My Work

So, I have been reflecting lately on all the small things that make up my day to day work. Staying at home with kids offers few of the moments of accomplishment that I found working in an office. I rarely make a list and then just seamlessly get to move from one task to another, scratching them off with precision. Never do I stack up papers neatly on my desk, not to be disturbed by anyone until I am ready to tackle a new project, engulf myself in research and composition all day long, or have an uninterrupted conversation on the phone.

Life is far more chaotic, and as I told Jeffrey the other day: "Imagine that every time you got close to getting something finished at work, someone came along, undid the whole thing, and you had to start all over again." This is pretty much what I experience most of the time. Not that there are not positive moments and real rewards to mothering -- this post, though, is not about those.

Maggie has entered the full-fledged mess making, tantrum throwing phase of life. Call it the "terrible two's" if you want -- personally, I think that two is a most adorable age -- however, it brings with it a need to establish autonomy, a locomotive ability to get into and use things, and a desire to explore the world and test boundaries that has been previously unknown. So in honor of all that Maggie and I have been going through lately, I thought I would chronicle some of the work I have been doing.

Messes I have cleaned up in the last two weeks:
1- A bottle of foaming soap spread all over the half bath and family room ottoman.
2- A whole bottle of bubbles dumped right in the middle of the family room carpet (after I said they were not to be used indoors) -- these present quite a challenge due to the degree that they foam up when you try to scrub or add water.
3- A bottle of conditioner dumped, thankfully, all over the laundry room floor.
4- Shampoo spread all over the sheets on the bed in the guest room. A different bottle of shampoo dumped on the basement carpet.
5- Vanilla ice cream deliberately rubbed all over Maggie's arms and legs during at party at our friends' house last weekend.
6- A whole can a fish food shaken all over the family room.
7- Multiple glasses of orange juice poured on the kitchen floor.
8- Grape juice (which leaked despite being in a "non-spill" cup) all over the light yellow couch in the basement.
9- Chocolate chips (don't even know where they came from) all over the couch in the basement.
10- Crayon on the walls and baseboards in Mia's room.
11- Pen on the walls in Maggie's room.
12- Sidewalk chalk up the staircase to the second floor.
13- Blue permanent ink marker all over my red leather ottoman in the family room (for which I would like to personally give an award for ABSOLUTE GENIUS to the creators of the Magic Eraser, wherever and whomever they may be, I am still in awe that I got that one out!)
14- Dry erase marker all over the door and window sill in the half bath.
15- A whole package of goldfish crackers all over the kitchen floor -- smashed.
16- Several bowls of dog food dumped into the dog's water bowl and allowed to expand to amazing proportions.
17- And, just this morning since I began this post, pink and purple glitter lip gloss all over the bathroom counter (This one was a real accomplishment since I did not know that Maggie knew we owned the lip gloss, and Maggie had to dump out and turn over the garbage can to scale into the top of the bathroom linen closet to get it down!) and a small tube of lotion from my purse that had been squeezed all over the kitchen floor.

Needless to say, this list does NOT include any messes created by eating regular meals, rubbing various foods and hygiene products into her hair (which occurs quite regularly), toys and other play things left around the house, or potty training accidents -- which is a WHOLE other arena of messes I have been dealing with for the last couple of months.

Things I have done in the last two weeks that have warranted a full fledged lay down on the ground and kick and scream tantrum:

1- Told Maggie she could not wear her nightgown to the park.
2- Asked Maggie to let me brush her hair.
3- Brushed Maggie's hair.
4- Put a rubber band in Maggie's hair.
5- Tried to wash her favorite Ariel cup.
6- Tried to wash her favorite blanket.
7- Washed her favorite blanket.
8- Told Maggie we were not having Mac and Cheese for breakfast.
9- Run out of orange juice in the fridge.
10- Buckled Maggie's seat belt in the car.
11- Asked Maggie not to wear her church dress to do water color painting.
12- Proposed wearing a different pair of shoes (for example something besides striped socks and blue sandals with her pink dress on Sunday).
13- Told Maggie it was time to nap.
14- Told Maggie she had to go to bed.
15- Turned out the light.
16- Turned off the TV.
17- Tried to get Maggie dressed when she has decided to be a nudist for the day.
18- Turned down Maggie's music on her CD player.
19- Told Maggie she had to wear a diaper to bed.

And, the list could go on, and on, and on...All in all, I guess that the business world summation of the work I have been doing would be that I have EXCELLENT job security.