My new mantra is ‘totally normal, totally normal’
Because what is normal anyway right?
Yesterday I cleaned out our ‘woods’
This is where the boys have built and torn down may ‘forts’ and ‘cabins’
And actually the girls have too
It’s amazing
And ‘totally normal’
How much stuff gets left in the woods during the construction and use of these forts
While they are building they get sweaty and remove coats and sweatshirts, and apparently even shoes
They bring armloads of our reusable water bottles filled with ice water out there
They must take breaks because they bring chairs and books and little side tables
They use wheelbarrows, and shovels and hedge trimmers and five gallon buckets, and ice cream buckets
Hammers and nails and tape measures and containers for their stuff
They ride their bikes out there
They use the snow sleds to haul stuff out there
That’s all before they actually camp out there
Then they really start to bring the stuff
Sleeping bags and pillows and queen comforters
Flashlights, lanterns, and headlamps
Cast iron skillets, tongs, spatulas, utensils, more water jugs, plates, silverware
I love when they come in the kitchen and ask for food for these camping trips, really
It’s a great way to get rid of bread heals, stale buns and questionable hot dogs and scrape clean the three ‘empty’ peanut butter jars in the cupboard, and use up the last little bits of jam from the bottom of the jars
Totally normal
And they bring some of it back
And leave plenty of it out there
For the entire winter
A lot of questions get answered in spring
Like ‘Why are we always short on blankets?
‘I know I had a tape measure in here’
“Where is a shovel when you need one?’
So yesterday it took me three heaping wheelbarrows full to get the woods cleaned out
I dumped it all on the back patio
Totally normal
That was my workout for the day
And today the kids have their work cut out
I am not sure what educational subject to call it yet
Home Economics? Family psychology?
Maybe I could turn it into math…
‘If mom draws one comic per fifteen minutes and it takes you three hours to get this all cleaned up, how many comics can mom draw while you guys are cleaning?’
It will take at least three hours, each item will be a distraction
“Hey I wondered where this basketball was!’
‘Who wants to play around the world?’
And I will have to make that difficult parenting decision of whether or not to get them back on task or just keep drawing comics
Until someone comes in crying
‘ITWASMYTURNANDTHEYARENOTPLAYINGBYTHERULESANDTHEYSAIDTHERESNOHOLDINGBUTTHEREISANDSHEDIDBABYHANDSANDTHATSAGAINSTTHERULESANDYOUHAVETODODOMETHINGABOUTITRIGHTNOW!!’
Totally normal