Monday Morning

Well, it was certainly a Monday morning at my house this morning... The time change always rattles me a little and shakes me out of my normal sleeping, and it had the same effect on Claira. Normally, after Greg leaves for work, I have about 30 minutes to get as much of my "getting ready for work" done before Claira wakes up. I like to be able to be dressed and only have to blow dry my hair once she's awake, because it gives us a few minutes to cuddle and play before we have to race out the door. I have time to make a bottle and we can lay together in my bed and enjoy a few minutes of just us.

This morning, however, was different. She was up before I even got out of bed, which is good for Greg because he gets to see her. That's always good for them. Greg needed to borrow my ATM card today because his replacement card is on the way and his other one had been deactivated. I very grumpily yanked it out of my wallet and nearly threw it at him, knowing that by doing so, I'd have to forego the coffee at Speedway that I really, really, really wanted this morning. But it was either him ending up on the side of the road without gas, or my going without coffee...

So, to get ready I put Claira in the bathroom with me and showered quickly and got dressed. She is very curious and likes to empty things - if a basket is full of lotions and body sprays, she likes to empty it. Or the trash, which was mostly empty today so I didn't have to worry about it. It's much easier keeping her in the bathroom with me and mopt up the water off the floor from her pulling the shower curtain back, than hearing her work herself up into a monster crying fit that takes 10 minutes to calm her down...

I got her dressed and got my hair dried and was doing my scrunching-spritzing thing with my head hanging upside down and when I popped up, she'd found the coffee cup on the back of the toilet that I'd "lost" yesterday morning and hadn't finished drinking. All over her - all over the closed toilet. So, I changed her clothes, which she did NOT want to do, grabbed a towel and was mopping up the bathroom when I realized how quiet it was and I didn't see Claira. So I got into the hall to realize her bedroom door was open (and NOT closed as I honestly, truly thought it was) and she was playing in the vaporizer on the floor... (This is why she isn't allowed to play in her bedroom alone because of the fan and vaporizer that are on her floor...) So I dried her hands and cried really hard for a couple of minutes because by that time, I was worn out and cranky and it was all just a little too much for me today (PMS does NOT help the situation). So I got Claira into her coat despite her crying and fighting me - again - got my stuff and got her to Mama & Papa Taylor's. Whew!!!

I feel guilty whenever I drop her off and walk out of their house and breathe a sigh of relief... I feel like I'm a terrible mother for feeling that sense of relief that for even just a few hours I don't have to personally safeguard Claira's happiness and well-being... Today, I didn't feel so guilty...

So, the sun was shining brightly this morning and I took a more scenic route to work and it was really peaceful. Greg called and we chatted for a few minutes and it was really pleasant. And I got to work and opened my bottled key lime sparkling water beverage, which promptly exploded all over my desk... AND NO COFFEE!!!

Seriously, I could be a sitcom. The exploding poopy diapers I have had to change at home and abroad, the severe caffeine withdrawals and Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde mood changes that come with PMS, the identity crisis I suffer on occasion when being a good "wife" or "mom" feels impossible to attain, the giant attack spiders living in my basement. How about the peeing into a 44 0z cup in the back of a little airplane that had no bathroom and was copiloted by a Tom-Cruise-Top-Gun lookalike? If only I could laugh at myself while these things were happening. If only I could be flipping channels tonight at home and run across a sitcom showing MY life long after I've lived it - I could laugh at myself then. But today, I'm not laughing so much...