well, I AM busy...

Last night I was trying to read a really good book. It is about a doomed Arctic expedition back in the late 1840's. It is based on a true story. The ships are stuck in the ice, and the supplies are running out....and there are still hundreds of pages to go. Anyway, Camille was still up and I was also reading stories to her, and comforting her when she decided to run speedy-quick across the living room, straight into Paul's guitar, which he was playing, and got herself a bloody lip. Poor sweetie. Anyway...in between talking to people who were still up, probably ten of us, and dealing with Camille, I was trying to read this book. Mirielle was filling out her FASFA forms for college, and Paul asked me, "Why don't you go to school now? Just start with one or two classes, get the basics out of the way, then do nursing school...?" hmmm. "Well," I said, "I'm busy." He said, "You want to adopt a child, but you're busy?"....hmm. "Yes."

Paul thinks that since Camille is two years old, I am not so busy anymore. He forgets that I have to make playdough for Sonja's map project, and take Margaret to the eye dr., and and and....I still am busy. But this mothering thing, I am good at it. I am not so good at the organization and the cleaning, but hugging and rocking and story telling and comforting and feeding and changing and keeping them clean and warm and looking sweet and loved...that is what I like to do. It is the very best part of life. So adopting another child sounds lovely to me.

But taking classes: it was ironic that he suggested it when I had picked up my book to read it like 20 or 30 times, being interupted by so many important little things. Because Mom has to always be alert and on call. I would have to put a computer in the bathroom to do any studying.

So we stayed home yesterday. Well, not all of us. Emily went to Nursing Recruitment to take care of some details because she is starting her new job soon, Abigail went with her friend Esther to look at wedding gowns, not for Abigail, for Esther. Emily made a nice pot of soup from the leftover chicken, and some biscuits (well, they were the refrigerated pop fresh ones, Jon opened them and put them on the tray....)and I took a little "nap", which was just a little uninterupted hour long reading break, in my bed under the electric blanket......oh, yummy, on a freezing cold day, with a book about the arctic......then coming back out to reality and smelling dinner......as Emily says, "Enjoy it while it lasts".....and I do. I did get on the treadmill for a while....so I didn't feel so lazy.

Right now, I have to wash my long tangly hair. We are going out and about, and one of my rules is to never go out with dirty hair. Ever. I might not look like a million bucks, or even a hundred, but my hair will be clean and my clothes clean. My mother used to tell me when I was growing up that my father's mother always said, "Soap and water are cheap. There's no excuse for being dirty.".....I guess my father's family, with 12 children, was very poor, but Ma, as they called their mother, kept that house spotless, and the kids clean and neat. When I was little, my mother always seemed to have a wet washcloth in her purse to wash us up...which was better than the alternative, I distinctly remember her wetting her finger to wipe something off my face. yuck.

Today, we are taking Charlotte Claire and Camille out. They have been inside so much. Joseph wants to go to the mall in the small city because the bookstore is going out of business. I don't like malls, they are depressing and too expensive. Now long ago, this mall had a Kmart in it, that was fun. But now, just Sears....Aeropostale...expensive, but the kids sometimes find bargains....a few other big expensive stores, and some small expensive stores....and the expensive food court.....so, we will take a quick trip to the mall, the maybe to Aldi for more of those oranges, they were so good......and then to Wegmans.....they have the cans of crushed tomatoes for 49 cents, and we need to stock up again. I bought 5 cases over a year ago, and we are running out. I need to get some snacks for school for the kids, and we are out of kitty food (thanks, Rosie).And there is about an inch of milk in the bottom of the gallon, I had to make toast with jam for breakfast for the kids.

Well, I am thinking about signing up to take just one or two classes. It is strange though, for years and years I have just done what I need to do for everyone else, and to do this for me...wow. But it really would be wise, to have that option to work and make some money 5 or so years down the road....even if it was only part time.