A Minute of Nothing

It was a dreary looking day here today and we waited all day for the rain to come. The girls had no desire to go outside, so they stayed busy in the family room building a tent and watching movies. I sat on the couch with a book that I’ve been trying to get through without much luck. The main character said, “I need a minute. Of nothing.” It struck me then, that that’s exactly what I needed for this weekend.

I’ve been going so hard for so long, working on my degree all the while working full time and being a wife and mother. I tried hard to not lose sight of my goals while making sure my husband got to continue doing what makes him happy, and my girls stayed involved in their various activities. Sometimes there were things we couldn’t do and events we couldn’t attend, but we all tried awful hard to do as much as we could. I think we all handled it well, but who knows, the girls may end up in counseling as teenagers for their shitty childhoods.

The months of May and June brought weekends packed with activities. There were graduations, rehearsals, recitals, separate trips for both EN and me, etc. At the end of last week, everyone at work talked about their plans for this long holiday weekend. I said that I had plans for Saturday night, but the rest of the weekend was wide open. Maybe it was only a few weeks ago, but it feels like a like a lifetime ago that we had a couple of days off with no obligations. We had no one to visit and no place we needed to be. All of a sudden today, I felt like I was free at last!

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed all of our recent activities and last night’s trip into Boston for shopping, dinner and seeing West Side Story was fantastic. Every time I go to Boston, I’m reminded of how much I love that city and that I really need to share it with my girls.

Today was a completely lazy day. We spent the afternoon hanging out while watching trash TV once the girl’s movie was over. I introduced them to the crème de la crème of crazy TV… My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. If you have not tuned in to watch this debacle, you simply must. There’s nothing else quite like it. Sugar said repeatedly, “Oh my word!” while watching the antics during the reception. Spice seethed with envy over the outfits worn by the bride, bridesmaids and mini-brides (young relatives of the bride that wear matching bridal gowns. Their dresses even come equipped with fake boobs!). We also tuned in for an episode of Say Yes to the Dress, after all, what little girl doesn’t want to look at women trying on wedding gowns?

After the excitement of those shows, I really needed an additional minute of nothing, so I napped. I woke up craving the white-trash lasagna that Spice loves so much (plain Ragu, no boil noodles, hamburger, ricotta and mozzarella). She claims it tastes like candy and I can see her point. The sauce is hardly seasoned and a little sweet. It is also completely smooth, which assures the girls that I haven’t tried to smuggle gross stuff into the meal.

After our dinner, we hunkered down for more trash TV, but the evening unexpectedly turned inspirational. We watched Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. This episode centered around a soldier from Fort Hood that had been injured in the mass shooting in November 2009. Sugar and I cried through most of it and she kept saying, “It’s so sad, but so happy at the same time.” Then, because we hadn’t cried enough, we watched Undercover Boss. The focus of this episode was Baja Fresh, which I had never heard of. After seeing this show, I would like to become a frequent customer of this chain, no matter how fat I get. The owner that went undercover had the biggest heart ever. He was so touched by the employees he met that he donated money, scholarship funds, educations and even a franchise opportunity to one young manager. It’s proof that money doesn’t change everyone.

And so… my minute of nothing is expected to continue tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be nicer and I’m sure the girls will want to spend the day in the pool. I’ll sit on the deck and supervise their pool play. Perhaps I’ll clean up a little or do some laundry, or not. Perhaps I’ll let this minute of nothing last just a little bit longer. 

xoxo

Ice Princess