times, actually. But I’ve only ever heard it when I tickle him—he’s very ticklish. This is the first time he’s just spontaneously burst into laughter. I was completely won over. It’s a great day.

And since I was enjoying spreading happiness to my boys, I was only too happy to stop when Monkey spotted PetSmart and asked if we could get new fish for our fish tank (which has been sitting empty for a month or two now). So we are the proud owners of 2 black mollies (both girls, thankfully!) and 1… other algae-eating-kind-of-fish. And some new tank decorations.

And now I’m home, my van is cleaned out, and it’s quiet—the big kids are playing at the neighbors’ and Roo is hanging out with me while I “work around the house.” Ha. Today has been redeemed, my friends. It has been saved from the depths. Hallelujah.

Speaking of “Hallelujah”, this video made me laugh yesterday.

And speaking of churchy things, this post really made me think today.

And speaking of today, I’d better get back to real life and get a few things done before I get my kids and make dinner.

See you soon.