HELP!

Friday is here and Lydia feels like crap. Her house is a mess. Her kid’s are a mess. Her life is a mess. She needs to go grocery shopping, do laundry, clean the bathrooms, the kids rooms, her & husby’s room, the living room, play, room , kitchen and the crap room. She needs to winterize her garden and finish putting up the outdoor Halloween decorations. She needs to get the broken door handle and headlight fixed on her car then clean and vacuum the inside. She needs to get her eye-brows waxed. She needs to schedule the facial she cancelled in August. She needs to have her yearly physical and schedule Alice’s. She also has to schedule Alice’s S-month eye exam. She needs to Call Children’s Hospital to see where Alice is on the waitlist to see the sensory integration specialist. Oh and she needs to make an appointment for her long overdue monogram, and have a drug consultation with a psychiatrist. She really needs to go back to therapy. She needs to cancel Comcast and decide between the Dish Network or Fios and make the call before the end of the month. She needs to paint the kitchen, the porch, and pull up the rug from the crap room, and the crappy floor from the kitchen. She really needs to finish Dylan’s costume and buy herself bras and khaki pants that actually fit. Lydia needs to call all of her friend’s back before they report her to the bureau of missing and exploited mothers. Lydia needs to take a nap, and drink lots of fluid so that her sniffles don’t grow it a full blown cold. Lydia needs to pack up and organize all of our fall clothing. She needs to decide what articles of the kid’s clothes to give away, throw-away, save for next year or use as hand me downs. Then she needs to unpack and organize all of the winter clothing, perhaps this year she will find two gloves that match? Lydia needs to hot glue the toy bin that the kids broke last night. Lydia also has to make time for herself so she doesn’t lose her mind. She needs to figure out what to do now that her free virus control software trial is over. Lydia needs to return overdue library books. Lydia needs to call her sister and wish her a happy birthday. Lydia needs to write a blog.




Lydia needs to do all of this before she picks up Dylan from school. Has a pay date. Makes dinner and goes to work at 6:00pm. Lydia needs help.

Me and My Boy

At church on Sunday the minster was talking about the importance of family community service more directly the importance of visiting the old and the sick. He was telling us about a moving experience he and his kids had while visiting a local nursing home. I am a big fan of volunteerism and community service. I have been looking for a way for me and the kids to start volunteering together. I like the idea of visiting sweet elderly people with my kids. Well, except for the fact that Alice is so shy. In fact sometimes she won’t even talk to her own sweet elderly grandparents. I am suddenly picturing my daughter shrieking and running down a carpeted corridor knocking over tables of flowers and pushing over wheelchairs. Maybe this can be mine and Dylan’s volunteering activity. My Dylan loves meeting new people. New people are fresh canvases in which he can fill with his jokes and stories. Some children dream of baseball championships and comic books my son’s dream is a captive audience in which to work his new material.


After church on Sunday in the car driving to my friend’s house I told Dylan about my idea of the two of us visiting nursing homes and talking to the residents. Dylan seemed to love the idea of us spending time together spreading joy to people who need some happiness. He was excited to tell them his jokes and tell them all about Bobby his stuffed bunny. He also seemed interested to see where the old people live and what their rooms are like. Okay! He is on board. I am so lucky to have such a sweet social boy. Dylan and I agreed that this week we’ll go see how we can sign up to volunteer. Then I dropped the kids off at my friend’s house and went to work.

On Monday I was talking to my friend about how I had to check out nursing homes because Dylan and I were volunteering. I was so proud telling her how my self-absorbed little boy was maturing and thinking of others. She said that Dylan mentioned that to her. I was beaming with pride.

“What did he say?” I asked her.

“He said that he was going to talk to old people and make them laugh so that they would give him candy & stuff.” She replied and tried hard to stifle a laugh.

“I am so proud. My son is going to shake down sick old people for candy.” I said sarcastically and hid my face in shame and started laughing she then burst into a joyful fit of laughter. We are still going. He doesn’t get it now, but some day he will.

The Girl Pumpkin

Every Halloween as long as I can remember I looked forward to watching the Great Pumpkin on TV. I always identify with Linus I too was an eccentric dorky kid who carried a blanket. When I was a young kid I would look forward to the show hoping that that year would be the year that The Great Pumpkin would show up and Linus would be vindicated. Alas as in life the show was always the same. The Great Pumkin never came and Linus ended up heartbroken, humiliated, and laugh at by the other kids. A subject I knew way too much about in my own life, my days in elementary school always ended like Linus’ adventure in the pumpkin patch, with kids laughing and me in tears. Thank goodness for Halloween candy. Eating too much sugary goodness always makes a dorky blanket carrying girl feel better.


Unlike Linus I had the opportunity to grow older. As I grew older I started leaving my blanket at home and most importantly I learned how to fight back. I was still the preferred prey of my school bullies and was hunted from homeroom to recess bell. Only I was equipped with a battery of witty comebacks and an arsenal of insults of my own. As I launched my counter attacks I noticed that the other kids stopped joining in my abuse as they usually did and instead were laughing. Can you believe that they were laughing with me for once and not at me? They all thought that I was funny, really funny. Let's clarify they thought that I was funny, mind you that none of them ever thought that I was cool and some of the super evil kids never stopped teasing me, but I did find my talent and my strength. I couldn’t wear a miniskirt, get a date, shoot the winning basket, nor get on the honor roll, but that was okay with me because I was funny.

Every Halloween I watch the Great Pumpkin with my kids. My son who is popular and cool, and my shy akward daughter who watches gripping her blanket close to her chest. I see the dissapointment in her eyes when the Great Pumpkin let's Linus down. She says. "On no Momma! He sad. The Pumpkin no come."

I smile at her and open my arms. I hold her close and tight comforting her and holding her close. Poor baby, The Great Pumpkin never does comes to save Linus, but someday my sweet girl you will rise up and save yourself. Oh how we will celebrate on that day.