A Day

Today we all woke up, not at once of course.  Two woke up which woke me up.  Then one woke up because she heard noise.  Then two slept and slept until it was the astoundingly late hour of 7:30am at which time they woke up too.

Then I did something for me.  Then Spouse-the-Project-Man ran off to do some things for him.  While he was gone the kids and I walked to a store down the street and got raisin bread and cinnamon rolls.  The Sidekick and the Little Linebacker played together on a double swing that was outside the store, giggling and smiling for all that was in them.  I thought my heart would get stuck in my armpits for how much it rose up in me.  Then we got our groceries and it was time to go home.  The raisin bread was still warm and we fought and whined over getting more and more torn-off bits as we struggled, now tiredly, home.

When we got home Spouse-the-Returned declared it time to go to his company picnic.  After potty breaks and diaper changes and requests for bananas and adamant refusals to go to a picnic, we got in the car and headed to the park. 

"Do you want a hot dog?"
"Do you want chicken?"
"Where's Captain Kindergarten?" 
"Do we have forks?"
"Do you want to sit in my lap?"
"Who needs something to drink?"
"You have to finish your lunch before you go play."
"Where did you put the stroller?"
"Two more bites."
"Sidekick Sister you don't have to be afraid of him, he's one of Daddy's friends."
"Let me open that for you."
"What do you need?"

Most of that got said before Spouse-the-Hungry and I got a bite in.

After lunch we played on a giant bouncy slide.  Even the casted Sidekick got in on the fun.  I pushed her up to the top of the slide by grasping her casted leg and pushing up.  Once I got up to the top with her she climbed in my lap and we slid down the yellow plastic together with super-grins on.  All of us except poor, jailed-in-the-stroller Baby Girl went on the slide over and over and over and over again.  After that we wore out the playground equipment until Baby Girl loudly announced that she was one-hundred percent done and ready to sleep.

Then one of us cried and was miserable and said it was a horrible day because he didn't want to go.

By the time we got home it was only 3:30pm.  Baby Girl napped and I started in on making some applesauce from mounds of .87/lb apples.  Spouse-the-Ever-Projected went off to the store again with Little Linebacker in tow while the Sidekick and C.K. helped me spin apples on our fancy shmancy apple corer.

The thrill of applesauce making eventually waned and cinnamon was accidentally tossed all over the kitchen during a chase.  The Sidekick let out a scream as she slipped in the cinnamon and went down hard on her arm.  I cozied her up in a chair and then went back to my applesauce that looked all wrong.  Then C.K. let us all know that life was a boring thing.

So I turned on a show and all was right with everyone.  And the internet told me how to make my applesauce better.  But I needed to make dinner in the mess of apples and peelings and seeds and bottles and boxes and cinnamon.  Spouse-the-Returned came in hungry and tired and children were hungry and also tired and I was making applesauce and dinner and a mess in the kitchen all at once with the nagging feeling that I needed to immediately make everyone not hungry or tired. 

Then Little Linebacker made a naughty choice and pushed his Dad too far.  Little Linebacker is a gem of a happy boy, but stubborn when he chooses - so darned stubborn.  He dueled his Dad to the finish so both came to dinner ten minutes after the rest of us blessed it.  I could see that Spouse-the-Organized was overwhelmed with my mess. 

Then the Little Linebacker laughed at dinner and we started to get better.  Jokes were made.  Spouse-the-Boy-Who-Loves-His-Children gathered up the sleepy Linebacker after dinner and gave him some special time of his own.  They cuddled together in the boys' room until their four eyes were closed.  Two were asleep before I'd finished the dishes.  SKS and CK bounced around the house with Baby Girl trailing after until I growled at them to come for prayers.  Then it was articles of faith, prayers, brushing teeth and stories with the three left awake all cuddled around me.  Then two more were gone with just a Baby Girl left to rock to sleep.  She went nice and easy in the glider in my room. 

And then there was one left to think what a day, what a hill and valley of a day, what a wonderful, normal, crazy, human, family kind of day it was.