The day didn't get off to a very good day. Chuck was so tired from camping for two nights with his friends (ahem) in the rain (must have sucked, honey) that he awoke looking like a slitty-eyed serpent. Our morning hello went like this:
Me: You sleep in. You're exhausted.
Chuck: No, you sleep in [yawn]. It's [yawn] Mother's Day.
Me: Well, if you insist.
Chuck: I [yawn] do. It's [yawn] Mother's Day. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Me: Are you actually going to go back to sleep? Didn't you sleep in on your camping trip?
We both got out of bed.
The kids woke up off. Everything turned into a bickering match.
Junior: Everett hit me with his spoon. Mom, he hit me!
Everett: No I didn't! You're lying!
Junior: You did so! I have a mark on my leg.
Everett: No I didn't! You hit me!
Chuck: Guys [yawn] c'mon! It's [yawn] Mother's Day.
Junior: Everett hit me! No one ever believes me.
Everett: No I didn't! You're lying!
Junior: You did so! I have a mark on my leg.
Everett: No I didn't! You hit me!
Chuck: Guys [yawn] c'mon! It's [yawn] Mother's Day. Zzzzzzzzzzz.
Junior: Did Dad just pass out on the floor?
Somewhere in there Cam cried about nothing and everything. The weatherman admitted that the rain would continue until next month. The dog chased a squirrel into the swamp. Junior had a cowlick I couldn't brush out. There was clutter everywhere. I found 50 new gray hairs and 150 new wrinkles. We were out of milk.
You get the idea.
Around two, I decided to abort the Mother's Day mission and go to one of my favorite furniture consignment shops—because nothing says Mother's Day like buying a used bureau—but as soon as I got in the car I burst into tears. Then I shouted "Fuck Mother's Day!" a few hundred times and went back inside.
"We're all going out!" I barked. (Can you picture me? Mascara running, crazy-eyed, runny nose, wild hair?) "Get your shoes!"
They lovingly obliged. After driving around aimlessly for 45 minutes (go ahead, try to find something desirable to do in Connecticut on a rainy holiday), we decided to get ice cream at a stupid little ice cream shop. This is the only picture I took all day:
And you can't even see his face.
We drove home.
It was 5:15 p.m. I told everyone I was going to bed and I did. I got into bed with my phone and Googled "Shitty Mother's Day." There were 774,000 results. I instantly felt better. In fact, after sifting through countless message boards, blog posts and articles and realizing I wasn't alone, I felt the best I had all day.
You, my fellow mothers, saved Mother's Day. You made it all okay. I'm tearing up just thinking about how much I love you all. It's asinine to think that Mother's Day will be a magical day when children behave perfectly, spouses won't be tired, pets won't get muddy and toddlers won't have meltdowns. It's just absurd.
So now I know for next year. I'm getting the hell out of dodge. Chuck can find a new weekend to camp. And you, I know you are just a few search terms away.
1 comment:
I felt awful that no one bothered to give a present, make a card OR EVEN make a cup of coffee for me. I got the cup of coffee after I asked. Then I felt bad that I felt bad. Its no fun growing up a household of testosterone but that's why I should be appreciated more, right?
I felt better when I read your events of the day. Maybe we should move mother's day and not tell anyone (except mother's). I wouldn't feel bad for making them eye-roll with guilt. Oh but wait, every day is mother's day(with gritted teeth).
Post a Comment