This morning:
Milo woke me up.
Told Milo to shh and turned on the TV.
Went back to sleep.
Tess woke me up.
Got up.
Read email.
Made breakfast.
Made appointment for Max.
Sent kids outside to get rid of 10 day old Easter eggs.
Called them back inside 3 times.
Got girls started with school.
Told Milo to get dressed.
Nursed Tess.
Ate breakfast.
Helped Emeline with math.
Gave Tess a bath and dressed her.
Put Tess in bouncy seat and took shower.
Opened bathroom door to Clementine standing with Tess.
“She was crying.
Tried passy.
Still cried.
Called Nana.
Wasn’t home.
I’m hungry.”
“Eat lunch.”
Nursed Tess, rocked her to sleep.
Put her in bed.
Dried my hair. Put on makeup.
Checked google reader.
Kids escaped to trampoline.
Called kids in.
“Just 5 more minutes?”
“10 and that’s it!”
Read more on google reader.
Called kids in.
Read history. Cortez conquers the Aztecs.
Packed diaper bag.
Told kids to do chore packs.
Found Milo muddy and wet outside.
Told him to change clothes.
Told girls to brush their hair.
Asked Emeline if she had brushed her teeth today.
“No.”
This Afternoon:
Grabbed a Rice Crispy Treat and a Coke for lunch on the road.
Buckled Tess in car seat.
Made sure 4 kids and 1 dog were in the car.
Drove to the vet.
Waited.
Read a Lost Dog poster
Lost Chihuahua. Light green collar.
Read a heartworm poster.
Read about ticks and fleas. Called them flicks and teas in my mind.
Listened to a man recount accident with his dog.
Listened to the vet say it needed an X-ray.
Waited.
Watched Max get shots. Paid vet $32.00.
Cleaned Max’s vomit out of the van floor with napkins, baby wipes and a Walmart sack.
Drove north.
Saw a chihuahua with a light green collar in the middle of the road alive eating a dead animal.
Called vet.
Arrived at my dad’s house.
Sat and talked outside.
Looked at his beautiful roses: yellow, red and yellow and pink.
Watched a woodpecker in the tree.
Kids played in his minnow-filled outside bathtub with nets.
Milo called them Memos. Imagined people sending Memos at work. Laughed.
This Evening:
Drove south and then west. Made 3 phone calls in the car.
Went inside the house. Left Tess in car asleep with door open.
Peeled potatoes and put them on to boil.
Told Clementine to mix a cake.
Went back out to get Tess.
Took her to my mom’s.
Ran back home to cook.
Fried fish.
Baked cake.
Creamed potatoes.
Cooked baked beans.
Cleaned kitchen.
Mom brought Tess home on the golf cart.
Clementine carried her in:
“She was crying.
Threw a fit at Nana’s.
Smiled when she saw me and then cried again.”
Nursed Tess.
Passed her to Clark.
Finished preparing supper.
Guests arrived.
Ate and talked.
Held a tiny baby. Marveled at how quick they grow. Can’t remember Tess being small.
Kids ran in and out.
Men played Wii golf.
Women tried to talk over noise.
Nurse babies. Comfort cries.
Guests leave.
Talk to Clark.
Cuddle with Milo in chair.
Do phonics lesson with Milo.
Read a book to Milo.
Send kids for baths.
Just a little while ago:
Nurse Tess.
Girls fold laundry on couch.
Clark goes to bed.
Milo goes to bed.
Rock Tess.
Send girls to bed.
Put Tess in bed.
Kiss girls goodnight.
Put away laundry.
Blog.
Originally published, April 2009
Melissa Stover writes at http://afamiliarpath.com/
I'm a mother of 4 kids in Arkansas who takes pictures for fun, reads compulsively and writes to remember.
I live in a small, rural town in Arkansas surrounded by pastures and woods instead of McDonald’s and Pizza Huts. Some days I would trade you my country life for your fast food, but most of the time there's no place I'd rather be.
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