I Have To Get Out of Here!

This is what I said to myself yesterday after a long week of school, sickness and cleaning. In fact, my friend, Susi, said it succinctly in her last blog post.

I have come to love being a stay-at-home. It's a blessing I am able to be there for my girls. I would miss so many moments.

But this week did me in. After a long week of dealing with my youngest's cold, the repetition of opening and closing school books, cleaning up after my creative children who have strewn every belonging we have over every inch of 980 square feet, folding laundry, making beds, planning meals, changing diapers, answering questions, I was ready to get out of here!

I've been watching our budget well, eating at home for every breaskfast, lunch and dinner. Which is good. But when you do that every single day, including the weekend, that amounts to a lot of dish cleaning, counter-wiping, and feet tiredness. Especially while pregnant.

In not so many words I told my husband we have to go somewhere. We did. Even though it was 8:00 at night, we had a simple, wonderful family time at Panera Bread. We each chose a baked goody, complete with milk and tea. And just laughed. Laughing felt so good.

This morning, as I woke up, I thought,"I don't know if I can take another day of this mundane routine. What am I going to do?" Which is very strange, because at the beginning of the week, I know what I'm about. And to boot, my life is not mundane. I am extremely busy with two active kids, one on the way. But we all need a change of scenery. Variety is the spice of life, as they say.

So I plugged along, checking my email, helping my daughter with school...until I got a call letting me know I'd missed my chiropractic appointment but could still come in!

We rushed to the appointment. I'm glad I made it, my lower back goes out so easily these days. Since we were right near Target and TJ Maxx, I decided it was a grand plan to return some things, as well as shop for a few needs (okay, and wants!).

Aside: We have, I kid you not, one pair of sheets for our bed. The last pair we had were 600 thread-count and were the best ever. We used them solely, until they bit the dust. Gratefully, I found a nice pair of sheets. Then, I bought a few other linens - some washcloths, a blanket and quilt for our bed. This retail therapy was a good temporary patch.

However, on my way home, I started getting depressed. A message was left on my phone saying we had been picked for a state audit. Wasn't that nice of them? Second time in fiver years, too. I called to appeal, but the tax specialist just chuckled and said, "Just consider yourself lucky?" I didn't find that very amusing. An audit entails much compilation and digging into old files. After that, I found out we have a to pay a large sum for a certain tax. I thought the calculations were off, but after looking into it, found out it was correct. Double frustration.

So, my boring day turned into a depressing one. Which, strangely, was better than being listless? Yes, call me crazy. I guess conflict drives me to resolve. And to get resolve, I must go to God. Is this why God doesn't leave me bored for very long? And when I do feel bored (which is completely and utterly human), I just need to make sure I don't fill it with fluff. Everybody's fluff is different.

Next week will not be boring. You know where I'll be. Digging up all that lovely paperwork and doing last minute data entry. Juggling girls, prego tiredness, and school. I'll be in my cold garage (where our files are stored), inwardly crying out,

"I have to get out of here"!

Next time, I will be glad for boredom :)