Thursday 37 (Week 36)

 

1. Being the kind of exhausted that only comes after really, really good stuff.
2. Celebrating 40 years of Melanie. I think it should have been a national holiday.
3. Houghtaling cross-examination. No ego-stroking necessary.
4. Finally being able to talk about the plans made for Melanie's birthday party.
5. Johnpaul (in his British accent): "Blah, blah, blah... Melanie... surprise...blah, blah, blah... I'll tell her I need to stop for a pint, which is my answer to everything."
6. Eva Kay insisting on making 30 goody bags for a 40 year old's birthday party. Guess how many we came home with?
7. I bowled a strike!
8. My mom: "I am not listening to my daughter. She is intoxicated. I am holding you personally responsible for making sure she gets home tonight. I do not want to wake up in the morning to find I'm the only adult here with four children..."
9. Karaoke. Why is there not more karaoke in the world?
10. Ordinary White Wine.
11. A very lazy Sunday, even though I should have gotten so much more done.
12. Beth and me freaking out over not having the recipe for the seafood crepe, followed by Beth sending me alternate recipes, followed by me remembering that the recipe is in the crepe cookbook. Phew.
13. Knowing that most parents wonder why kids get so many days off of school. Trust me, we want more school.
14. Signing the kids up for camp. Sleep. Away. Camp.
15. Even when you don't know where you're going it helps to know you aren't alone.
16. The realization on Monday afternoon that 23 people will be arriving at my house on Tuesday and I'm making all the food.
17. Making pancakes until 2 o'clock in the morning.
18. This text from Beth: "That's why I'll never move to the suburbs."
19. Sandy coming over early on Tuesday to help. The Lewis children were so very well behaved.
20. Me, to Maggie the babysitter: "So, there are going to be 11 children here tonight that you're in charge of, okay?"
21. Maggie totally handled it. Way better than I would have.
22. Being surrounded by people I love on Pancake Tuesday.
23. Every year I say I'm going to have pancake races, but I never do.
24. Kelly, after spilling salad on Eva Kay's head: "But I have a present for you."
25. Chris: "Does she have a liver?"
26. Jen promising to make a cake for Eva Kay for her birthday. Don't worry, she told us she wouldn't forget because we would clearly be sending her an email reminder.
27. Eggs from the Rossi chickens.
28. It really is nice being told that the food was delicious. I'm sure nobody would have told me otherwise, so I'll pretend they were all being truthful.
29. Chris: "Soooo. The boy?"
30. It has been a long time since Jen and I have had a late night conversation.
31. Contemplating this: Virgin Harvest.
32. This email from Beth: "Jackie, I had so much fun last night!  I've decided that you need to have another party, on a weekend perhaps, so that I can spend more time with the fabulous group of friends you had last night... I didn't want to leave! :)  And I am tired, but nothing compared to the horridly cranky exhaustion of the kids!  God help their teachers."
33. My kids were barely cranky the next morning, despite Eva Kay staying up until midnight. So what if I bribed them with donuts...
34. Not really being able to put my finger on it, whatever it is, it is there, and at least I know it is there.
35. Still waiting. Still remaining positive. Still working on my patience. Very sneaky of the Jesuit university to force me to work on that virtue.
36. Sunshine in February.
37. God's Highway

So, there you go.