I am in the middle of a three-day stint with my mother as houseguest extraordinaire. She is the human version of the Energizer bunny. The woman never rests if there is work to be done (and sometimes even if that means creating work for herself). In my house she could go 72 straight hours without sleep – we have A LOT that needs tending to. My wife and I joke that she will wash all our clothes twice; just to be sure they are truly clean.
With my mom around, I cannot rest much. It is a double-edged sword, for sure. I love to lay low and relax on the weekends but I do recognize that too much work is sitting in front of me right now to afford my usual luxury (also, my mother will not let me forget this obvious fact!)
I did get a short reprieve from the yard work today, as my mom and sister-in-laws threw a surprise baby shower for my wife, arriving for lunch at 1pm. I cooked burgers and hot dogs on the grill and served that with mozzarella and tomato salad, soft pretzels and chips. The little gathering allowed me a few mid-afternoon hours to sit down and enjoy a thrilling Red Wings victory in game 5 of their series against the San Jose Sharks. Since 1989, I have been a loyal fan of the boys in red and white. I have traveled out to Detroit twice to see regular season games at the glorious Joe (Joe Louis Arena) and would never miss the chance to watch them play, especially in the playoffs, regardless of how much housework was on my to do list. The shower gave me the perfect excuse, so my mom couldn’t say a word (yes, I am 31 and still look for ways to avoid a scolding from my mum!)
My food intake today began with a warm croissant from the lovely little French bakery we are fortunate enough to have in our community. The owner is from France and his faithful interpretation of his nation’s pastry masterpiece is as good as, if not better than, any we ever tasted in France. From there we hit the farmer’s market (today was opening day) and then Whole Foods for a huge shopping trip.
Although I ate a fair amount of gourmet cookies, I managed to say no to the delicious cake my sister-in-law provided. So, I feel pretty good about that!
It was a great day, but then again how bad a day could I have had when it all started with a warm croissant and included a Red Wings playoff victoy?
Until next week!
Dad’s Losing It articles are published every Saturday and Tuesday. Follow Jeff’s journey during the rest of the week in the Dad’s Losing It Forum. In the Forum, Jeff discusses his individual workout routines and soundtracks, among other tidbits and musings from the week.
Jeff is a Family Fun blogger. Read more of his posts here.