Calendar

I love turning over the new page in the calendar - all those blank squares ready to be filled up with fun things. I do have to fill them up, too, otherwise I get swept up in the minutia of every day life - mainly housework - and I forget to DO things. To SEE my kiddos, to actually sit down and play with them, which I basically never do. Such a waste.

Today I was carrying down a big basket of clothes to be sorted into our many, many clear bins of outgrown or "I'm not going to wear THAT" (from Bree, naturally) clothes that line the walls of our basement storage space. The girls were playing in the playroom (also located in the basement) and all three of them rushed to the stairs when they heard me coming, wanting to know if I was coming to play. Which I basically never do. And all three of their faces, all with the same expression of hopeful, delighted surprise. It broke my heart, y'all.

So this week, we have three days off and I'm going to stifle my claustrophobia and spend all my time down there. We're going to PLAY. At our house. All day long. There might be art projects involved, but not the kind that include studying famous artists first, or using new art terms. We might play Wii for HOURS, and then watch a movie. There is a high likelihood of forts.

After this week, I will try and figure out how to keep my house clean when it so desperately wants to be a filthy mess, and how to keep my body strong when it so desperately wants to look like a potato, and how to keep my kids' buckets filled when they so desperately want just me, my time and attention. I have to remember that I didn't give up a career or outside-this-home life for a gleaming hardwood floor or ironed pillowcases, it wasn't so that my husband could have an easier life and be able to focus on his job and school, it was so in our family, there would be a parent (me) at home raising our own kids. All the time. And that's worth the calendar blocks.

**Update** I posted a picture of our November calendar but then I realized that's dumb and not safe at all. I mean, only ten people view this page on any given day, but one of those ten might be a creepy stalker so you never know.