My job wreaked havoc on my mind last night. By the time I came crashing sideways through the front door this morning, the only thing I could think to say to Kenny was, "My mental is exhausted." I must have looked just as sorry and helpless as I felt because without a single word, he hugged me for a long time and then asked how many people I talked out of killing themselves last night. I said, "Well, one, but..." and he cut me off right then and said, "Focus on that. You saved someone's life." And I said, "Well, I don't know if I really..." and he said, "YOU DID." And then Mae piped up and said, "Mom, it's SO cool that you do that. I bet it feels really good." And darn it, she's right. And he's right. And forget everything else, life is great.
To top it all off, it's Sunday, my sole mutual day off as the kids. Not wanting to waste my day away sleeping or sulking, I pumped myself full of caffeine, pulled out the Christmas decorations, turned up the music and had a merry and perfect day with little Miss Mae. The boys went out and left us to our decorating fun. (They acted like they were being nice in giving us this opportunity without them, but I'm no fool. I saw the same look of terror in both of their eyes as they looked over the boxes of decorations while slowly backing toward the door and announcing that they needed haircuts [which I have been trying to force them into for the past three weeks]). Mae and I stood in the window waving them good-bye and as they drove out of sight, we high-fived each other before nose-diving into our wonderful day together. Our house is now fully prepared to take on the holiday season.
Tomorrow is 'Secret Monday'. This is something Kenny and I started last week. Upon hearing that the average parent spends approximately $600 on EACH kid at Christmas, we first laughed at all those silly 'average' parents. Then, we came to the sad realization that we fall exactly into that category and that's just beyond ridiculous. We decided to let the kids each choose only one gift. They don't know it yet, but the remainder of their presents will be the production of our 'Secret Monday' experiments. We decided that using only things we have around the house/garage, we will make them gifts. And quite honestly, neither of us were all too excited about this idea. However, we simply don't have $1200.00 to spare this year and if we did, I can think of so many better things to spend it on than toys that hold our children's attention for two whole hours before they're old news.
I began an internet search on DIY projects and in no time, had concocted a list of great ideas. We found ourselves surprisingly inspired. Last Monday, we built Mae a balance beam and I sewed her an apron. The apron turned out about one thousand times better than I expected, considering my sewing history includes only one sixth grade home economics class. Tomorrow, combining Kenny's great outdoorsman skills and my new-found sewing ability, we will erect a teepee for Kyler's room. And if time allows, there will be two freshly painted tire swings under the tree (except I sort of cheated and purchased spray paint because the stuff we had in the garage was frozen and not very colorful). Next Monday will be game-creation day. And the Monday after that, we will be slaughtering our own cows and building soddys. Or maybe I'm jumping the gun a little. It's just that the first two gifts have turned out so great that I'm feeling a bit unstoppable.
Happy, happy, merry, merry. Try creativity and maybe you'll surprise yourself, too!
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