Diary of a Homemaker's Week: Well That Wasn't Planned

 

Saturday:  I had a rare morning alone...or was meant to.  I wanted to write a Coffee Chat, but it proved difficult.  After the fourth erasure,  I decided to have a go at something I could finish and went to the kitchen to clean the fridge, something I typically do on Sunday afternoons.  I was working away when Sam tapped on the door.

Isaac had a tummy virus he said.  Did I have Ginger Ale? It happened I'd just bought some last week on sale thinking of the possible need of sickness when I picked it up.  I offered him Asparagus since I have so much.  He decided to have coffee and take a break while here.  He'd left Josh in charge at the house and given him a phone to text or call if he needed anything.  He sat down and talked and talked and talked.

He's done a lot of talking of late, bringing up things that were hard from the past, talking over his current trials, fumbling his way through parenting solo, and apologizing for former harsh attitudes about circumstances.  I sit and listen because really that's all he wants.  To say out loud all the things swirling around inside his head.

John called shortly after Sam left to say he was on his way home and asked me to get ready to go out to eat.  I'd been planning to eat at home today but he wanted to go out.  We agreed on going northward instead of hitting the usual roadway.   It's always a lovely ride.  All the way up, John talked and talked and talked.  I listened.  It seems to be my role just now.

As we neared the town it became heavily forested and oh the great clouds of pollen everywhere.  It was visibly drifting in the air and I watched as the truck in front of us created a cloud of pollen dust that blew yellow puffs up behind his wheels.

We drove slowly home after we'd eaten.  We took a backroad off the main highway to head across the country to home.  We admired houses with pretty landscapes, new homes, lakes, creeks, and ponds.  We admired our own home as we came up the driveway.    It was good to be home.

Sunday:  Yesterday as John was leaving, I slipped out and pulled some of the golden yellow iris.  I put those in a plastic bag this morning and then in the car.  I was astonished at how cool it was outdoors.  Just 43F.  No wonder I'd felt chilly this morning.  I hurried back indoors and got a sweater to wear.

After church service, I found Angie's husband in the lobby and asked him to come get the iris.  John had stopped to talk to another person.  While I waited for Michael, I sat and talked to another one of our friends while he waited for his family to appear.  In the parking lot, I was amused to see the police officer on duty waving at me, lol.  He and his wife came to the marriage conference we attended in February.

We went to get haircuts after church.  Though there are myriad stoplights on a Sunday morning you can easily ride uptown and out to the base without stopping too often.   Try to do that anytime during the last six days of the week!  It reminded me of the town I knew as a child...

I wanted to go see Caleb this morning, but Sam had gotten Isaac's tummy virus and asked if I'd come to get the kids lunch.  They were hungry today because no one took more than a minute to get to the table.  I set out sandwich-making stuff,  helped them fix their food then left them to eat.  I told Sam I'd purchased a frozen lasagna for him to pop into his oven.  I reminded him to set the timer so it wouldn't burn.  That was lunch and supper taken care of for them.  

Monday:  I was up early this morning and we eased our way through it, having breakfast, reading, and watching TV.   Sam came by after breakfast and sat down to talk until he left for an appointment.  Long before the appointment called to say they were ready for him, I was antsy to get up and go to work.  Today I had made up my mind to get busy with the bread pieces I'd tossed on the counter this morning first thing.  I wanted today to bbananas from the freezer, and the basket of leftovers in the fridge and added those to the bread I'd taken from the freezer earlier this morning.

While Sam was here I got busy and stayed busy, first cleaning up the kitchen and then working on various things.  I prepped tomorrow's dinner ahead, made breadcrumbs, prepped some of tonight's supper ahead and something for lunch.   After Sam went home, I had to clean the kitchen up again.  It was so messy!  Then I settled down in my chair and put my feet up.  

This is one thing I'm especially mindful of on my busy days.  If I sit down, put my feet up, and rest for twenty minutes, I am good to go on to other things.  After John went off to mow the lawn across the field, I got up and made the Banana Pound Cakes.  I forgot to put in the bananas!  I remembered and mixed them in at the end of the mixing.  I'm not sure how these cakes will turn out. Honestly, I was all over the place in the mixing this time around.   And pound cakes can be so persnickety.  I plan to put both in the freezer to hold until the weekend but I'll only bring out one to slice and serve.  Some of my family actually don't like Pound Cake.  I think I need to revoke their Southern Cards.

Tuesday:  We had Millie nearly all day long today.  She's quite happy here and was singing to herself when I came out of my room.  I was showering when she arrived.

I had a few minutes alone when I ran to the chiropractor for my monthly visit.  I listened to my Bible via audio casts this morning on the ride.  

At the chiropractor's office, I found the clerk gone and the doctor's mom running the front desk.  When I asked later about the clerk, I discovered she'd left her job.  This woman is a widow in her 50's.  Her daughter was deployed overseas to serve in Korea for a year and she's keeping the two grandchildren and homeschooling them.  She'd been taking them to work for her but I could tell it was a struggle.   On the ride home, I seriously contemplated whether I'd want the job...

But then I walked into the house and there was Millie.  Grampa was reading her a book (which is hilarious...He adds to the stories).  She adores her Papa.  I made lunch.  We ate.  Millie went into the spare room to nap, but she had quiet time.  

She was most anxious that we get the boys, and we had to explain to her that it wasn't time for them to come home yet more than once.  She wanted to ride in my car to go pick up her brothers.  And in the end, all her plans were spoiled because her daddy returned before it was time for 'the boys to come home.  

It wasn't a great afternoon.  I can't go into details but we have both been triggered multiple times over the past few months by life events.  Today's concerns just added to the stress.  But we all agree that we'll see where God leads this thing.

