Confessions of a Cranky Homemaker.

It's been a funky few weeks for our household. Upsy downsy:

A radically good time with my chicks and the chicklets. A layoff. A freezer mishap which ruined some one hundred pounds of local organic meat and vegetables and necessitated a middle of the night clean up. A visit from the in-laws (they're great.) A rehire. A pay cut. Plans for further education.

A neglected garden and yard (neglected friendships, too) due to too much busy, and a boy who says, "It used to be more funner when you didn't work all the time. And now you hardly ever play with me." And yet, I am thinking I'll have to take on a second paying job.

A back to school night where we showed up all dressed up the night after it happened. The beginning of preschool, and schooly rules, and naptime on cots with shoes left on. The first illness of the school year, complete with snot and fever and junky cough.

The beginning of organized sports with a gentle and kind soccer coach for the boy, and nothing but joy for the parents cheering on the sidelines.

One check engine light. One small repair. Some preschool unkindness from preschool bullies.

Wisdom teeth removed, pinched nerves and chiropractic care.

A pimple on my right cheek and a hanker to weep.

This too shall pass. It always does.

One thing and another, right after the other.... early morning wakings, one more load of laundry, home maintenance and car maintenance and longing for spiritual maintenance and I can hardly believe folks are so upset over the President's upcoming address to school children.

Some days, all I want is to tuck into jammies and cuddle up and feel my little boy's arms around my neck so tight like in the wee hours this morning when he joined us in the big bed, his breath hot and sleepy and slightly sour in my ear and on my neck, whispering, "I will always follow you, Mama...."



Where there is sour, there is also salty and sweet.

Swing low.

Thankful Thursday.

Today, and this week, I am thankful for:

-- Tomato Art Fest in our neighborhood, and a most enjoyable time by our whole family.

-- My child's father, for (happily, enthusiastically) getting up early and running hand in hand with our son in the boy's first fun run at the Tomato Art Fest. Such sweetness.

-- Luke, Melanee and Bobby's sweet boy, for being such a good friend to Ziggy, and such a fine role model (good folks are raising him, and it shows!) In particular at this time, for waiting and encouraging Ziggy on the Fun Run each time he slowed or grew tired. The pride the kids had in their accomplishment was delightful.

-- Boy clothing from Grandma and Grandpa, and also Nina. The more to sort and share the smaller things!

-- The ability (at last) to pay to have my cracked months and months long duct-taped side view mirror at the dealership. Also, the folks at the dealership for working with me and making it affordable, relatively fast, decidedly pleasant.

-- An enjoyable walk with the family at Stones River Greenway.

-- An unpleasant tiff with the Mister defused.

-- A paying job that I enjoy.

-- A new lawn mower. (Though now it seems we need to purchase a shed of some kind to simplify things.)

-- An endorphin releasing exercise session at the Y.

-- The Mister tending my badly blistered toe and ailing hip.

-- One full week (plus) of our Ziggy starting the night in his big boy bed!! So proud of him.

-- Gaining some time in the evenings to visit with my husband, complete projects, wash the supper dishes before it gets terribly late.... oh, and the sweetness of our boy joining us in the big bed middle of the night.

-- A package from Papa.

-- The restoration (less 20%) of the funding for Jolie's TEEN Reach, ACE Afterschool and Summer Success programs!! Which, as Jolie puts it, "is 80% more than we expected," so yay and hurrah and wahoo!!

-- Beautiful vegetables from my garden and from our CSA with which I'll be making meals of ratatouille and vegetable enchiladas to feed people I love.

-- The imminent gathering of my oldest and dearest friends and our children for a few days. My heart may burst with joy! One last blow out as summer winds down, before work and school school schedules become run-away trains of productive earning and learning, making it that much harder to gather regularly.

-- My friends. Seriously: they are among the finest, dearest, lovingest people on the planet. They make my heart sing. And I've been fortunate that I have them from all the different places of my life, from all the chapters....

Big boy in the big boy bed.

He's starting his nights here consistently. SO big. Love him, love him, love him.

Thankful Thursday -- Whoops! On Friday.

Today, and this week, I am thankful for....

-- Home.

-- A family outing to a catfish house on the river; returning to one of our favorite haunts of the "old days" pre-Ziggy.

-- Diggy, and her being here for a few days which felt too short, but were more than appreciated. Good times were had by the boy and the grandmother; the mother got lots of work done. EVERYONE should be so lucky as to have a Diggy. We love her, love her, love her. (And love my father for encouraging her to be with us. As well as for many other reasons, naturally.)

--And, the husband and wife had an all too rare actual date, wherein the first new film at a theatre was viewed since Ziggy's gestation. (Humpday! was pretty great, though as the Mister says, it was an interesting choice for our first foray back into seeing a movie to have seen what amounts to an anti-movie.)

-- A particularly productive weekend of cooking so that the workweek has flowed far more smoothly.

-- Realizing, as per my mechanic, that I didn't break the mower, that it had other issues altogether. Locating receipt and successful return of said mower.

-- Pounds lost. Health gained.

-- Annual physicals for me and for the Mister down. Lab results back. Good news all around, small bits of things to watch (low iron for me & continued long term diligence with regard to whittling down and moving with purpose.) Proceeding apace. (Oh, how I love our nurse practitioner.)

-- A paycheck!

-- A package from my amazing in-laws. Oh, they are good folks. So generous to us, and to our boy. They keep the child of the house in clothing and toy cars and stickers!

-- Ziggy beginning two nights by sleeping in his own big boy bed and then joining us later.

-- A much anticipated gathering with my beloved chicks, my oldest and dearest friends, and my favorite girls to hoot, holler, cry and plan lives with.

For my child's father, and for all the parents I love.

Please take the three minutes it will take to read this. It is SO worth it. (And thanks to Jacki for sharing this.)

I'm sitting here with tears rolling rolling rolling down my face, and feel as though something beautiful and sacred has been shared with me.

And I can't wait to get home later today, and snuggle up my three year son, and meditate (and act) on this little gem:

"When you speak to your children today, you are also speaking to every day of their future selves. Parenting is outside of time. Take care and take heart in that."