mom, mom, mom, mom....

"Will it be too warm for this jacket tomorrow?" "Can you read this book to me?" "What's for dinner?" "Can I use your phone? your computer? your camera?" "I need more underwear." "I need new sneakers." "I want a new sports bra." "When are you going to the store?"

My head is spinning. so many questions, so many requests....

In my heart, I am not sick and tired of my children....but oh my goodness I find myself getting irritated!

Just think to be patient and longsuffering, so that Mom doesn't have to yell, "OKAY! I HEARD YOU!", or "if you MOM me ONE more TIME!..."

Sunday evenings mean making sure I look at school folders that were brought home on Friday, all fat and full of important papers. I have been known to look through these folders on Monday morning though, and the world didn't end.

Sunday evenings usually mean showers for little ones. And earlier bed times to try to make up for the late bed times on Friday and Saturday.

Tonight we had a delicious dinner. Marinated chicken breast cooked in Teryiaki sauce, stir fried veggies, and basmati rice. Oh, it was good. There isn't enough for another dinner, but Abigail and Paul have enough for lunch....We had quite a table full for dinner tonight...Paul and I, Abigail, Mirielle, Joseph, his friend Nate, Samuel, Margaret, Kathryn, Evelyn, Suzanne, Sonja, her friend Irene, Jonathan, Charlotte Claire, Camille, and Ashley. And we saved some for Aaron, who is working at the store in town.

I am going to do something bad this week. I am going to let my children skip a day of school to go to the museum of play. Can you believe that there really is such a place? It is close to my heart, this museum. I LOVE it there. Well, here is the letter I won't be writing to the school...

Dear Nurse and Teachers,

My children were not sick yesterday. I know it illegal in the State of New York to let children skip school to go to a museum with their mom and have tons of fun and dress up in American Girl clothes and play old fashioned house with their sister Margaret playing the upright piano in the pretend parlor, and put on plays on the miniture stage and cross the bridge in the Land of Make Believe and make crowns in the craft corner and shop at the miniture grocery store and try to make the totals as large as possible, but I did it anyway. I let them race miniture cars and go in the sideways house and take the time capsule upstair to see the collection of toys and lunchboxes that were familiar to me in the 70's. I let them play with Duplos and Dance Revolution and go on the little choo choo train. I let them sit in Elmo's taxi and look at books and see the huge fishtank full of tropical fish. I let them explore the airplane replica and send letters in the pretend post office and dance in the shadow room.

There was a really good reason, Nurse and Teachers, for me letting them skip school yesterday to do this fun thing. See, I was GOING to take them last Friday, on Staff Development Day, a legal day off from school....but...I got my van stuck in the mud next to the driveway. And my niece's husband was going to come tow me out, but a lady went right on red and hit the back of his truck...so I had to wait until Paul came home to help push the van out. I have too many children to have taken just the minivan, Nurse and Teachers, so we didn't get to go. Our membership runs out at the end of the month, and the weekends are SO busy it is hard to find a parking spot for our huge van. Margaret doesn't have school on this particular day because she isn't participating in the field trip to Washington D.C., which costs $400, so she won't be really skipping school. Ashley also has no work that day, so it will work for us. I promise you the kids will learn a lot....And I am sorry that this is an illegal excuse. Please do not call the cops on me.

Sincerely,

Della M. W.



Think I'll get arrested?