It is spring and as the grass gets progressively thicker, so do the dates on my family calendar. This week, I have a meeting, appointment or extra-curricular activity marked on every single day of the week, a relatively new occurrence. Babies don’t play t-ball or need to be registered for Kindergarten! So another aspect of this new phase of my life is beginning. However, I refuse to put a “Mom’s Taxi” sign in the window of my car!
After spending years at home with little ones, it was incredibly refreshing to begin working at the farm. Grown up voices began to replace the indelible strains of Dora the Explorer and the continual loop of alphabets, shapes and colors were replaced with discussions of politics, newspaper articles, and soap opera recaps and predictions. My brain had spent five years existing on what amounts to mental Fruit Loops and suddenly it is savoring thoughts as sophisticated as dark chocolate!
Like a parched throat gulps water, I thirst for adult conversation. I also chatter like a mad squirrel! It’s good to hear my grown up voice using big person words – hey, I AM still in here! That’s a relief! I leave the barn feeling refreshed and ready to be mommy again.
Then Facebook came into my world. Now there is grown up talking and the intelligent thoughts of people I know and can relate to right at my fingertips… OOOOOHHHHHH that is addicting! So this is who I chat with every morning over coffee – and what a wealth of different personalities to choose from, too! 111 of my favorite people, and they never fail to disappoint with their wit, candor and informational posts. If you have a Facebook account, you can almost skip the news. You will find sports scores for your favorite teams, the details on the latest legislation congress is working on, the passing of whatever actor just OD’d, you name it!
When I first logged on, I feared Facebook would amount to little more than a huge time suck! Guess what? It is! I spend too much time on it. But spring is going to force me to cut back. Mom’s going to have to start spending her mornings preparing for the afternoon activities or my children will not get to bed at a time conducive to waking up happy and ready to board the bus in the AM.
As if getting everyone off the bus and ready to go to their respective after school destinations on time isn’t enough of a magic act, I have one other little thing that heightens the degree of difficulty: I must shower before we go!
I am not being a diva here, at all. This is for the public good! Because after spending the afternoon in my most favorite place, I do not smell like anything that blends well in a ballet studio, school or doctor’s office! I love all the great smells on the farm (diesel, silage and boot disinfectant are truly among my faves!) But putting them in any sort of enclosed setting is just wrong… and other people are not nearly as appreciative of those smells as I!
So my shower time begins as an act of public service. Then, as I savor the smells of shea butter and coconut, my shower becomes another time suck. Ooops! I set timers for my kids so they get fair turns playing computer games and their teeth have quality time with their toothbrushes daily. Now the kids are going to have to start using the timer on me! Thank goodness my son is in t-ball – I am much less toxic to the noses of my fellow moms in open-air environments! Luckily, the calendar is full, so I’ll get lots of practice. I’m hoping by the end of May, I’ll have this daily kiddo karting down to a science.
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