this woman’s work

This here? This is the ellipictal trainer my mom LOANED me (see mom? I remember it’s just a loan!). I don’t have the plug for it yet so I worked out on it without resistance, which obviously is a pretty dang low key workout but you do it fast enough and your heart rate will get up there. I woke up this morning knowing that I was going to get on it come hell or high water and I wasn’t going to let any stupid little forgotten power cord screw it up for me! Brett will pick it up later this week when he heads over to paint my mom’s kitchen. (He is a gem!)

This is my first chance to get down to my desk because I had my sister’s kids for the morning/afternoon. The boys disappeared into the basement but the girls bickered and bickered and bickered. And flounced out of the room at each other. And came whining to me. Then made up and put on princess dresses and danced around until it was time to bicker again. Bicker. Flounce. Whine. Dance. Repeat. That was my afternoon. Also? Nobody liked my PB&J stromboli. Next time I’m making them boxed Mac & Cheese. Hmph. (Actually I didn’t love the stromboli either so I won’t hold it against them. I’ll hold it against Donna’s Day although there’s no one to blame but myself for making the dough from scratch. What a time-wasting fool am I.)

I don’t think they fight as much at my sister’s house and I think this is because 1) Madison isn’t as good at sharing as Lucia is; 2) my sister plays with them or at least sets them up with stuff. I generally don’t do this. For a former preschool teacher I have a remarkably low patience level for playing with kids. I’m a great one for rolling my eyes and saying, “Work it out yourselves! I didn’t take your tiara!” I’m a reluctant referee.

To be fair to myself, I had a rotten evening with my own girl-child. She woke up an hour after she went to bed and stayed awake until after midnight so I was burned out as soon as I rolled out of bed this morning (naturally, she rolled out of bed with me and followed me around chattering while I groped for the coffee).

But now — ENDORPHINS! I love my kids! I love babysitting! I love my messy house and messy kitchen and the funny way my garbage disposal smells and the pile of dirty dishes I have to deal with before I can cook diinner! That, my friends, is the miracle of endorphins. It’s like crack only good for your heart!

My dad: I mentioned yesterday that my dad gave me a pep talk, which was just what I needed. My dad is a financial planner (here’s his linkedin) and he cut his teeth as a door-to-door insurance salesman. He knows from hustling and working on commission and not letting the bad days stop you cold. He knows a lot about marketing and networking and all the things I’m trying to learn. A pep talk from him includes stellar advice and encouragement.

(As some of my longertime readers know, my dad and I have had our issues. One of the latent consequences of Brett losing his job and me going out on my own this past year and a half has been to help me build a positive, nurturing and loving relationship with him. Thanks corporate lay-offs!)

My mom: I can always count on my mom to boost me up and cheer me on. She’s my biggest fan. Just knowing I can call her anytime is enough to make me not need to call her, you know? Unconditional love that I can take for granted — well, I know that’s made me the woman/mother/writer I am. PLUS! She has this fantastic elliptical machine that’s gym-quality that I’ve been nagging her to loan me for years. (She used to use it a lot but doesn’t so much these days.) I nag her out of habit now because she always rolls her eyes at me. But guess what! You guessed it! She’s loaning it to me ’til she retires (a couple years away) and that means: ENDORPHINS! Yes, my friends, a steady workout is in my future! Our own elliptical trainer is getting noisier and lumpier every time I use it, which precludes using it. Can’t get on when the kids are occupied watching tv because it’s too loud for them to hear the television. Can’t do it while they’re sleeping in the morning or after they’re in bed because it’s loud enough to wake them up (it’s just below their rooms). I get it this Sunday and I am already full of joy just thinking of it!

Brett’s parents: They’ve offered to take the kids whenever I need it and whenever their schedules allow (they’re very busy retirees). I hate to ask because I’m like that but today they called and asked — asked! — to take the kids fishing. As if I’d refuse. This is incredibly fortunate because I have a lot of work and the kids are driving each other nuts so I can’t leave them to kinda play together since I’m breaking up a lot of fights that go like this, “You’re a potato.” “Mommy! Noah called me a potato!” “Rudikins tattletale!” “Mommy! Noah called me a rudikins tattletale!” Then poking/tickling ensues or the dreaded looking in each other’s direction without being invited to look. “He’s looking at me!” “What — I can look!” “AHHH!” “Rudikines potato!” “Mommy!” etc etc etc. Clearly not a day for work.

And this is why the grandparents are at the top of “my god, you are awesome people” list. This is why we’re in Ohio and not in the beautiful Pacific Northwest!!