As you may remember, we're on quarantine. Sick child in the house. So that means lots of fluids, a little whining, rest, tissue and board games. Lots of them. And right now, so I can get a reprieve from board game mania but husband has taken over. They're downstairs, playing Risk right now as I type. And I haven't needed to get up to get anyone anything for over 30 minutes now. Bliss! Risk? You bring me joy!
My daughter showed me how to download a free Scrabble game on my iPod and now I'm addicted. I'm playing with her, with strangers from all over the globe. I have about 5 games going on right now and I honestly wish I could play more. But I do have dinner to make, laundry to catch up on, a family to interact with. But it's addicting! I can't stop. Now I need a 4 letter word, beginning with the letter z, using the following letters: YHAIIQB. It's a triple word score spot and I want to beat my opponent. SCRABBLE = JOY!
I hate it when my kids are sick. And to tell the truth, I'm not a very good nurse. I'm too busy being worried about what it "could" be that I get almost as cranky as they are. I have to physically stop myself, calm myself down and remind myself that it's just a cold. Colds are good. They challenge our immune system to do its job. My youngest is sick today. And he's the cuddliest of my children. We played checkers, we snuggled and read together. And cuddled for naps. Today my little boy was sick. But I was able to stop. Be calm. And find joy in his snuggles.
I'm not a big breakfast eater. And I don't like typical breakfast food. But I DO like breakfast for dinner. Especially when it's one of my breakfast casseroles that you make ahead of time and let sit in the refrigerator until you're ready. And that's just what we had tonight. After the mad dash after school, running everyone where they need to be and then picking them all up again I had very little time to make a good meal. So I whipped up my ham and egg casserole this morning. The bread soaked up all the eggy goodness throughout the day in the frig. And then I popped it in the oven just before picking up kids #2 and #3 from Art Class. It was ready by the time we got home. Serve it with a fruit salad and VOILA! Dinner is served. Joy!
Here I am. Saying it out loud. Singing the praises of sleep. But I love a solid night of sleep. Actually, the need for sleep annoys me. I used to think it was such a waste of time. But now I'm older and wiser I understand the value of good sleep and it's restorative qualities. Since children (and because I nursed for so long to a little nipper-napper) I haven't slept through the night in about 7 years. But last night? I did! From midnight to 7am I don't remember waking up one time. A miracle. And oh, so joyful. Zzzzzzzzz!
I love the weekend. But there are some times when I really find joy in Mondays. I like getting my routine back. There is comfort in routines. And our family operates well with routines - especially my youngest two children. So today was a day of making lunches, riding to school, tackling the laundry, working for a few hours at my husband's office, picking up the kids from school, snack, homework, dinner, baths and bedtime. A typical Monday = Joy.
