Chasing Storms

This week has been exceptionally long and difficult. So far this week, I’ve had to remind my three year old that clothing is not optional (as have her teachers… #nakedgirl), I rebuilt her crib by myself in a 78 degree room with a manual screwdriver at 9pm because someone won’t stay the F in bed, and I’ve had to snot suck B’s nose more times than the nose frieda should have to work. Hubs has had an insane work schedule, as have I, and when that happens, the bulk of childcare falls on me as my career is extremely child friendly. The mom guilt has settled in more than once this week when my kiddos got the short end of the stick as I had some things that had to get done and no way around bringing them with. 

The time after naps but before dinner is like playing roulette. Some days are gorgeous green double zeros that you placed your whole stack on while others are doubled down on black – even and it rolls a red – odd. There is absolutely no way to play the odds at it and it is what it is. Yesterday, I had two errands that HAD to get done before dark fell. It was starting to rain and it was a black – even day. I could tell by the look in S’s eyes as she emerged from her “nap” that the threenager was brewing and I didn’t have much time. I hustled the kiddos into Bertha just as the rain started to fall. 

S and B are harmonious at times. They play off of each other and yesterday in Bertha was no exception. They start chanting “Bakka, Bakka, Bakka” ON REPEAT to each other (Which I have no clue the meaning). I need to act fast if I am going to not lose it and them in the process. Lollipops? (I have a secret stash in the van that is like the “break in case of emergency” glass in action movies). Not gonna cut it and I can’t take brooks being covered in sugar saliva again. Game? Let’s try it. Suddenly, it thunders. And then again. I can hear the kids attention shift from “Bakka” and focus on me for reassurance. So I tell them we are chasing storms. S buys it. We keep driving and she hears the rain. She asks where it is coming from and I tell her up in the clouds. Her brilliant imagination then says “Awwww, clouds, why you crying?” We go on to chase the storms, soothe the clouds, and make it back home in time for me to cook dinner. 

We turned the errands into a storm chase and got done with them much quicker and much less painful than my roulette imagination had anticipated. The kiddos LOVED it and thought it was a game. They learned something about weather and hopefully about their mom and the kid imagination that hasn’t fully left her yet. Today was much like yesterday, except I wasn’t anticipating what the afternoon was going to look like until it had to happen. We chased another storm in Bertha (which involved a heck of a lot more traffic than yesterday). S and B still delighted in it, and I gave into the lollipop as well. (which may explain S taking her shirt off and dancing in the window of the Panera in town…)

By the grace of the mom gods, C called me and let me know that her hubs was caught at work late. OMG the roulette gods were litening. Double green zeros. So we met C and D for dinner at Panera where I could semi sit for dinner, but more importantly, talk to another adult and not have to clean dried yogurt off of all of the kitchen surfaces. 

Here’s the thing: 

-Chase the storm. Make life fun- even when it theoretically shouldn’t be. 

-Say yes. To dinners out, last minute meet ups, coffee, whatever will take that yogurt cleanup off your plate. 

-Keep playing roulette. These days are long, but the years fly by. The good days outnumber the hard ones and the weeks do the same. 

-Sometimes you just have to let your threenager dance in the window while horrifying patrons because your lollipopped her.