Getting a day off from work is both a blessing as well as a curse. We love it because it is time away from the mundane drill and kill of the work week. We despise it because we run around completing errand after errand until we realize that we are more burnt out being off work than being present. Why is that?
I must add the insult to injury by stating that a few years ago, my children attended school in the same area where we reside. It was a great way for them to attend school with the children who lived in our neighborhood as well as ride the school bus. (Yes, for them, that is a treat.) After a year of paying for the bus, a sitter and a cell phone for emergencies, I decided it would be best to move them into the area where I worked. I could get to them easily enough, and save a ton of money while doing so. At their previous school, holidays, mid-term breaks and unassigned days were different from mine. Now that they share the same schedule as I do, they are also at home when I have those breaks. Yay.
Today, I ran more errands than I had completed in a month’s time, making sure to write down every single stop in an organized fashion. Have you seen gas prices lately? I didn’t even want to chance making a U-turn because I had forgotten something or done it out of order. We went to the bank, got haircuts, to the post office, to Wal-Mart, to the grocery store, to the neighborhood car wash, to the Costco warehouse and a sporting goods store.
I stopped at the retailer called Dick’s Sporting Goods to see about a much-needed megaphone for my Leadership class. I got out of the car, left the boys to watch their movie, and went inside. After being told they didn’t carry the item, I walked back to my car, ready for the next stop. Behind me, I could hear the boys whispering.
“No, you ask her!” My eldest said.
“Ok, fine then!” His brother agreed. “Mom? Why are you going into a store like that?”
“A store like what?” I asked.
“Uhhh,” he continued. “That one?” He pointed at the store I had just left.
“ I had to get a megaphone. What do you mean? What’s wrong with that store?
“Mom. It is a nasty store!” He screamed.
“A nasty store? No, it isn’t!” Then it dawned on me. They could care less that the store’s name was of the person who owned it. Their mother had entered a ‘nasty’ store and they were embarrassed that I had stopped there with them in the car.
“I hope none of my friends saw me.” The youngest was concerned for his reputation.
Laughing, I assured him that coming out of a sporting goods store would hardly be reason for them to be ridiculed.
Upon arriving home, my eldest was allowed to go outside for a few moments. His brother was on punishment (AGAIN) from his shenanigans at school. (Back to School Nights are the best, arent’ they?) He left for about an hour and came back home exhausted from playing football.
“Mom, guess what?” He started. “I saw a friend of mine just now and he had a new soccer ball. “
“That’s nice.” I said. I don’t get excited over a new ball.
“I asked him where he got it ‘cause it looked kinda cool. He got it from that nasty place! Can we go back so I can get one too?”
“Uhhhh…”
“Laugh, people. It‘s good for the soul!
Melanie Lightbourne-Rowe is a single parent at Single Mothers Outreach in Santa Clarita and hosts a blog: laughterforthesoul. Read her bio here.
