Discovery

After having all four children (two "sick"(yeah, right)) home with me three days this week (NOT a weekend), I discovered something today at the grocery store...

I always fancied myself the relaxed life giving, breastfeeding, cloth diapering, homeschooling mother of multitudes. A bakers dozen. It turns out that, instead, I am a pretty decent mother of two when said two are four years apart and other said two are off being taught by a woman who is far more gifted in patience.

I still breastfeed, but not la leche lengths of time (at least may it be so again with number 4). I cloth diapered for approximately one month out of, sheesh, how many now? 70 months.

70 months of diapers. I suppose that calculation doesn't take in to account that fact that I had two in diapers at once, long ago, so you can subtract nine of those months as duplicates...still.

I give myself grace because I potty train relatively early.

Off track.

If I take my four kids to the grocery store, I can count on a migraine, a "deserved" Pepsi, much more junk in my cart and a pretty crummy attitude that may just last for hours.

If I take two, the younger two, to be exact, I actually return to the store from the parking lot if I forgot something (whereas I wouldn't recross the store BEFORE checkout if I had everyone with me), keep up a steady stream of insensible chit-chat, take time for the second horse ride and, even if someone gave me trouble, still am in a relatively decent mood when I finish.

So, though I want to be mother earth, I guess I'll settle for 21st century mother of the 'burbs.

Guess what else I discovered at the grocery store? I am still tacky enough to like that canned squirt "cheese." Mr George was sampling it today and I expected that my tastes would have changed with my adulthood like my tastes in chocolate and ice cream. Not so. I still like that raunchy stuff and when Frodo asked to go back by the sample kiosk, I did.

And then I came home (after a stop off at the library) and read this entire book, cover to cover, this afternoon/evening. Shame. I haven't done that since Charming was born. But hey, I cleaned this morning...and I read some stories to the kids tonight. (They had basketball which is the only reason I got away with it!) Loved it. Love all her stuff.