today!

This is my favorite time of the day, the quiet hour. The three teenage high school girls are out the door, the dogs have been out twice and fed, played with, petted, and are snoring on the couch. The fake heater is humming, it's realistic flames cozying it up in here while it snows like crazy out the window. The little girls spent the night at Margaret and Adrian's, and Jonathan is still in bed, reading, "The Lord Of The Rings". Kathryn has the day off from her job at the grocery store in town so she's sleeping in, and Joseph is in his room.

I am supposed to have the van to the shop in town in four minutes, for an oil change. It ain't gonna happen. I cannot bring myself to hurry out into the snow just yet. I haven't enjoyed this quiet hour enough.

I did not get enough sleep last night, thank you Duke. I stayed up too late, then he woke me up at 5:15. Barking. Every few minutes, getting closer together and louder, until I get up and let him out. It's like hearing a newborn making that scratching sound on the sheet, then whimpering, and you're like, "please just go back to sleep...", then they start to cry...but letting the dogs out isn't like snuggling and feeding a warm fragrant baby. The floors are cold, and my bed is warm. I fully intended to go back to bed, and I did get back under the warm covers for a while, but sleep didn't find me. Then I remembered I really needed to get up with the high school girls because they are going out and about with Emily this afternoon, and I wanted to give them a little bit of money.

It's good I got up with them. One of them started crying, her friends at school simply won't talk to her. So I made sure she had a good lunch, at least. And I reminded her that she would be having fun after school with Em and her sisters.

Today's my day for going out and about, getting Jonathan a haircut and some swim shorts. He's growing up and growing out of everything, and the next boy older than him is Samuel, 21 years old in the Army, I certainly didn't save his old clothes for Jon. So Jon gets everything new, ha, except for what we get at thrift stores. (lucky Jon, he comes after the five-girls-in-a-row, and before Char and Cam).

Tomorrow I have to stay home during the day because of the refrigerator repair. And Saturday, we leave for Florida! We aren't leaving until the afternoon because Paul is leaving for India, and I have to bring him to the airport. I am counting on the refrigerator being fixed, so I can buy some food for the kids who will be home.

Anyway. Never a dull moment. I should really get moving, I guess...blah, I don't want to.