one rainy wednesday...

A lady sat in her chair with her feet up, sipping coffee slowly so it lasted a long time, because she knew a second cup would be good, but never as good as the first one. Plus, she would disturb the kitten sleeping on her feet if she had to get up and plod out to the kitchen for a refill. So she sipped, and she wasted time on her computer.

She read weight loss blogs. Turns out there are fatter people than me out there, she comforted herself. That thought made her feel too proud though, and almost afraid that she just instantly gained back like fifty pounds for just thinking such a thing. She was encouraged by some of the blogs though, by those ladies who have been so successful, and by the perseverance of those who were in this fight for the long haul.

She also read other blogs written by moms with lots of kids. Oh, recipes and plans and organizing tips...blah.

She read news, too, skipping over the election finger-pointing, crying for the little girl who fell out of the limosine, and delighting in the little girl with Type 1 Diabetes and her new helper dog, a Lab puppy, who can detect highs and lows in sugar levels. She looked up The List on Drudge Report, and said a little prayer for the families of each fallen soldier, looked at his or her picture and guiltily thanked the good Lord that it wasn't her son Benjamin posted on there.

She knew she had sat in her comfy chair for long enough. Her hind quarters, to put it nicely, were getting numb. And there was the matter of The House. It needed her. The bowls from the kids' cereal were still sitting there, and the dryer had beeped, signaling that she needed to take the stuff out before it wrinkled.

There were phone calls to make, too. She hated making phone calls. She was an expert at putting things off, waiting 'til another day. If there were medals for Procrastinators, she would get the gold. I mean, she didn't HAVE to call the orthopaedic office and apologize for missing her daughter's knee appointment last Monday and reschedule. She COULD wait until they called her, or until her daughter started complaining about her knee again. No, she would call. Maybe. And the big van needed to be inspected. The inspection expired in July. But officer, she would say if she got pulled over, I don't like making phone calls!

Then there was Working Out. It hung over her head and bothered her until she actually finished exercising. It didn't even make her feel better to be dressed in her shorts and tank top, because she still did things like call her sister or clean up one little mess in the little girls' room....she needed to get it done, or it bothered her.

She was proud of herself. She had just as good as given one more kitten away! She had to call a girl about the response to her ad, and did not want to, but she did anyway!!! The girl sounded nice, just like her own daughter Mali. Since this lady doesn't like people dropping in, she suggested meeting the new kitten owner half way. Good idea! No strangers dropping in this way. So part of her Friday was planned now.

Well, two of the woman's college kids were up and about, so she was distracted. Her daughter was eating whole grain Rice Krispies with melted peanutbutter, which the lady had bought at BigLot's for half price. The Rice Krispies, that is. Gluten-free. Did regular stores sell these, the daughter wants to know? So since the lady is feeling more guilty than ever for sitting in her comfy chair, since her older kids must surely think she is lazy, she shall get up and stretch and...but dang, she does not want to disturb the sleeping kitten....