Wednesday:  Today was all ours.  John always gets anxious when we've had a child too many days.  He seems to fear that we'll become full-time caregivers all over again. He finds the idea of it more difficult when we've had a break from it.  He reminded me yesterday that if the current things went on for ten years he'd be 80 and said "And then what can we do with our retirement?"   

Well...our retirement is no one's concern but ours.  Everyone else sees our life as a long period of free time and is certain it is their duty to see that time is filled up.  I understand how he feels.  I want us to have some 'us' time but I am also aware that right now is the time I'm needed, too.

I'm trying hard to find a balance between meeting our needs and needs in other areas.  Life seldom goes as planned though...and ours most certainly has not!

Thursday:  The day did not go to plan.  

John had scheduled a month ago to have lunch with his former work partner/friend today.  I've had enough of staying home and working, enough of running through the stores super fast.  I wanted to get out of the house, shop slowly and thoughtfully for the few items needed for Family Day this weekend, and just perhaps slip in a little fun shopping in an antique store.

My day began with stupid nightmares that repeated each time I'd doze off again.  I dragged myself from bed and went right to the shower.  Sometimes you just need to wash the residue of crappy dreams off your body as well as out of your mind.

I had a slow cup of coffee.  I sat down with it and took my time sipping it.  I try to make the only coffee I have on Thursday a mindful cup.  After all, I will not have a second chance.  It's one and done.

I picked up the house, and about the time John started getting ready to leave home, I also put the finishing touches on my getting ready.  

This is the point where John and I had a mild tiff.  He, for whatever reason, assumed I'd stay home while he was gone and was rather upset at the idea of missing a day out with me.  I further hurt his feelings by saying it was precisely because he would not be with me that made me want to go.  I could have explained it better, but there we are. I said what I said.  

We argued mildly over it but I was determined to go enjoy my day as I pleased and he huffily agreed.  It wasn't all smoothed over but he was resigned to my going without him.

I hurried back indoors after telling him goodbye with the plans to finish my makeup and leave.  I didn't make it out of the kitchen.  John called to tell me what was in the mailbox (not at all necessary mind you, but he's worried he'll forget it so he tells me so I can remember to ask him if he brought the mail indoors.  And before we said goodbye, I heard a car door shutting.  Sam and Millie had stopped by.

Sigh.

I told him I was leaving shortly but invited them in.  And there we are.  I finished my makeup, played games with Millie, and listened to Sam tell me about his adventures and conversations from the day before.  We all walked out of the house about an hour later.  I made it to the post office before it closed for lunch which was my big goal.  

By the time I reached the next town, I was so hungry.  I stopped at the first restaurant where no one was waiting in line and got lunch.  I drove to the other side of town to eat.  I wish I'd at least gone to the old cemetery and sitting near Elizabeth Slappey.  I haven't been by to visit her in a long, long while.  I looked at the clock and realized that getting groceries was about as far as my day going.  I won't tell you I wasn't disappointed.  I was and am.   But I did get the shopping done and came home.

And here we are.  John arrived minutes behind me.  One day, I will try again.

Friday:  My blogger program now has three grammar/spelling programs running and I can't find where to delete at least one of them.  AI wants to write all my posts.  No doubt I am wordy, and no doubt I tend to write the Southern vernacular that I speak and it's likely not correct but doggone it, I want to write in my own words, not what a computer insists is the only correct way.  

I'm also OCD when it comes to little things, like a rainbow color variety of underlined words correcting punctuation. I'm not sure about some of the AI rules.  I did take grammar in my business courses and AI isn't following the rules I was taught.  Then there is the spelling program for instance...Today the computer insists the word in the previous sentence is 'orrecting' not 'correcting'.  The computer dictionary doesn't recognize perfectly legitimate words.  My blogging platform now has added a program that makes suggestions for restructuring my sentences...It has made me almost hate to write when I open a post that I had written and rewritten the day before and discover that there is now a new variety of things underlined, some of which the programs insisted were correct the day before.  SIGH.

I thought perhaps it was just myself struggling with this, but Sam came in earlier this week upset because he'd written out a resume in August, and submitted to several places at the time.  Now some of those resumes are being returned and he said, "Mama I read through what was sent back and some of those sentences made no sense!  I corrected them using the grammar program and I sound like an uneducated idiot!"   I sighed then too but with relief.  So it's not just myself who finds some of the idiocy isn't mine but is likely those who programmed the AI grammar programs.  

This morning, I had a late start...I swear, I have written that already, but I can't find where it went.  I'll have to re-read this whole post all over again to see what stupidity is on the page...but I've been busy.   

First I went outdoors to clean up the porches which proved to be more of a job than I'd thought I'd have to do.  I knew I would need to wash them both off, but the amount of stuff the children had scattered and the weather had contributed was heavy.  I moved a pile of things that I had gathered at the end of autumn clean-up and had been promised would be removed.  Since that promise didn't manifest, I did it myself.  

I went out to the shed, and got the resin rabbits out.  They are all missing their ears but the children love playing with these little figures and since I can't find replacements they'll do for another year.  It's the tradition, not the condition that matters most to them right now.

I've done several other tasks already but I'm by no means finished.  I have to be all done today by 3:00 or so because we're going to the 5pm service at church this evening.  

It's going to be a busy weekend here and I'm trying to get all I can done so that I can sit and enjoy company and not be caught in the trap of having to do a dozen things and then find I'm clearing up behind meals and everyone is saying goodbye.

And with that last sentence, I'm ignoring all the rest of the rainbow-colored underlining on this post and will end here.  Y'all have a lovely weekend!  I hope yours is sunny and bright and filled with family.

Amazon Associates Affiliate Link:  If you place an order using my Amazon link within twenty-four hours of entering Amazon, I may earn a small commission on qualifying items.  Thank you!