Cheese and Wine

I am a creature of habit. Every night, I put on my pajamas and I fix myself a "plate." This plate consists of: 3 slices of cheese, 3 slices of salami, 4-6 chocolate chips and some kind of fruit. Sometimes, if I am hungrier than usual, I will have 3-4 pistachios or almonds.

Then, I pour a glass of wine (always red) and I curl up on the couch and read the news, watch a show with my husband, scroll Facebook or read and relax. 

It's great, probably my favorite time of the day. You know what? I earned it. My evenings were always spent with the process of getting the children to bed. For 10 years, my evenings from 6:30-8:30 pm consisted of baths (and showers as the kids got older), laying out pajamas, ensuring they brushed their teeth and hair adequately and reading. 

I am not a perfect parent, but I did read to them every night. I would read 3 books. They would both pick one and I would pick one. They would always pick the longest ass books. They'd curl up to me in their pajamas and hand me the Holy Bible and be like, "I'd like to hear the whole Old Testament tonight." I'd be like, "Ummmm, How about If You Give A Mouse A Cookie?" and the kids would be like:

So I would read the whole Old Testament. I'd try to skip pages and they would correct me. "No mom, you missed the part about Noahs Ark..." Then, when reading was done, I would rub their backs. I would finally get them to sleep and then crawl into bed to rest. Sometimes, if I had the energy to entertain my husband, they would have some kind of sixth sense and wake up and be knocking at my door. They know. "Mom- I need water, I can't sleep -- fill in the blank...." I'd turn to my husband, "Don't go to sleep, I'll be right back."

But I would never be right back. It was wishful thinking. I would be 20 minutes and then when I finally got them to sleep, I would go back to bed and he would be fast asleep snoring. I would sigh with disappointment and go to bed myself because I was always bone tired. Then we would wake up the next day and do it over and over and over again. 

Once they were old enough that we didn't have the full orchestrated bedtime routine, my youngest was in the throes of competitive gymnastics, which meant I had to leave my house to pick her up at 8 pm four days a week. Some of those years, her gym was in Summerville - half an hour from the house. I was ready for bed by the time I got home every night.

Don't get me wrong, I cherished that time with my children but I have never had relaxing evenings. My time has come. So, every night - I make my plate and drink a glass of wine and have some peace and quiet. Let me say- WHAT A LUXURY! Is this the life that people without kids live? Wow. Impressive. 

The other night, I was sitting on the couch enjoying my daily evening treat and watching a show with my husband. He got up to get us some water and he called my name out in a panic. I didn't want to get up, but it sounded serious, so I did. "Dude, one of the animals is bleeding. Look!" He pointed to the floor where there was a trail of blood. 

Last year, our cat ripped a chunk of skin out of his shoulder and required surgery. It was a whole event. This trail of blood in the kitchen was triggering to us. We decided to divide and conquer and check the animals. We cornered them all of the stairs and we examined their paws, looked through their fur, checked their tails. They were confused. Jeff (our big boy cat) hated it. 

We could not find the source of the bleeding. We went back to the kitchen and examined the blood trail further. "It looks kind of purple-ish," my husband said. I stuck my finger in it and I held it up to my nose. I laughed so hard. "It's not blood. It's cabernet. I must have dripped. Sorry." We both were relieved. I went back to my treat and all was well with the world.

In other news, I got to spend time with BOTH of my kids this weekend which made me happy. My oldest had a short shift yesterday and she came home and watched a whole movie with me. She laid on the couch and rested her feet in my lap the whole time. I loved it so much. It's the longest block of time I've had with her in weeks. 

She worked today and then had a flute event to attend. She has her permit now (she'll get her license next month) and I let her drive there. I am very impressed with how good she has gotten. She merged on and off the interstate beautifully, she changes lanes like a pro, she has gotten really good at anticipating what is coming and being aware of what is around her. She's doing great. 

She was talking about work and how she is really good at cleaning, so they always make her clean the bathroom. She is the bathroom cleaning queen and is always in charge of keeping the dining room tidy. She said she calls the trash room her "home."A part of me feels like they should get a boy to do that kind of stuff, but you know what? She is not above that kind of work. You need to scrub some toilets, take out a bunch of trash, and wipe down greasy shelves in your youth to appreciate the finer things in life. My husband and I worked like dogs when we were young and we were better off for it. I'm super proud of her. She is just a mature, sweet, hard-working girl. 

After I dropped her off, I went home and I took my youngest to Sno-dash, which is one of those rolled ice cream places. SO GOOD.  We split one because they are so big. I want to try all of their flavors. We talked about her going back to school and about how she'll be getting braces at the end of the month. This will be the 4th and final set of braces in my house. Excuse my bank account while it weeps. 

Then we went window shopping in Hobby Lobby. We walked through the aisles and pointed out the cute things and all the items she wants to decorate the her room with. We laughed and enjoyed each others company. Then, she convinced me to take her to CVS to buy hair dye. 

We got in the car and as we were driving, Wonderwall came on. She turned up the radio. "I love this song," she said. I smiled. "What year did it come out?" I asked. She thought hard for a minute. "1994?" she said. "So close, '95. I'm still impressed." We rode down the road singing it together, "Maybe....you're gonna be the one that saves me...."

Once we got to CVS, she took too long picking out her new hair color. She picked a purple color. Last time she did rose-gold which I loved. She likes trying new things so we will see how it turns out. I can't believe she'll be in high school this year. Crazy. 

Well, that was a little rambly. I'm off to fix a "plate" and look at memes.