Today my wife is gone. Not, gone as in “gone” but simply way for the day. Most of the classes for her program to get her teaching certificate and Masters In Teaching are on Saturday. On a completely unrelated note, when I first typed that previous sentence, I typed “teaching” as “teeching” for some reason. Anyway…
So she’s not here, and I have the four younger kids. This isn’t a problem, as I’m used to caring for my children. How well I do it is up for debate, but I am capable. For those unaware, the children at home are August age 8, Déla age 6, Ciárán age 4 and Xavier is 16 months. People ask how my summer was and I reply “Loud.”
Right now as I type this, Xavier is down for his morning nap and the others are watching “Phinneas And Ferb” – a show I am beginning to like more and more, but that’s a different subject.
As soon as Xavier is up from his nap, I have to go to the store. This is something I don’t really want to do. It’s not that I dislike going to the grocery store, but taking all four of these kids is always a bother. The issue isn’t so much the youngest, but when the older three are together, arguments and fighting inevitably break out. Even by leaving just one of them behind changes the dynamics enough to make the experience much more manageable.
Lunch is approaching, and we have 3 slices of bread. I can not wait until my wife gets back from school. There is a need for bread in the house. I am not looking forward to going to the store and having my kids fight with each other. It’s not going to be a “quick trip” either. Since I’m going, I should pick up a few other things as well, rather than wasting time (and gas) with two trips.
……………….
And I’m back. Everybody survived. And yes, there was fighting amongst the children. This time it was about who could be underneath the cart. The trip took longer than expected and more than likely longer than it should have. Part of what took so long was managing the children. Xavier was fin, strapped into the basket, but the other three were jockeying for position. Which one was the most favored? Whichever one they weren’t at apparently. It is difficult enough to navigate the aisles of the grocery store with arguing children, but when they are moving about the cart, climbing on and off it makes the task much more difficult.
I wound up forgetting a couple of the things I need, including some spices for the crock pot stew I have going for dinner tonight. Thankfully I didn’t check closely enough and found upon our return that I did indeed have allspice in the pantry, and the cumin powder that was left in the container was sufficient for tonight. As I type this my house smells amazing.
Now I just wait for my wife to return. The three older children are downstairs watching “Phinneas And Ferb” some more, Xavier is down for his afternoon nap, and I am ripping a few more CDs from my collection while attempting to get some work done.
Another typical Saturday.