Observation:
Spring in Ottawa feels like you're waking up from a
coma. Everything suddenly feels like it's coming back
to life. I just got back from walking Emma to nursery
school. The birds are rioting out there, chirping madly,
flitting about, playing chicken with moving cars and
telephone poles. Feeling twitterpated no doubt. :)
The
sky was full of geese flying in their V-formation. Emma
noticed that some of their lines were wonky, but they're
coming back. It must mean things will be getting warmer
from this point onward. Yay!
Otherwise,
I have a presentation to make at a client meeting today.
I am feeling pretty good about it, but will be glad
when it's all over.
Have
a great weekend everyone!
a
<tuesday
march 23, 2004 - 11:41 p.m.>
Last
weekend Mark took a two-day course at the local college.
That left me as the single parent between the hours
of 8:30 and 5:30 pm for each day. Outdoor play wasn't
really an option. Despite the fact that it was the first
day of Spring, Someone Up There deemed it necessary
to shock us out of our pre-Spring comfort with a big
dump of snow.
Saturday
was one of those days where I was extremely glad for
Mark. I realized that I am glad that I'm not doing this
alone. Although on this particular day I was. Ugh.
Most
of the morning (sans Mark) was taken up with a playdate
with two other kiddie friends. This made for a total
of four – two under three, two five and under.
Their "games" (other than Give Mom a Headache
and Make Her Snap) included:
1)
Chase
2) Throw the Lobster
3) Throw the Lego
4) Take all the Cushions Off the Couch and Jump All
Over
5) Shriek Wildly
6) Refuse to Share the Loudest Electronic Toy in the
House. (And
no, it's not the hairdryer.)
It
was all very loud. Very very loud. How loud? Those of
you who have had four children over to trash your house
will understand where I'm coming from. Those of you
who work at the racetrack, the smoke detector testing
facility or the local shooting range may also comprehend
the volume which I am alluding to here.
Anyway,
these kids were LOUD. Every sound wave traveled along
the hardwood floor, up the walls and took a direct route
into a cerebral cortex (mine) that had been softened
by too much coffee and several animal cookies.
In
the past few years I have become the kind of person
who is easily irritated by high volume. Did this happen
early on, without my realizing? Was there construction
work happening outside the bedroom window while I was
in-utero? A jackhammer which weakend aural muscle or
tissue? There must be some explanation for this physical
shortcoming. Or perhaps it's not physical. Perhaps it's
mental.
My
old friend Roman, who has commented here before, remembers
a day when my patience was infinite, bordering on saintly.
I was a camp counselor at a summer camp at which we
both worked. I always tended to the youngest members
of our little flock, five and six year old boys and
girls. I gently coaxed them into their daily routine,
played with them all day, made crafts, helped them in
the pool, gave them their little tasks, supervised,
and at the end of the day tucked them lovingly into
their beds.
Where
has this patience disappeared? I think parenting has
beaten a lot of it out of me. I wish it wasn't true,
but it is. The question remains: will I ever get it
back again?
a
<monday
march 22, 2004 - 1:16 p.m.>
Is
it just me, or is S»x and the City starting
to wrap up in a very unsatisfactory way?
It's
at times like these I wish I was part of a bevy of well-shod
women who gathered
around
the telly on Saturday nights to swig martinis and discuss
Important Thoughts and Plot Points Regarding Character
Development.
Anyone
care to share their opinions? I for one am loving Carrie's
clothes, but am not sure if I like where this is going.
(NOTE
to readers with HBO access: here in Canada we have one
more episode to go. No spoilers, please!)
around
the telly on Saturday nights to swig martinis and discuss
Important Thoughts and Plot Points Regarding Character
Development.
