electric boogaloo

I complain too much lately. It’s stress and tiredness and what? Oh, just habit maybe. Little kids are hard work and it’s easy to complain about that. They pee on themselves, they need help with everything, they argue, they needlessly compete with each other, they complain and they climb on you and talk too loud and generally act like the sales force at any decent-sized software company.

But the truth is that this is a sweet life. The train goes by our window every hour, and it would mark time passing through the day if the trains sounded different from each other in any way, or if it mattered very much what time it was.

This morning Nicolaus ran into our room. Bad dream. “We were all at an aquarium and it was really cool until I looked at the floor and realized the floor was wet. Then pretty soon it was all flooded because a tank had a giant crack in it somehow, and there was this huge freaky fish. It was like an angler fish but much much bigger. And it attacked me and bit my shoulder. So papa and Daddy ran and grabbed their shotguns and started shooting the fish. But we knew that it would only die if it got shot six times and then another six times and then stabbed with a knife. So they used all of their bullets and it’s a lucky thing I always carry my knife so I could — you know — stab. But the weird thing? And the reason I’m so freaked out? Is after I woke up, now my shoulder really hurts. And the hurting is starting to spread, over to my arm and back here and my back and the painful part is spreading. It’s just like the Roman empire, you know? It’s trying to take over my whole entire body.

So can I sleep with you?”

But instead of going back to sleep, we got up. I went to soak in a nice hot bath while Nicolaus and Kevin sneaked into the kitchen and made breakfast for me.

I never get to bathe in peace but really, so what? Nicolaus came back and forth to complain cheerfully about his father. In fact it wasn’t complaining so much as reporting (cheerfully) on his shortcomings. As a father. Maybe he thinks Mother’s Day means a day to celebrate moms as opposed to dads? Not sure.

In any case the bath was nice, the whole morning was nice and really if I think about it? The whole week was nice. Yeah, we have our grumping hours but really overall things are good. My family is good, people are mostly good. My kid thinks he has the answer to the crisis in Burma and is teaching his bird about why the people of ancient Assyria revolted. My other kid is talking in such a high pitch that no one can hear him. But his mitten hand is moving and looks to be talking about something very exciting.

Anyway, my inlaws are here and I need to go outside and be sociable but just wanted to post quickly and say that even the hectic crazy oh my GOD are you seriously dumping rice on the floor for no reason days are nice.

Oh and Nicolaus wants to tell you all something about his mother because it’s mother’s day which is all about respecting mothers:

Tiffany had a yummy breakfast. (And Mama you seriously did have a yummy breakfast.) She is a great mama because everything she does is usually perfect. Like for example. If she makes me a costume with a belt? And I need a certain kind of belt for my costume? She does a perfect job.

Whether or not you are technically a mother, I hope your day today is perfect.