really and truly

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This is my living room, taken at maybe 5:45 am.  What IS all that shit? 

  • two, no, on closer inspection SIX barbies
  • broken box + various pieces to the girls’ favorite board game which is now pretty much garbage though I did see Willow with it the other day playing a game with Lego guys and the game board (not pictured here)
  • dirty socks
  • shoes
  • BIN FOR TOY STORAGE hahahaha
  • pencil
  • backpack
  • homework on couch
  • DVD from library
  • some kind of flyer for some kinda kid thing
  • books
  • blanket
  • plastic dog
  • at least one remote control

I walk in and see that and I want to kick a hole in the wall.  Messes like that make me so cranky.  It’s not that time-consuming to get it put up, really, but we didn’t get to it last night because we had other things to do.  Like have long discussions about proper language usage (you can’t call a parental figure an asshole or a bastard — even if you firmly believe with all your sincere and angsty heart that they are acting like one) that left me aching for the days when cookies! and juice! and maybe A BALLOON could turn around a shitty family moment in nothing flat.

Things got worse tonight before they got better.  But they did get better.  The living room even got cleaned up and then messed up again, and tomorrow it will look pretty much like it did today, but with a slightly different cast of characters splayed underfoot. 

I’ll miss that someday, won’t I?  Someday I will wake up to a quiet house and I’ll look at my fabulously stripey-painted, clean hardwood living room floor and it will make me cry.  There is just no pleasing me.

8 thoughts on “really and truly

  1. chris

    See, I truly am the asshole parent because when I see messes like that I clean them up quietly, all alone, with my big black garbage bag. 🙂

    Reply
  2. jenijen

    Chris ~ I do that, too, and demand entry into the asshole parent club! But if I tossed the little mermaid barbie or that damn plastic dog, the girls would take me in the backyard and barbecue me.

    Mamadaisy ~ I don’t think I will really miss the mess or the fighting, but I will miss having their stuff here and hearing their voices.

    Reply
  3. Jenny

    That looks like my living room! Only we don’t have as many small things because Suzi would swallow and choke on them. It makes me want to scream when I wake up to this sort of mess because there are other things we need to do, like paint, and put up curtains, and vacuum. But who the heck could vacuum when the floor is covered in stuff? And as I’m walking around picking everything up, Suzi is crawling behind me pulling it back out again. It’s like trying to sweep sand off the beach.

    Reply
  4. Lin

    Hey Jen…coming from the perspective of one who no longer wakes up to messes quite like the ones kids can create. When your children are grown you will have odd moments of hard memory that almost knock you sideways emotionally with the clarity of moments past, but then…then you know that it was right then and now it is just as right…only different. And the peace that comes with age is rather delicious! Something to look forward to sweetie, not something to fear. I promise.

    Reply
  5. jenijen

    Lin ~ I love you. Come visit!

    Jenny ~ Getting past the choking hazard stage has totally left me with a messier house. Or more of the tinythings messes anyway.

    furiousball~ I was thinking shopvac, but your choice of tools would take care of the nasty-ass carpet as well. Nicely done!

    Reply

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