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June 23, 2006
"Things I Did on My Birthday"
By the Birthday Girl, DEANNA DAHLSAD
I wrote a masterpiece on 'the glories of motherhood' while I collected assorted hidden toys, dirty laundry, unidentifiable food items etc from 'round the house. 'Something something they are cute...' I don't remember most of it... Which is a real shame, because I really needed to know that stuff when I returned with clean load of laundry # 6 to find the the laundry I folded & placed in the baskets for each family member has been met with whines of 'do I hafta' by the children. My face says 'yes' so they proceed to mutilate the folding with shouts of 'hey, this isn't mine' -- full of hope that this means they will not need to put it away.
I ate a slice of cheese - noteworthy because folks from Wisconsin do not eat just one slice.
I rearranged knick-knacks. You call it dusting, but to me, it is an art form - presentation, esthetics, and setting up those vignettes (OK, it's a little like playing with dolls when you get right down to it.)
I made lunch for the kids, but I am still full after my mid-morning cheese.
I wrote the quintessential piece on "why I love my pets" in my head, while I vacuumed and scrubbed the floors. "Something something they are cute...." Again, I don't remember most of it. Which would have been nice to recall when the cats showered me with affection, their fur sticking to my sweaty legs, arms, and of course, the perennial favorite, the face.
I sneezed a few times; damn cat hair.
My body longed for bed, sleep, but I couldn't bear to put this body on top of the freshly laundered sheets (made with laundry from basket number 2) - But there is no time for a nap, not yet.
I sneezed again, this time I think I pulled something. A doosey of a headache looms before me anyway, so I took 3 Advils. I swear I am immune to that stuff. Does cheese counteract drug use?
All the cleaning, sweating, cat fur, sneezing, etc wins; I made the bed and ended up with a shower. I dried off, feeling refreshed. Damn second winds.
I began to work on a sketch for a friend. The fat cat kept trying to lay on my paper, the smaller one batted at my pencils.
Hubby, who was working either on the van or mowing the lawn for most of the day, came in to make dinner for the family, as he usually does, which is nice. Afterwards, I get to supervise children in the kitchen, which is not so nice. I use this break while he cooks to check and delete emails, reply to some urgent ones etc. And what should I find? A lovely birthday ecard!
A card, just for me -- a card extolling my virtues as a special person!
It's a turning point in my day.
I am more than a maid, more than a mom, more than a servant, I am special! I matter!
So when dinner was served, complete with rootbeer floats, I was ready for quality time with hubby and the kids.
No longer did I remember the less-than-satisfactory games of 'what was that?', the seemingly endless loads of laundry, the bickering, the sneezing. All I saw before me was the smiling laughing faces of those that I love.
The pets, each curled up in their own spots, watching for food to drop from the table, were as cute as can be. (I think they even stopped shedding for that period of time!)
It's amazing what a simple greeting card can do.
NOTE: Happy Birthday Deanna, a few days late but not forgotten!"
Posted by photocartoonist at June 23, 2006 6:30 PM