A Day Off...?

I had a day off work Wednesday, because one of the kiddos was home sick with a fever. It was one of those pesky fevers that would subside with Tylenol, but spike back up when it wore off. Despite feeling crummy, he was a trooper and put up with me pushing fluids on him all day long. We all have our vices. I happen to be a hydration freak. Bless his heart.

So, on my day "off," one might think I lounged on the sofa with the boy, watching movies and interesting shows on The Food Network, on say... ice cream. (Which we did, and now I'm craving ice cream.) Nope. Instead, I waged a full-force attack on the laundry piles haunting my sons' rooms. Then I marched boldly into the 9-year-olds' room, took a deep breath and opened the closet. To say this small space was a disaster is an insult to disasters everywhere. Catastrophic would be more the word. Clearly, they had about three times as many clothes in there than they wear on a daily basis. Where these clothes came from, I have no idea. It's like they were breeding in there. T-shirts, sweatpants, shorts,... ugh. Half of the stuff was partially stacked, the other half gasping for a last breath on the floor. The pregnancy "nesting" phase has kicked in, so I went to work. Picture the Looney Toons Tasmanian Devil cleaning a closet. In about an hour, I had most everything done, with separate piles on the floor for donating, eBay and passing down to their litlte brother. When all was said and done, I stepped back and texted my husband: "You won't BELIEVE how the boys' closet looks now!" I'm sure he'll agree it looks a ton better, but probably had to be there to fully experience the satisfaction and emotion I felt. How sad that a cleaning a closet fills me with such glee.

I did manage to sit down every now and then to rest, and give my legs a break. Just the day before, I discovered to my shock and dismay... varicose veins. In the past two pregnancies, I hadn't experienced even the slightest problem with them. Now, on the fast train to 40, apparently it's time. Waking up one morning and noticing a "bruise" on the back of my leg that looks like someone took to it with a lead pipe was a bit horrifying. The aching pain that has accompanied them is irritating at best. So, I brought basket after basket of laundry to fold and keep Jack company in the family room. We chatted. We watched a Harry Potter movie, and he was so inspired to pick up the last book in the series and begin reading. It was a dreary, rainy day ... and while I know I had a list of assignments to jump on at work ... I'd have rather been nowhere else.

So, yes -- my day "off" managed to morph into a day where I work myself silly at home. So much so, that at 8pm, after getting dinner around and cleaning the kitchen, I cozied up on the sofa with all the boys and found an interesting program on the science channel to watch. Whether it was a result of the day, or the fact that I wasn't charmed by the "rod phenomenon" (study of mysterious "rod shaped" objects caught on photo and tape for decades) I promptly fell asleep, waking at 9pm to get the boys off to their own beds. By that time, they had become enthralled with "Survivorman," and the fact that he fashioned the flame-blower from a hot air balloon into a defense weapon against predators on African plain. (Namely, lions.)

Now THAT'S a good day's work, as well!