There was one night when I was in the Peace Corps that I was walking from a fellow volunteer's house to my house, and I was so unbearably tired that I actually entertained the idea of just laying down in the middle of the road and taking a nap right there. "There's not much traffic and everyone knows who I am; no one will bother me," I thought.
Moments ago, as I was walking from the kitchen to my office, I had the same thought. "I could just lie down here in the hall and stretch out, take a nap . . . hardly anyone is in the office today. I'm sure no one would mind."
My brain is addled. My head is spinning with thoughts on the house (thanks for your comments on that; meeting with realtor tomorrow to talk numbers, marketing plan, etc.), my job (took 10% pay cut last week; have a few resumes out there and a few bites), and the inauguration (so exciting! so many happy tears shed while listening to the ceremony!). Friends were in town over the weekend with their three-year-old twins, which was fun but exhausting. Much good food and good wine were consumed, and the nights were short indeed. Last night, I hosted my book club, got to bed late, and then got up with a pukey toddler at 3:30 a.m. (no real illness, just a cough-gone-wild thing, to which Maddie is prone, but still had to clean her and the bed up . . . and the power went out while I was doing it). Between the emotional tumult and lack of sleep, I feel a little pukey myself, or at least like I'm coming down with a cold.
And there's no rest for the wicked. I'm double-booked on inauguration parties tonight, one with the kids and one after they go to bed. Might have to cancel one or both. The second is actually a date of sorts; it's a small dinner party, and the host is someone one of the other guests has been trying to set me up with for a while. If I attend, I, along with all the other guests, am expected to deliver a toast in honor of Obama's inauguration. Pressure! Yeesh.
Tomorrow I meet with the realtor, Thursday boasts a job interview and dinner with a friend. Friday is another dinner. Saturday is another party. Last week, I had nothing scheduled on any evening. I'm definitely in a feasting phase in the feast or famine of life. Of course, I can say no to/reschedule/cancel some the social events, and I might. I don't want to sound like I'm complaining about having lots of fun things on the docket. I'm just feeling a bit overwhelmed today. And tired. So tired!
This post is totally lacking in structure, so I figure there's no better way to end it than with a Maddie story from our trip to Oregon, one that makes me laugh every time I think about it and that I've been meaning to share since happened. Hope you enjoy it.
[Maddie is sitting on the floor of her room, stark naked, inspecting her vagina at very close range]
Me: Mads, what are you doing over there?
Maddie: I lookin' at my vagina, Mama.
Me: I see that. What do you see in there?
Maddie [pause]: Oh . . . money. And strawberries.
Me: ??? !!!
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29 comments:
Oh my gosh! The Maddie story is priceless - I laughed out loud!
Kids say the darndest things. Still laugh when I think of my at the time 12 year old daughter (now 24) asking at the dinner table what a vas-ah-cot-ah-me was. Took a couple seconds before I realized she was asking what a vasectomy was...
HAHAHAHA Man, wish MINE had money and strawberries. ;) Totally laughed out loud at that one.
I'm totally on your wavelength today. DRAINED. I think it was definitely the crying over the inauguration proceedings that did it for me. Your post put words to the feeling of weight I'm sitting with right now.
Hope you get some sleep tonight.
I can relate to the exhaustion! The past two days have been miserable. I think it's that time of the year. Take a "mental health" day for yourself, that's what I'm thinking about doing!
Maddie's story is hilarious!
Aw, man! How does one get as lucky as Maddie?
Hope you get to rest soon.
That's a funny story! Thanks for the smile.
I hear you on being overwhelmed. To consider shifting so many elements (house, job, etc) is exhausting. And daunting. I respect how you move ahead and make things happen, but it must be hard.
Wow, Maddie is one lucky girl! I only wish mine had strawberries and money! :)
Damn, I wish MY vagina had money and strawberries in it. I bet I could MAKE money if I had even one of those things in there.
