While The Kids Are Away.....

Eric and the children had glowing reports from school yesterday. Eric is excited about his classes. Ty said he had never made so many new friends in one day. Tess talked about all of her new chums like she had known them for years (I'm not surprised). Amelia couldn't remember her playmates' names (I'm not surprised), but she was excited about them none-the-less. After supper she asked for a hot glue gun so she could make something for her new teacher.

After waiting for news during the eternity that was yesterday, it was a relief to learn they had all had such a favorable experience. I know that every day this year might not be as wonderful as the last but as Mary Poppins  says, "Well begun is half done". It means so much to start off well.

What did I do all day long while they were at school and Dinah was at Papa's? I'm glad you asked. I'll tell you.

I came back home after I dropped Dinah off to let Emily get going. Granny had finished breakfast, her devotion and her newspaper. Emily informed me that the only trouble they had was an uncomfortable question that Gran had concerning a topic in the "Dear Annie" column. I will now have to proof the paper and black out all articles that might be a bit awkward to explain to one's 85 year-old grandmother.

Gran went to her room and settled in to her comfy chair. Granny eats lots of sweets. She never feels like eating a real meal. I offer her a plate full of vegetables and meat and she says, "I don't want that. Just something little...like a cookie". I try not to make issue of it until she has consumed the equivalent of a pound of sugar and nothing else. Because when I'm her age and waiting for Jesus to call me home, I think I'll be the same way. In between fetching her coffee and cupcakes, I was free to do what ever I needed to do.

I could no longer put off all that cleaning that I needed to do. I attacked the laundry first. It says something about one's wash load when it is one's dream not to have granite countertops or master suite but to have an enormous laundry room with two washers and dryers.

After the laundry closet was rocking, I moved on to dusting. I've been sneezing ever since. I had on black yoga pants. They became polka dotted black yoga pants because balls of dust clung to the fabric. (I never get to the dusting when the kids are home. Keeping the house picked up, floors swept and dishes done is about all I can manage. The dust doesn't seem to mind waiting patiently.)

The next item to clean was the fish bowl. We acquired a gold fish a few months ago when the girls won one at the fishing rodeo that the church sponsors. (Thanks, JJ.) I think fish are beautiful. I like to look at other people's fish tanks. But when one comes into our house (especially a gold fish) I don't see a fish. I see failure.

This time we have done much better than in the past. Tess and Amelia have been tending the fish carefully. Tess has been cleaning out the bowl on a regular basis when I don't get to it. The problem is that it doesn't stay clean long and then the water stinks. I thought I smelled something on Monday and yesterday morning as I spent more time in that room, I realized it was indeed the fish bowl.

I took Claire into the kitchen and talked with her as I worked on her home. I washed my hands and did some other things in the kitchen while I waited for her to adjust to the new water temp. I ate a gummy worm in front of her without thinking and felt the need to apologize to her. Then I thought, "She really liked her flakes." She probably didn't even like worms. So I ate another. (Don't you talk to your fish too?)

After I finished cleaning, I placed her rocks, her weed and herself back into the bowl and put Claire back in her place. I fed her and then went on to cleaning the floors. I didn't think about her much after that except that I knew that Tess would be appreciative that I had helped her out with that chore.

In the evening, I noticed Eric standing in front of Claire's bowl and I wandered over there to let him compliment me on how her bowl sparkled. I said something about how quickly her bowl got dirty. He just kept looking as I kept talking. I paused and he said, "She's dead."

I did a double take. She was indeed very still.

"What! She was fine today! And I cleaned her bowl like I always do. I made sure she got used to her water."

"Well, she is still dead."

I had really thought we had turned a corner when it came to fish keeping. We are still just fish killers.

The girls heard and came running.

"Oh, Claire!"

"Poor Fishy!"

I began apologizing. (I did not want to promise to buy a new one. But that is what you do when they cry and are upset, right? You say you are sorry. Acknowledge that no other pet could replace the beloved pet that they lost. But, after some time, if they felt like they could love another, you would let them pick out a new one.)

They just stood there looking for a moment until Tess said, "I get to flush her."

Amelia whined, "But you got to last time."

"It's going to be a lovely funeral," Tess said excitedly.

That response made me feel glad I hadn't told them we could get another. When they asked, I firmly told them "NO".

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After the passing of Claire, I began filling out all of the school forms in triplicate.

The forms, while I know they are necessary, just highlight my inadequacies in my memory and as a mother. (It doesn't take much to highlight my inadequacies, even small fish can do it.)

I have to keep asking the kids,

"What day is your birthday?"

"How old are you?"

"What grade are you in?"

"Pull that card back out and make sure I checked Female instead of Male."

I haven't even tried to remember their social security numbers.

I REALLY, REALLY love my kids. I think maybe the forms make me nervous. Like its a test. It's amazing how many numbers are associated with a person and I have so many to remember.

At one point after I had asked one such question of Tess, she said, "You are getting like Granny." as I stated simultaneously, "I'm getting like Granny." She laughed. I sighed.

I'm only 34. Odds are, I have a lot more life to go through. If having all these kids has taken my memory, I pray at least one of them will take care of me.

How did you spend the time while you waited for your little ones to come home?

Fish bowl and accessories available for anyone who needs them.