DAY FOURTEEN - 14 November 2012
People talk about how lifestyle and food changes have saved their lives, right? Well let me be the first to say that McDonalds has saved my Wednesday night wallet. Not my ass or my cholesterol count, mind you, but definitely my wallet. Wednesday nights are, hands down, the most complicated nights we have- i.e. we don't even go home after school most weeks- so cooking at home is out of the question. We have taken to hitting up the local fast food chow stations (blech, I know), but they are ridiculous in terms of bang for my buck. All of them except for McDonalds.
I can feed the entire family for under $20 off the value menu. Yes, sir...our total yesterday evening came to a whopping $18.20. They still don't beat CiCi's pizza, where we can all eat for $15, but it's pretty damn close AND I can let them eat it in the car (unlike CiCi's...it's definitely easier to clean up a fry mess than a pie mess). I can even forgive the franchise its awful food, Happy Meals, dirty Playlands, and more...how could I not, given the McChicken and the $1 LARGE drinks? For those of you who also do the eat-in-the-car-because-we-have-overlapping-practices/classes-and-this-is-our-only-chance-to-eat routine, I know you can appreciate the sigh of relief from both myself and my purse as we drive away from the drive through checker, sated and not broke (yet).
DAY FIFTEEN - 15 November 2012
Good books. That's all there is to it. Yesterday I learned to appreciate again what it felt like to sit down and become totally immersed in a book. I drew a bath, filled it with bubbles, soaked my aching legs in the scalding hot water, and read until the water was turning my toe blue. I was not reading great literature, it was not a novel for the ages, but it was interesting and fast and filled with characters so close to the hearts of the kids I teach every day that it was all that I could do to put it down - finally - and save the rest for today. Movies are great, hanging out with friends is wonderful, being with your family is irreplaceable, but I am so thankful for that solitary time spent in the bubbles. Alone. With a book. No one yelling. No one talking. Just me. And my book. Alone. (Sorry, I just know it will be years before that happens again, so I need to keep repeating it for fear of forgetting that it actually happened.) With a good book. In a bath. Alone. Quiet....Alone...Reading...
DAY SIXTEEN - 16 November 2012
Black & Decker's Digital Advantage Iron. This modern miracle cut my ironing time in half, didn't spit water, and made perfect creases in Connlaodh's uniform pants. Never would I have guess 20 years ago that I would be thankful for a new iron, but am I ever. I thank you, B & D, and my now neatly pressed oxford thanks you, as well.
DAY SEVENTEEN - 17 November 2012
Today was one of those days wherein it is easy to forget there's a reason we do what we do. The entire day was spent taking care of those items that "had" to be taken care of, i.e. groceries, cleaning, cooking, and errands. It was also one of those days where we did nothing else once the "must-dos" were done; we stayed home, stayed in, and spent the evening in PJ's watching bad movies and eating Chinese food. It was the kind of day that is easy to forget, to shut your eyes on that night without a second thought, to gloss over when someone asks what you did this weekend. This makes it all the easier to forget - on a day such as this one - that each day is worth being thankful for, even the ones that seem so benign and ill-equipped to make a mark on our memory. To find something on a day like this to hold tight and dear can be nearly impossible but, if one looks very hard, even today there was a moment for which to be truly grateful. Zebra cakes. Not the Little Debbie kind, but the kind you make with white and chocolate cake batter, overlapping in the dish, and baking into a zebra pattern. They are delicious and cool to look at, yes, but the moment I think of as that moment was the one in which Connlaodh decorated said cake--- with a little bit of icing and a whole lot of sprinkles. The cake was/is ugly, but the pure joy on his face as he decorated that cake and the leftover-batter's cupcakes was worth the dreary, dull day that lead up to that point. Thank you, yummy zebra cakes, for the slice of brightness that ended my day.
DAY EIGHTEEN - 18 November 2012
Phantom is our youngest dog. He is just over a year old and is ALL puppy. Nine days out of every ten, I am plotting a way to get rid of this creature. He jumps over everything, climbs on the counters, knocks people over, and pees when he's nervous. He has eaten at least six bluetooth headsets, two cell phones, five wired headsets, two pairs of slippers, and numerous shoes, keychains, and bags. He is a runner and thinks it's funny to haul ass out the front door and down the street. He is adorable and sweet, but a freaking menace. He is also, however, more or less Uilleam's litter mate and definitely one of "the boys". Tonight I watched Phantom wrestle with Connlaodh and Uilleam - and by wrestle, I truly do mean flips, head locks, and more- and though aggressive and offensive, nary a hair on the head of either boy was disturbed. Despite bared teeth and spit-covered growls in good fun, that dog knew- just KNEW!- he was playing with his "brothers" and that it was all a good time, a laugh, worth lots of fun and plenty of licks. I don't know who had more fun tonight, the boys or the dog. Either way, just when I think I am ready to leave the damn door open so this beast can escape, he goes and loves on my boys the way he did tonight. With a bit of a grimace--one more like a smirk-- I shut the front door and scratched his head good- night.
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