For the first time in years (years!) we have nothing on the schedule for July. No weddings to go to, be in or plan. No pregnancies to consume my thoughts. No birthdays. No gatherings. No selling of houses or buying of new ones. No moves. No appointments. No parties. Zilch. Zero. Nada.
May and June were quite the opposite so this feels like a slice of heaven. Especially since it happens to land right smack dab in the middle of summer.
A friend sent me a text this morning to see if we wanted to join her at the pool. I hesitated for a minute. Wednesday is my cleaning day. (I told you! I'm nuts about this cleaning thing!)
In my head I'm thinking:
If we go to the pool in the morning then that means Lucy will need a killer nap in the afternoon after all that swimming. And if she's going to need a killer nap that means I won't be able to run the vacuum because she always wakes up when I run the vacuum and ruining a good nap for Lucy is like waking a bear from hibernation in January. And if I can't run the vacuum that means I'll only be able to scrub the bathroom, dust the bedrooms and wash the sheets. Minus Lucy's bedroom, of course. That will have to wait. I could save Lucy's room and the vacuuming for Thursday, I guess. But Thursday mornings is when that good yoga instructor teaches a class at 9:45 and I haven't been in a week so I really should go. Maybe if I get my act together I could vacuum and mop and dust Lucy's room before we have to leave for the gym. Who am I kidding? I never have my act together that early.
Just then William comes bounding in from the makeshift toyroom out on the porch.
"What are we going to do today, Mommy?"
I look at him. I look back at the text from my friend.
"Go find your suit. We're going to the pool."
It's time I got real with myself. I have all the time in the world for the dusting and mopping and even--yes, Jenny--the vacuuming. But summer's short and I don't think in ten years I want my kids to say, "Hey mom, remember that one really nice day in July when you washed all the sheets and dusted all the dressers and scrubbed the tub and Windexed the mirrors and vacuumed and mopped the floors? That was awesome."
The truth is, no kid ever says that in ten years. And maybe in ten years they won't remember going to the pool either. But I hope they will. I can still remember the days when my mom put down her rubber gloves for a minute to announce, "Today, we're going to the beach!"
Even still I know that in January, when it's eight below zero outside, a picture of the kids, poolside and baking in the golden sun, will pop up on my screensaver. And I'll look at it and smile and be so glad that I soaked up every second of summer when I had the chance. And then I'll go back to vacuuming.
May and June were quite the opposite so this feels like a slice of heaven. Especially since it happens to land right smack dab in the middle of summer.
A friend sent me a text this morning to see if we wanted to join her at the pool. I hesitated for a minute. Wednesday is my cleaning day. (I told you! I'm nuts about this cleaning thing!)
In my head I'm thinking:
If we go to the pool in the morning then that means Lucy will need a killer nap in the afternoon after all that swimming. And if she's going to need a killer nap that means I won't be able to run the vacuum because she always wakes up when I run the vacuum and ruining a good nap for Lucy is like waking a bear from hibernation in January. And if I can't run the vacuum that means I'll only be able to scrub the bathroom, dust the bedrooms and wash the sheets. Minus Lucy's bedroom, of course. That will have to wait. I could save Lucy's room and the vacuuming for Thursday, I guess. But Thursday mornings is when that good yoga instructor teaches a class at 9:45 and I haven't been in a week so I really should go. Maybe if I get my act together I could vacuum and mop and dust Lucy's room before we have to leave for the gym. Who am I kidding? I never have my act together that early.
Just then William comes bounding in from the makeshift toyroom out on the porch.
"What are we going to do today, Mommy?"
I look at him. I look back at the text from my friend.
"Go find your suit. We're going to the pool."
It's time I got real with myself. I have all the time in the world for the dusting and mopping and even--yes, Jenny--the vacuuming. But summer's short and I don't think in ten years I want my kids to say, "Hey mom, remember that one really nice day in July when you washed all the sheets and dusted all the dressers and scrubbed the tub and Windexed the mirrors and vacuumed and mopped the floors? That was awesome."
The truth is, no kid ever says that in ten years. And maybe in ten years they won't remember going to the pool either. But I hope they will. I can still remember the days when my mom put down her rubber gloves for a minute to announce, "Today, we're going to the beach!"
Even still I know that in January, when it's eight below zero outside, a picture of the kids, poolside and baking in the golden sun, will pop up on my screensaver. And I'll look at it and smile and be so glad that I soaked up every second of summer when I had the chance. And then I'll go back to vacuuming.
Yay for the pool over chores!! I haaaaaaattteee the vacuum so it doesn't get done nearly as much as it should. Just like every other thing that needs cleaned in this house....
ReplyDeleteWait, you don't think they're going to remember the cleaning?
ReplyDeleteShoot.
You're totally right, of course. But yesterday, Ella had a sunburn, so we stayed home and I did some SERIOUS cleaning. Are you jealous?
:)
YAY! Let's do it again.
ReplyDeleteGood choice, Jenny.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's coming from me.
I hope you enjoyed your day!
We live in Minnesota. You MUST choose the pool over just about everything else when you can. If you didn't, I would have sent the camera crew from that A&E show "Obsessed" to your house. :)
ReplyDeleteGood job, Jenny! I normally would have judged and been like, Get out of the house, silly girl!! However, now that I have been a mom for roughly 6 weeks, time management is a force to be reckoned with! I make my list of what I need to get done when Tommy goes down for a nap...currently "shower" is one of the bullets, so I realize that were are at different stages in parenting. But every time I get out of the house and meet a friend or see my family, I feel like a new woman. You are a good woman for re-prioritizing...it's so hard to do! :)
ReplyDeleteGood choice, Jenny! You're a great mom...and I envy your cleaning skills. Truly.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it crazy? Pre-mom, I was all about spontaneity. Now, I always think about things in terms of naps and how tired I am and etc., etc. It's nice to get out of that rut and just GO. :)
stephanie@metropolitanmama.net