Monday, October 24, 2005
Back To Reality
My few hours of escape have ended and I'm back in the throes of my everyday, normal life. It was nice to get away, but it wasn't for nearly long enough. I left for Portland and hour earlier than I needed to so I could stop at a coffee shop on the way up and just sit. I brought my book (see post below) with me, got a jumbo cup of Earl Grey tea, and sat and read. Alone. It was nice and the time went by far to quickly. The girls night was fun and mellow. Just 4 of us. We had a quick spaghetti dinner and some pumpkin bars for dessert. The hostess recently moved into a new house so it was fun to see it (very nice!) and hear about her plans for decorating and such. That's right up my alley. She's also 20 weeks pregnant, so a lot of the conversations were about names. We all universally think she's having a girl so we focused on girl names. I could talk about names forever, so that was fun for me. It was not a night for drinking and partying - more for talking and relaxing. I was invited to sleep at the hostesses house (her husband was out of town on business) but opted instead to sleep at my parents. They, too, were out of town and I could have the place to myself vs. being a guest. It was much more appealing to me to be alone than to be a guest. So I drove to my parents house and got comfy on the couch. I didn't even bother sleeping in a bed because I didn't want to have to remake it in the morning. I just didn't want to do ANYTHING, if that makes sense. Instead I unrolled my sleeping bag and slept right there on the couch. It was nice! I watched a movie and fell asleep around midnight. I woke up, naturally, at 7:30. But I didn't wake up to kids calling for me telling me how hungry they are. I woke up because I was done sleeping. Big difference. My mom has a nice treadmill and I did 40 minutes of uphill power walking and running on it. I made myself a quick breakfast, packed up my stuff, and headed out. I had to come home early because Mr. Chick had a soccer game, and the kids and I were invited to a Halloween party. I wasn't ready to come back, but thems the breaks. I got back and was able to ease into being home again by sitting and relaxing in the hottub for a bit (again, reading my book) before the party while the kids napped. That helped. What didn't help? Seeing just how trashed the house is. It doesn't take much - it's a small house. But I had it all cleaned up before I left and now it's a wreck. Again. I get to spend time this morning cleaning it all up. I'm not angry about it, just resigned. It's just how it is. Mr. Chick and I do things differently. He did great with the kids while I was gone (of course!), but his priority is all about keeping them occupied vs. keeping up with the house. I juggle the two more than he does. He took the kids for a run in the jog stroller. He took them out for ice cream. He took them in the hottub (and left the towels everywhere), he took them to Costco. He can't stand staying home with them for hours and hours. He's a man of action. I'm a little like that, too, so that's why I don't get angry. If he was full-time with the kids and with the house he'd do better about staying tidier, but since that's not his priority, he doesn't. And frankly, the kids are more important than the house anyway, and I'd much rather he spend as much time as possible with the kids while he can and not on keeping the place picked up. I can do that in my sleep. Plus, he did the sweetest thing before I left: He let me be in the hottub by myself while he got the kids dressed and fed breakfast. I was just coming in as he was sitting down with a plate of yummy pesto eggs and an English muffin he made for himself. Without saying a word he handed me his plate of food, got me a cup of coffee, and went back to the stove to make some more for himself. Now if a man is willing to so that for you, wouldn't you be willing to overlook a messy house every now and then?
// posted by MP @ 9:56 AM 
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