“Where Does My Time Go?” (summer edition)

A day in the life. Now with more parenthetical questions!

6:00 AM
Hear Ada wake up. Listen to Chris get up with her.* Roll over and go back to bed.

7:30 AM
Wake up to hear Chris and Ada coming up the stairs. Open my eyes to Ada joining me on the bed. Listen to Ada tell me: "Wake up, Mama! Get up Mama!" (Why does Chris think that the toddler wake up call is a good idea? Doesn't he know that this just fuels my desire for turnabout?)

7:50 AM
Give in to Ada's demands. Eat breakfast, shower, gather kid stuff. (Why does it bother Ada to see me in bed? Why doesn't she seem as annoyed when it is she finds Chris in bed?)

9:10 AM Drive to Ellen's house, pick up Ellen and Monkey Boy and head for the zoo! (How does Ellen manage to look to put together, while I look like I didn't bother to glance in the mirror after donning jeans and my beloved "sexy senior citizen" tee?)

9:40 AM
ZOO! Marvel how much Ada likes the train ride, and kick myself for never having taken her on it before. (Why am I so resistant to this kind of thing? Is it because my parents always resisted this kind of thing when I was a kid?)

11:50 AM
Drive home. (Why while Ada takes off her shoes, complains that Monkey Boy stole her sock, and generally directs from the backseat.

12:20 PM
Struggle through a pre-nap diaper change. (Why the character on the diaper matters, I still can't figure out. Also, why are there so many Elmo diapers in the pack? I know other kids love the red monster, but Ada is just not a big fan.)

1:00 PM
Chat with Chris's dad, who has stopped by for a visit. Eat the sandwich he brings over. Think but then forget to verbalize my thanks for the food. (How will I ever train Ada to be polite if I can't manage basic niceties myself?)

1:20 PM
Talk on the phone with Aarin about the pleasures and annoyances of blogging, why our children act the way they do, whether it is possible to stay away from freshly made rice krispie treats, and what to drink when we get together on Sunday. (Is it possible for me to be as helpful to Aarin as I would like to be, in these early months of her time as mother of two? I worry about my capacity to do this, but I want to be that kind of friend.)

2:20 PM
Fantasize about winning a pass to Blogher. Remember to send a link about this post to Parent Bloggers Network and Light Iris. Cross fingers. (Why is Blogher such a draw? Why do I already know that if I don't go I will feel depressed the week it is going on?)

3:00 PM
Baby-sit for Monkey Boy so that Ellen can run some errands. (Is it wrong that I am happy to sit on the couch with the computer in Ellen's quiet house while MB sleeps?)

3:30 PM
Deal with Monkey Boy's annoyance that upon waking he finds me instead of his mother. Call Chris, who brings Ada over for backyard playtime.

5:30 PM
Head to Susie and Mike's house for dinner. Coo over their now one year old child, insist that time is not possibly moving so fast. Sing Sunrise, Sunset to myself when no one is listening. (Why, just a year past Ada's first birthday, does it seem impossible that Susie's son is a year old? Is it even possible that this baby has been with us for a year?)

7:15 PM
Put Ada to sleep in Susie's bedroom, return to the kitchen to help with dinner prep. Thrill at the fact that Susie and I both have husbands who take charge of dinner. Enjoy grilled meats and veggies. (I wonder if there is a better way to enjoy summer than with food cooked on the grill. Maybe food cooked on the grill and a drink with lime in it?)

10:45 PM
Finally pick up Ada and drive home, after declaring my intention to do so for 45 minutes. Even while Ada is in my arms, I feel sad for the day I no longer pick her up and cuddle her sleeping form to me, inhaling the scent of clean, sleepy girl. (Do others feel this pre-nostalgia, a sweet, fond sadness for time that is not yet lost?)

11:30 PM
Resist urge to bring up weighty topics with Chris at this time of night. Fall asleep thinking about what I will do tomorrow. (Why can't I remember the things I think about late at night?)



*Oh how I love summer. Among other enticements, it means Chris and I switch off morning duties and I get to sleep in several days a week.