3 Hours Behind

Yup, that's where I am. 3 hours behind. I don't know how this happens. I got up on time, showered, read my Bible, and I didn't even take the time to fix breakfast for the kids. It was "get your own" morning. And yet, somehow, I am about 3 hours behind.

I blame it on Valentine's Day. Not all of it, but a lot of it. Tomorrow is the valentine exchange at the boys' homeschool enrichment program. Candy/food is discouraged due to allergies. No one understands that better than I. Non-edible goodies were suggested. I have one dollar to last until payday. Literally one dollar. It's rectangular, green, and is living in my wallet. So, the options are limited to what we can make here for a non-edible goodie. I spent way too much time and mental energy trying to figure out how to design a bookmark they could mass-produce for their classmates. In that time, they played in the deep snow under a brilliant blue sky and I was jealous. The clock ticked on.

I called them in after their 7th loud argument in the yard and lectured them. It sounded something like this. "Do you think the neighbors listen to you guys yelling at each other and think about how much you guys love Jesus and each other?"

"No, Mom. Sorry, Mom. We just argued a lot today."

"About what?"

"I don't really know."

Finally, time to unveil the bookmark plan. The verdict. "Ummm, no thanks, Mom. We'll just do the cheesy (my word) Phineas and Ferb valentines you bought in January when you were feeling organized." (Giving all credit to my boys, they both worked extremely hard to address, insert stickers, and seal up their valentines. I was proud of them and told them so.)

I have now cleaned up my scraps of paper, yarn, hole punch, glue, etc. I am certainly not making half a zillion bookmarks for them to hand out and pass off as their handmade goodie. And? We are 3 hours behind. Some days just beg for "Uncle." This might be one of them.

Lunch today was simple. Not easy, by any means. Simple and easy mean two different things. I need to remember this in the future. Tortillas, queso, fruit. Did I mention the tortillas and queso were homemade? (Thank you, allergies.) Yup, simple. Not easy. The kitchen is finally clean. The boys are happy. They love queso. And? We are 3 hours behind.

Where are the boys you ask? Industriously applying themselves to their overdue lessons? Ummmm, no. They are playing fussball. And? We are 3 hours behind. "Uncle" time yet?

Oh, I can't forget the 3 minutes wasted while I sat on the kitchen floor with my head in my hands, frustrated at my broken drawer, frustrated at shabbiness in general, tired of a kitchen smaller than many people's bedroom closets, asking God to free me from the sin of covetousness that popped up alarmingly today. I think I saw one too many pretty, spacious, beautifully decorated houses this week. Commandment #10, hello. You are there for a reason. I am a happy girl when I follow you.

And may I just lay blame one more place? The large black birds, which normally leave horrifically disgusting deposits all over Brian's car, were angry that Brian's car wasn't there. So they picked half the trash out of my trash cans and spread it around. Cleaning that up definitely contributed to some of the 3 hour issue I've been mentioning.

And? We are still 3 hours behind.

This day started out so well. Uncle.