2002-01-04-11:00 a.m.

I haven't been inspired to write an essay lately, so I've decided to write about what's going on in our house right now.

Stan just got out of bed. He's been sick. He's (I think) going to go to work today. He's talking to someone on the phone about long distance service. It's a good thing, too, because my eyes glaze over when people start talking to me about phone service.

There's clean laundry all over the floor in here and a garbage bag full of "oddfellow" socks that I just can't stand the sight of anymore. I think I'm finally going to retire them (throw them in the trash).

Becky got up pretty early this morning. She had an appointment with the little girl who lives next door. They were going to go to the other girl's house first, then our house to play with Betty Spaghetty. Becky was so hyper last night talking about this and so pleased that she had a little date planned, so she was very disappointed when she went next door and no one was home.

Megan is up, which is unusual since it's still before noon. But she's already got the phone stuck in her ear and that lets me know that, even though she's up unusually early, some things never change. She's been making her bed in the mornings since I absolutely insisted that they get that pigsty cleaned up and it's more fun to have a made bed when your room looks decent. And now she's enjoying sitting on her made bed in a clean room with the phone stuck in her ear.

(Megan just had a discussion with her dad about letting the dogs out of the garage, which started a short-lived chorus all over the house of "Who Let the Dogs Out?")

I de-Christmased the house a few days ago and the containers of decorations are still piled in the dining room with the garlands and a wreath on top. Benjamin and Andrew are playing with their army men in the greenery. I guess they're pretending to fight in a forest, and if I was any kind of homeschooling mother at all I'd tell them about some real battle in a real war that happened in a real forest, but I don't know about anything like that and I'm on vacation like they are, so I'm not going to go look it up.

Daniel is my phantom child. I know he lives here because the covers on his bed are folded back and his dirty socks are everywhere and I occasionally catch a glimpse of him sitting on the couch playing his GameBoy, but we really see him only at meals and when his friends are all away from home. He's gone now. He's probably helping the neighbors feed their goats, but that can't possibly take eight hours. He told me one time that he and the neighbor kid spend a lot of time throwing rocks at each other, but that would be, like, seven hours of throwing rocks, so I guess I really don't know what he does all day during Christmas vacation and it's probably for the best. He's getting to the age where he needs some space. But I miss him.

Abby's getting ready to go to the office with her father. She's trying to learn to be his secretary. We're hoping we'll be able to pay her something and it's good experience for her.

I'm sitting here in my painting shorts getting ready to go spackle the holes in Abby's walls. She'll be leaving home before long and I don't want her to remember that she always hated her room.

I think that's everybody. I hope you could handle the excitement of reading this entry.

previous-next