Below Par

I'm feeling just a trifle rough around the edges today. Don't know if I slept the wrong way last night, if I'm coming down with another darned cold or if it's the flu -perhaps a bit too soon to tell for sure but suffice it to say, I definitely am not at my normal energy level. Not that I am always just full of energy and such to begin with -cause I'm not that way any more -but today, what little I had seems to have waltzed on out during the night and left behind the beginnings of a very scratchy, sore throat, a stomach that isn't flat out upset but just sort of queasy feeling and then, tired, just really, really tired!

Earlier today, a friend of mine stopped by for a quick visit. He had ulterior motives as he really needed to talk to my son-in-law about fixing the windshield wipers on his car but he stops by every now and again just to have a quick cup of coffee and gives us time to b.s. a bit about current junk in our neighborhood, a little bit about politics too once in a while and well, sometimes too, just to extend a hand in friendship so I know and remember I have him as a good friend.

Today, we were talking about stuff - the usual, just "stuff" -and Maya was doing her normal bouncing around the house. All of a sudden I hear these strange moaning sounds -well, they'd be strange sounds to anyone but those of us in this house -and there was Maya, leaning against the arm of the sofa, moaning, arching her back a bit, wiggling around and I knew what she was doing. THis is standard operating procedure for her when she feels the urge to do something that she refuses, flat out REFUSES, to deposit in the commode. Usually, shortly before this moaning, wigging, arching process begins though, she goes in the bathroom and removes her "unnywears" (her word for the underpanties) and dons a nice, soft, comfy pull-up. I hadn't heard or seen her do that though.

I spoke to her, asking her did she want to go sit on the pottie and she groaned out a "Noooooo." Ok, try that again and I tried to cajole her into going into the bathroom. About that time, all of a sudden, she reaches back and begins whimpering while holding her behind. "oooh, ooh, ooh. I got poopie in my unnywears." she announced. Ok, back we go to change the unnywears, make a big deal out of dumping the contents of those panties into the commode, wipe the little fanny clean and get new unnywears out of her drawer so she can revert back to her original methods, singing and dancing her way around the house.

I drop the contents into the commode and she looks over and comments to me, "Boy! That's a big chicken poop, isn't it?"

"Chicken poop" has been her latest addition to her vocabulary. This started on Monday when she'd had some chicken fingers to eat for lunch and shortly thereafter, had to go to the bathroom. Seems when she looked at the stuff floating in the commode it apparently (according to Mandy) was about the same shading as the chicken fingers she had eaten and she has now been referring to all b.m. as "chicken poop." Don't you just love the associations kids bring to things though?

I have been doing a little work today on a baby sweater I decided to tackle making and which I began last night. I have almost four inches of the back of the sweater knitted so far. Don't get all excited about that - four inches of a baby sweater, in a sort of lacy-type pattern is not indicative of any really fast knitting - not by a long shot. If my aunt were still around and knitting -with her fingers and needles clicking away almost at what seemed to be the speed of light -she'd probably have had this sweater almost completed by now. But my fingers and my needles don't click away near as fast as hers could -I have to glance over at the pattern, re-memorize each new row in the four rows that constitute the lacy part of this garment each time I start a new row! Not only are the fingers and needles slow -so is the brain in remembering the instructions. By the time I complete this thing I might have succeeded by then in memorizing the pattern of these four rows! That of course all hinges too on whether or not I can sustain my interest level in working on this and getting it completed.

On another note, the buds on Mandy's flowers she received yesterday from her dad are opening up just a tad more - still not enough so that it would show a marked difference from yesterday but I can see a few more buds here and there trying to open ever so slightly. I'll try to remember once they all are opened up to take a picture of the bouquet in full blossom -ok?

Mandy was busy today between doing laundry and talking on the phone with her brother, who was in Tennessee and then between Tennessee and Harrisburg, etc. -to help him get reservations for someplace nice where he could take his girlfriend out to dinner tomorrow and helping him to order flowers to have them delivered to her at work too. I know he is really thankful to have Mandy here, willing and able to be his go-between to get these things all set up for him while he is working.

And I am really grateful too when I see these two conspiring in that way. I know he won't forget that Mandy has been there to help him when he needs a little helping hand and I know too, when she's feeling really upset, put out, put upon by me or the kids or her husband or job -whatever -that he will be there for her to lean on and talk about the many things that bother her from time to time. There were years -back when they were much younger -when I worried about whether my kids would eventually be there to give each other a little helping hand, moral support, etc., but I know now I needn't worry at all about that not happening. What hurts one, hurts the other; what one can do to help is done -no argument about it, just done because the other needs just that little bit of help. '

Tonight too, Mandy is out - her very first church council meeting. She had to be at the church at 7 p.m. and her dear hubby had, no surprise here, forgotten all about that she had agreed to serve on the Church Council. When she wasn't back by 9 p.m., he started to mumble a bit that she should have been home by now till I explained there's no set time for these meetings to disband. It all depends on what issues are facing them, how difficult they might be to resolve, etc. It's now almost 10:15 and no, she's still not back but that is pretty much par for the course. Besides, since tonight was the Council's first meeting with the new members of Council, they had to be installed tonight too so that would take up a tiny bit of extra time too.

And, finally -today the kids had yet another snow day! Much to our chagrin as this marks 11 days straight that Maya has been home ALL DAY LONG! I am really anxious for school to take up again - even if it is only two days this week that she is gone for six hours, that six hour break from her is really a darned good thing! Not that I don't love her dearly - ya'll know I do that - but boy, trying to keep her occupied, trying to keep some tiny semblance of "clean" in the living room, to keep her fingers out of things she shouldn't be into, etc., is one big task!

So here's hoping tomorrow's weather is better, that school resumes, that Mandy and I both get a little rest then too from Maya's meanderings around the house!