Mama Time

In the last two weeks, people in my house have been sick. A lot. So I've had more days home with the kid than usual. Quite often, this will make me crazy, because I always have stuff to do - books to read, classes to plan, articles to write, etc., etc. After a week of sick days, a weekend day can feel overwhelming, because I have all that stuff from the week to catch up on - and the kid, too. (And in this case, my partner is sick in bed (finally his turn, I guess, poor guy.)) But I have to admit, sometimes being home on days like this is a lot of fun. For instance, earlier today, while I was quietly typing here at my desk, the kid was sitting in a big cardboard box with an empty wrapping paper tube playing "sailboat." "Bob the Builder" - an episode I hadn't seen before - was on in the background. I alternated between working on my blogs, checking email, and clearing off my desk, while he played happily on his own a few feet away from me.

Later, we ran errands together, stopping by a local restaurant to retrieve a forgotten scarf, the big box bookstore to pick up a book I had ordered, and the mall to get all kinds of things: socks for him, handbags for me, pizza for both of us. He crawled around under the Hot Topic t-shirt table while I looked through band t-shirts (they always have The Smiths but never The Cure, New Order, or Depeche Mode - why is that?!). He helped me pick out socks for him, adding pink and yellow to my pile of navy and white. (The kid is no dummy. He notices that boys are doomed to the ugly colors in the clothing stores. Stupid sexist fashion industry.)

He did go a little nuts after a couple of hours, peeking under the dressing room stall a couple of times. But by then, it was time to go, and he fell asleep in the car on the way home.

All in all, not a bad day.