"This is Heidi, please leave a message."
NO!
...swish...swish...swish...swish...
ARRRGGGHHHHH!!!
True life story... this weekend the 7-year old and I were home while the Dad and the big kids went for an overnight road trip on Friday. What I anticipated to be a calm, relaxing 27 hours was more like "Mom, can I...?" "Mom, will you play with me?" "Mom, can I sleep with you?" "Mom, will you read to me?" "Mom, do you want to play a game?" "Mom, can I read to you?" and on and on... apparently, my 7 year old is quite used to having siblings around...
So, having slept with said 7 year old, I was a bit sleep deprived and sluggish on Saturday. It seemed like the normally easy tasks were taking me longer to do... for example, vacuuming. We still have an ancient vacuum that requires vacuum bags. In this home there is apparently an unwritten rule that Mom is the only one who changes the bag. Honestly, Mom vacuums rarely anymore... she tends to delegate that responsibility. However, she forgot to delegate the changing of the bag. Hence... a huge mess as soon as the zipper went down... dust and dog hair EVERY.where... especially all over the mom.
After getting the bag replaced, the mess cleaned up and myself changed, I threw all of my clothes in the washer and started lunch for the two of us.
"I wonder where I left my phone?"
What does this Mom do when she can't remember where she left her phone? She calls it, of course! Using the house phone, I dialed my cell phone and heard...
"This is Heidi, please leave a message."
Voice mail?!? My phone isn't off.... OH. NO! I opened the washer and looked down into a full washer of water.... swish...swish...swish...swish....
Just for the record, a cell phone really doesn't need a bath.
...I tell you this true to life story because on Saturday it was all I could do to give thanks. I guess I really didn't want to give thanks when things, like my phone, kept going wrong. I really wanted to just be mad and to stay in a bad mood. I wanted to stomp my feet and throw a fit but when most of the issues on that day were my fault, who was I going to be mad at?
So, I kept counting and in the counting found joy in a bad day...
... a surprise trip for Emme to see her lifelong friend, Taylor
... safe traveling
... great hospitality from super friends
... a fun road trip
... a Dad who wants to be with his kids
... creating and concocting cookies, bagels and play dough
... snuggle time
... a hand that reached out to hold mine in the dark
... knowing she's only 7 once
... PBS kids
... finding an old phone that will work
... forcing myself to be thankful for said old phone
... great Sprint service people who switched my line over
... realizing a phone is not a necessity of life
... recognizing to give thanks in all circumstances
... a man who brings me a pot of red tulips not quite opened yet
... and candles to put around my bathtub
... and does my shopping for me on the way home
... who missed me
... and who puts up with the absent-minded wife he has
...... no phone = no camera right now... so no pictures : (
Joining in for another Multitude Monday with Ann at www.aholyexperience.com.
