I Like to Leave the Planning to Someone Else
Monday, January 24, 2011 at 8:33PM So, we have been back in Dallas for two weeks, and in our new home for that long. Before I left Florida I spent a couple of nights (with the two kids who were not in New York) at Wendy's house. (That's my sister-in-law.) I had spent a lot of time there over the previous three weeks, with the kids playing. We had talked a lot about cleaning up the post-Christmas mess, and we actually did a little bit of that (I broke down a ton of boxes...it was good practice for the ocean of boxes that was going to be headed my way) and I helped clean up packaging and stocking stuffers that had been strewn all about as though a tropical storm had surged through the lower level of her house. During those final days, though, she made a proposal. A challenge, of sorts. She had a plan.
Her proposition? That we pretend like we're grown-ups for one month. (A whole month, not just the rest of January.)
We never spent a solid amount of time hammering out the details. What exactly would that look like? Getting up when our kids got up (or, goodness gracious, before?!)...being prepared for and actually cooking meals (I don't think either one of us cooked a single meal the entire time we were in Florida; Mike's mom cooked. She actually likes it.)...going to bed at a decent hour? All of these things were probably floating around in both of our heads, but we were also busy drinking sweet tea and cleaning up her daughter's bedroom. The decisions we had to make regarding so much doll and horse paraphernalia, so many ribbons and bags, you will never know.
When we parted ways at the airport it was with an unspoken understanding that we would, indeed, give this grown-up thing a shot. Since I've been home we've talked a few times and
FAIL.
Hopefully she will not think that is a totally unjust assessment. It is mostly of my end of the deal. We have shared some laughs regarding our efforts, or lack thereof. Or at least regarding the unsuccessfulness of our efforts. The pinnacle of achievement here was the day we all slept through alarms, Christian woke me up at 8:37 (his school starts at 8:30), and by the time Mike got him, along with Michaela, out the door and to school (Michaela was going to do some work in Mike's office), Christian's school day was over. It was an early-release Wednesday.
So, I took the kids bowling. We went looking for a strike that was not only acceptable but desirable, unlike the giant one that we had managed to acquire that morning.
Speaking of strikes...can I go on one from this grown-up gig? Oh, I have to actually be a grown-up before I can go on strike? Ah. I guess that does make sense.
I've never been one for logic and rational thinking, though.
Today I feel like I took a small step towards being a grown-up. I got up and got Christian to school. (Mike actually woke Christian up. He is much better at that than I am. With me, it's all Armageddon-like, so I'll leave that job to the dad.) (I was not in a good mood anyway, since I had to put my contacts in as soon as my feet hit the floor. Both pairs of glasses that I have are broken.) (Ridiculous, I know.) Getting out the door and driving did not make me feel GREAT!, but I have to admit that by the time I was headed back home (I also had to get gas), it was closing in on 9am and it's just hard to feel sorry for someone that they are up by that hour. Even when it's myself. (Sort of.)
I can't say that the rest of the day went perfectly splendidly wonderfully, and was amazingly fulfilling. (That would be something, wouldn't it?!)
But it was a start. Alas, the secret is out...the key to getting me going in the morning is for me to take Christian to school. Don't tell! I'll never get out of doing it now.
Reader Comments (7)
Well, truth be told, I'm not doing so great in the grown up department either...you still cannot walk through the mudroom and the mail pile is threatening to topple onto the floor. But on the positive side, I've cooked a real dinner almost every night. Vegetables and everything.
I'm still drinking my sweet tea; it's about the only thing that kept me going today. Tonight I will go to sleep earlier!
Thanks for your help cleaning up around here...maybe you can come back for another "vacation" again soon. ;)
Wish I had passed on my planning/organizing skills to you. Or was it my procrastination skills? I forget. Also, the grown-up thing isn't all it's cracked up to be, but somebody has to do it. So go get 'em, girl. Love you. Diddy
Yeah, the whole "grown up" gig is highly over rated.
I can relate. If I don't get up and out of the house on Saturday, I do nothing all day and feel like a failure. But if I get up and go to the gym first thing, I get much more accomplished throughout the rest of the day. It seems that the more I have to do, the more I get done (sounds like a Yogi Berra line). Do you know what I mean?
The whole grown up deal is hard. I keep telling myself how much better I'll feel if I get up at least 1/2 hour to an hour before I need to start work and before kids get up just to get a few moments to clean up the kitchen, make coffee etc, maybe, just maybe get a workout in. Not happened yet. Humm...Maybe next week. (P.s. I do like to cook, so at least there is that right??).
This made me laugh! I don't want to grow up!!
Being a grown-up?
That sounds vastly overrated.