I've been busy -- I think. (For Janice)

So my friend Jancie sent me an email the other day that said "What is up with your blog? I miss it!" She'd noticed that I hadn't been posting with any frequency lately. "Well," I thought to myself, "I've just been so busy....." And then I took a minute to ponder what is was I'd been so busy doing. Let's see........ I've been.............. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm............. Well.............. Ummmmmmmmmm................... Clearly I've not been folding laundry since my loveseat is literally buried underneath a small mountain of clean, but extremely wrinkled clothing in all shapes and sizes. Washing and drying, Yes. Folding, No. And I certainly wasn't putting anything away. Maybe I was vacuuming................. But judging by the piles of dog hair gathering in the corners and organizing themselves for a mini-revolution, I'd say that's not been the case either. So..............Ummmmmmmmmm.........Oh! I know! I think I was cleaning the bathrooms! Oh, wait a minute...............I just looked them over and I have to admit, albeit grudgingly, that I wasn't. Maybe I was busy dusting? Nope. You can pretty much write your name in it -- especially over by the TV.

I'm so confused. I felt so busy. Why was that?

I guess we have been eating 3 squares a day and still have food in the pantry, so I must have made a couple of trips to the grocery store. And come to think of it, I am the head Chef in our household, so it's fair to say that I was busy pouring cereal, packing lunches, and organizing, preparing, and serving dinners. And my kitchen isn't piled floor to ceiling with dirty dishes, and my counters are clean, so I must have spent a good deal of time in the kitchen. I am, after all, extremely well acquainted with our dishwasher. Oh! And you know what else? Gibson has made it to and from school every day this week! Heck! This year! And even though he climbs into the car in wrinkly clothes from the mountain on the couch, he still goes clean and smelling good from the bubble bath he took the night before. Landis too, of course. And both of their imaginations have been filled up to overflowing with the kinds of good that can only come from reading lots and lots of bedtime stories, and nap time stories, and sometimes in-between stories, and playing with puzzles, and coloring pictures, and endless pretend games outside in the yard. And now that I really think about it, they say "May I", and "Please" and "Thank You" and sometimes, when they want to impress me, they say "Ma'am". They carry their plates to the sink after they excuse themselves from the table, scrape them off, and load them into the dishwasher. I dare say I've spent some time - a good deal of time - working on that. And if I really step back and look at the big picture, I'd say that as they are making their way through their days they are wrapped in a protective shield of invisible hugs and kisses that my mother-in-law swears to them will never, ever, ever come off -- even when they are 50, or 60, or 75. And you know what? All that huggin' and kissin' keeps me from doing other stuff like folding laundry and putting it away. Or from stopping the dog hair revolution in it's tracks.

So I guess I have been busy. (Perhaps I've even been redeemed here.) But you'd better lookout dog hair piles. I'm coming for you. I have the vacuum cleaner cocked and loaded. You may have won the battle, but you won't win the war.