Can you play hookey from work one day and take a nap? I know it's kind of squirrely but...eh. The second year of grief is harder, right? So you need to make allowances.
xo
Flicka
i always feel guilty when i think about canceling "fun stuff" due to being tired or overwhelmed, but sometimes it's just what you need to do. be good to yourself this week, even if it means canceling some stuff and having quiet nights at home instead.
i only caught a bit of the speech this morning. stupid steaming video at work wasn't so much streaming as it was choppy.
the maddie story!!! hilarious!
There is no way I can comment on anything else in your post after reading Maddie's comments. LOL!!!!! Priceless!!!
Apparently I need to get a better cooch.
Add me to the list of those with inferior hoohas! What a hilarious story!!
I am drained as well. The pipes burst at N's school, so school was closed today for snow and tomorrow for clean up. I cancelled supper club, b/c I couldn't muster up the energy to drive through the snow to the store to buy the ingredients to cook. I still haven't managed to get the stuff I'm planning to consign to the dropoff place. It's not happening. And am totally behind at work, yadda yadda yadda. Drained, I tell ya. And this is even after a mental health day I took on Thursday.
So pardon my rambling, but boy do I get it!!
Wow! You definitely have a lot going on, no wonder you're so very tired! Hope you can get some rest soon. Hurray Obama!! I watched the inauguration and it brought tears to my eyes when he was sworn in.
Maddie, she is too cute!
Strawberries? Yeah, Noodle did that once and said she just liked it.
I'm exhausted just reading about your goings on. I have often wondered, too, if I could curl up under my desk at work -- I'm convinced no one would notice!
money and strawberries. nothin' wrong with that.
so, at what age do we lose the money and strawberries? because i checked and i could not find either. damn.
No wonder men are so obsessed with vaginas - its about the money and strawberries!
Ahh.. perhaps my vagina is the solution to my lack of a job.. I will stop looking today and just enjoy the money and strawberries coming my way.
Thanks for the smile this morning... I needed it!
(thinking of you and your work and real estate ponderings too...)
Ohhh... I've had THAT kind of tired. I remember forcing myself to go for a walk when I was pregnant, then getting to an intersection and thinking - "if a car comes and I need to stop walking, I'll never be able to start again... I'll just have to lie down here on the road for a while... it won't be so bad"
My daughter was inspecting her own "bagina" in the tub last week and told me that she wished she had a penis because "my bagina is so confusing".
Hahahahaha, wow. Maddie is so creative! "Money and strawberries." Priceless.
MONEY AND STRAWBERRIES????????? I am freaking dying here! So VERY, VERY classic!
I am wishing for a LONG NIGHT'S sleep for you - forget a measley nap. I want you to sleep 10-12 hours without interruption.
Snickollet,
I don't know how you do it with the kids. My son is away at Yale, and I get to enjoy the solitude of my house which is driving me nuts. I'm glad I've leased out the house and am moving to Hawaii for awhile, as maybe a change in venue would be the best thing for me. I can't handle so many things. There's so many songs I have to turn off, as I will never listen to them again. I can never watch certain TV shows as the memories are too painful. When I come into the house and open the door, I always, for a split second, expect to find Denise sitting at her table doing her work, or her playing Mozart on our Baby Grand. Whatever, those are my problems, and I need to rid myself of these demons and think the move will help.
I love your blog.
Just keep me in mind, as you are the voice of many of us who have lost their spouse too early.
Strawberries and money...
I love it!
One of my girls also has that cough-gone-wild problem. I think the crib wedge helps, maybe the humidifier, maybe not. It's a yucky one.
I'm with you, Christi-Anne! LOL!
Money and strawberries! That's too funny!
Hope you get a chance to rest soon!
That Maddie story made me laugh out loud! Money and strawberries, hmm?
Hey Snick...my kids are older but still in school and I understand the "overwhelmed" "tired" feeling. I read your post regularly and enjoy it. I work two jobs, days and part-time midnights. It's a must, unfortunately. I cannot tell you how tired I'm am but I do it for my kids!! Thanks for sharing.
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