Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Mother's little helpers

UGH ! What a day! I got up this morning to wake Heather at 7:00 AM. Now yesterday, Roy had let Heather stay home because, she complained of a stomach ache and a sore back. After talking with her yesterday, I explained that symptoms such as these, are very common with young ladies her age, and that next time, she should take a Tylenol and try to muddle through the day like the rest of us cursed females. Anyway, when I went to wake Heather this morning, she groaned and asked for another 30 minutes. (which is becoming sort of a regular thing lately.) I sighed, rolled my eyes, and went to reset my alarm for 7:30. I vaguely remember waking the second time, and I know that I went to wake her again, after that, it all gets a little fuzzy. I must have gone back to bed because, the next thing I remember was Heather waking me at 9:30 AM. I was so frustrated and tired at that point, that I asked her if she was dressed and ready for me to take her to school. When she said no, and that she really didn't want to arrive at school so late, I didn't even argue. Unfortunately, I was only able to get another half hour sleep before the phone started ringing. (my other daughter)

Once I was up and about, and feeling adequately guilty for lousy parenting skills, I inquired as to whether Jennifer, my new foster adult/child, had gone to work at Labor Ready as planned. Jennifer poked her head out of her room to tell me that she had, in fact, gone down to Labor Ready, but they didn't have any temp assignments for her. She then explained, that she looked like she had been sleeping because, she had just dosed off for a minute while reading. Uh - huh.

So . . . determined not to be thwarted from accomplishing my designated housewifey chores, I began my day. I got dressed and began the usual morning job of making my bed. Maybe, this seems like a simple task, but not in my house. Here, at the asylum, there is a ritual that must be strictly adhered to. I begin by pulling all the pillows off the bed. This is the dogs cue to come-a-runnin'. All five dogs jump on the bed and look at me with wagging tails, and bright shiny eyes, as if to say, 'let the fun begin!' I shake my head, snap my fingers, and point to the floor. One by one, they all jump off the bed and look at me, grinning their doggy grins. In spite of what I know is coming, I tell them all that they are all, 'such good dogs' for obeying, and they wag their tails happily. I turn to the bed, and begin shaking out the blankets and putting them in order. Within seconds, they are all back on the bed, holding down the sheets, and bouncing around playing a game of doggie mosh pit on my bed. The entire process is then repeated 2-3 times before they decide that they have pushed mom to her limit, and they patiently wait on the bedroom floor, for me to finish making the bed. When I have placed the last pillow, and brushed out the last wrinkle, they all climb back on, and look at me as if to say, "What's next, mom?!"

This morning, they all followed me downstairs to the laundry room. They love the laundry room. There's lots of space for the puppies to play and rough house, and Angel loves to hunt for crickets. Pete and Princess love to try to make off with any stray dryer sheets that they find on the floor. After almost 5 days of ignoring the laundry, there was lots to do.

Yesterday, Jennifer had done some laundry for her and Nick, and their things were everywhere. So I poked my head upstairs, and found Jennifer watching a movie with Heather on the couch. So, I told Jennifer that she and I were going to move their dresser from the garage, back to their bedroom; that way, she could actually put their laundry away. I also told Heather that she could take advantage of her day off to get her room clean. ( like she was supposed to do last night)Heather groaned and went upstairs. Jennifer did get up and help me to move the dresser, but rather than putting their clothes away, she went back to the couch. (Jennifer really isn't the most motivated person. She would be quite content to spend her days sitting in front of the TV, munching bon-bons. ) I carried their laundry to their room and left it for them to deal with -at least it was out of my space.

I took advantage of the sunshine and dry weather to spray seal some of my Halloween projects. That pissed off the dogs, because I had to do it outside, in the drive way, and they couldn't come with me. So they had to settle for supervising from the front window. Alot of the neighbors allow their dogs out front, as long as they are with them. Nick takes them with him when he is working out front, but I just don't allow it. There are too many of them for me to keep an eye on, and we live too close to the corner. People turn on to our street too fast. ( Last week, the neighbor's St. Bernard was hit and killed, before they could even react.)

I finally finished cleaning house around 2PM. For the most part, Jennifer spent her day on the couch. When I finished vacuuming, she took the sweeper and vacuumed the couch. When she was done, she told me, " . . .that she wanted to be able to tell Nick that she did something today." I'm sure he'll be very proud.

Since it was so nice outside, I decided that instead of taking the dogs for their walks in groups of two and three, I would take them individually, for a mile each. I was feeling a little frustrated with Jennifer, and I just wanted to get some extra time out of the house. Besides, I really like to walk the dogs one at a time. They get so excited to have mom all to themselves; the puppies bounce along beside me and look up at me, as if to say, "You're the greatest, Mom! " It's been so long since I've done that, I had forgotten what walking five miles was like. In the end, I took the girls together, and only did four miles. That was more than enough for my legs and back.

After I fed the dogs and cooked dinner for the family, I had to go lay down for a while to rest my back. I couldn't actually manage a nap, because all the dogs wanted have nap time with mom, using me as a pillow.

Anyway, I feel like I've managed to get most of the housework caught up, and I'm really looking forward to getting out tomorrow and doing some shopping. I just hope that Jennifer finds some temp work until she starts her new job on Saturday. It drives me crazy to have someone, who is perfectly cape able of working, to be vegetating on my couch, during the week. I don't have a problem with people taking a day off once in a while, and weekend relaxation is earned, but she openly admits that she just doesn't like to work. She is perfectly happy to sit and watch TV all day long. I don't get that. Even my dogs refuse to live that way. If they aren't doing something with me all the time, they don't think they are doing their jobs. They may not be much help, but they make my day a lot brighter.

Okay, I need to get to bed. Roy is leaving for work early tomorrow, and my daughter IS going to school in the morning.

Good night.
Love,
Susan

3 howled back:

Anonymous said...

A doggie mosh pit, hahah - that made me chuckle!

Hey, it WOULD be frustrating to have a lazy mary sitting around while you are cleaning. I get frustrated at my own kids when they loaf and I am working my butt off! How'd it be if it's not even your kid!?!

Anyway, you have earned a good nights rest - you do good. :)

mel xxx

Gypsy Jasmin said...

Do you remember the star system? Jennifer gets red stars for being bad! LOL
Put up a chart... start deligating the responsibility to her AND the others!!!

Auburn~haired~artist said...

Jas: There's a little problem there. I had this child, many moons ago, who refused to take my charts and systems seriously! Hence, I have given up on being the Great and Powerful Chore Master. LOL