Friday, September 10, 2010
Blessed Boredom
Sometimes, I pine for a more exciting life. Do you know what I mean when I say that life just seems boring? It's not that I get much time to simply sit around like a vegetable, especially now that the kids are back in school.
I should just paint my van yellow because then I'd feel more like an actual taxi cab driver. Honestly, I feel like the clock sprints from 6:45 A.M. to 11:30 P.M. while I shut my eyes, wondering what the day actually consisted of. Nothing brilliant or exceptional comes to mind.
Cheese stix and Gogurts for breakfast might top the list as interesting, but that would be a pretty boring list. My youngest daughter and I did meander off for an exciting breakfast at the donut store after dropping off her older siblings at school.
It was fairly predictable, except for my puzzlement as I contemplated how my daughter could possibly stuff that much frosting up her nose while consuming so little of the actual donut. Chocolate of course...but amazingly her light green dress stayed clean.
We enjoyed the preschool orientation today and saw some old faces...and a few new ones, including some of the cutest newborns who decided to pop out during the summertime.
My daughter's matriculation to the big-kid playground was a tremendous achievement, as was her discovery of a black widow spider on the edge of the yellow slide where she and her friends were playing. My detective daughter saved the day! I of course summoned help from a nearby teacher and fled the scene like a total wimp.
After conferencing with a few teachers after big-kid pick-up, we finally made it to my son's eye doctor to retrieve his new glasses. At first the blue frames were nowhere to be found, even though we'd received our pick-up call three days earlier.
We waited patiently, as I read a totally strange book titled "Noel" to my kids for about ten minutes. If you've read it, you might associate it as a classic, but I found it to be rather eerie, with references to people as things and the "happiness" that the ornament possessed as if it in fact was a person.
Then, we found ourselves back in the donut store because it's Friday after all and you can never have too many donuts, right? While the kids scarfed down their donuts, my middle child realized she'd forgotten her new Santa toy at the eye doctor so off we strolled back in that direction.
Thank goodness Mr. Claus had wedged himself safely between a chair and the wall; his red jacket was unmistakable. Now, as I type, I can hear the Frosty the Snowman chorus, as my three kids sit watching a Christmas video in September. Strange, right?
And what comes to mind is that none of this day has been particularly eventful, just busy... filled with lots of menial tasks. As I've thought about how the day has not amounted to much, as far as most onlookers would conclude... I'm thinking that it's actually an ok thing.
I mean, having a somewhat uneventful day is a blessing, really. It depends on how you look at it, of course. But, it's better than one of my kids having broken a limb. Or someone getting stung by a bee. Or someone getting the stomach flu or hives or strep throat.
Amazingly, no-one even scraped a knee today. And everyone actually ate their lunch, which bums my dog out cuz she loves bologna sandwiches. But, she got the crust of one kid's sandwich, so even she is pretty content at the moment.
We have a fridge full of food. The weather is mild and comfortable. Our cars are all running. I've got way too much clean laundry to fold at the moment; but, at least we have clean clothes to wear and my littlest doesn't have to borrow her big brother's undies like she did earlier in the week.
I guess what I'm getting at is this: boredom can be a blessing. It's way better than total chaos. And while it might seem less meaningful than winning the Lotto or being at Disneyland, we're all doing pretty well right where we're at. Things could be way worse.
So, if your day has been slightly dull, but free of catastrophe like mine, then you should count yourself lucky and stop complaining. Let's enjoy the trivial stuff more often. Let's take time to feel thankful for life's mediocre moments.
Truth be told, we all know that there are plenty of crazy ones just lurking around the corner. Sometimes, we long for something more, but really we should just sit back and enjoy the nothingness of the moment that we're in.
Peace out and enjoy your night! I think we're gonna cook some pancakes and stay home for family movie night. How boring, right? I might even squeeze in a jog around the neighborhood, which will negate the caloric intake of Mud Pie ice cream that I intend to eat before bed. Total excitement, right?
BTW, if you're wondering about the holiday references, in my opinion, it's never too early to start thinking about Christmas. I love it more than dark chocolate and even Starbucks coffe; as such, I generally start playing Christmas music in July, which drives my husband insane.
In closing, God bless and remember to enjoy your kids while they're still living at home! Be glad that you have some boring moments to share together as a family. And please share some of your boring blessings; we'd love to hear from you. :)
I should just paint my van yellow because then I'd feel more like an actual taxi cab driver. Honestly, I feel like the clock sprints from 6:45 A.M. to 11:30 P.M. while I shut my eyes, wondering what the day actually consisted of. Nothing brilliant or exceptional comes to mind.
Cheese stix and Gogurts for breakfast might top the list as interesting, but that would be a pretty boring list. My youngest daughter and I did meander off for an exciting breakfast at the donut store after dropping off her older siblings at school.
It was fairly predictable, except for my puzzlement as I contemplated how my daughter could possibly stuff that much frosting up her nose while consuming so little of the actual donut. Chocolate of course...but amazingly her light green dress stayed clean.
We enjoyed the preschool orientation today and saw some old faces...and a few new ones, including some of the cutest newborns who decided to pop out during the summertime.
My daughter's matriculation to the big-kid playground was a tremendous achievement, as was her discovery of a black widow spider on the edge of the yellow slide where she and her friends were playing. My detective daughter saved the day! I of course summoned help from a nearby teacher and fled the scene like a total wimp.
After conferencing with a few teachers after big-kid pick-up, we finally made it to my son's eye doctor to retrieve his new glasses. At first the blue frames were nowhere to be found, even though we'd received our pick-up call three days earlier.
We waited patiently, as I read a totally strange book titled "Noel" to my kids for about ten minutes. If you've read it, you might associate it as a classic, but I found it to be rather eerie, with references to people as things and the "happiness" that the ornament possessed as if it in fact was a person.
Then, we found ourselves back in the donut store because it's Friday after all and you can never have too many donuts, right? While the kids scarfed down their donuts, my middle child realized she'd forgotten her new Santa toy at the eye doctor so off we strolled back in that direction.
Thank goodness Mr. Claus had wedged himself safely between a chair and the wall; his red jacket was unmistakable. Now, as I type, I can hear the Frosty the Snowman chorus, as my three kids sit watching a Christmas video in September. Strange, right?
And what comes to mind is that none of this day has been particularly eventful, just busy... filled with lots of menial tasks. As I've thought about how the day has not amounted to much, as far as most onlookers would conclude... I'm thinking that it's actually an ok thing.
I mean, having a somewhat uneventful day is a blessing, really. It depends on how you look at it, of course. But, it's better than one of my kids having broken a limb. Or someone getting stung by a bee. Or someone getting the stomach flu or hives or strep throat.
Amazingly, no-one even scraped a knee today. And everyone actually ate their lunch, which bums my dog out cuz she loves bologna sandwiches. But, she got the crust of one kid's sandwich, so even she is pretty content at the moment.
We have a fridge full of food. The weather is mild and comfortable. Our cars are all running. I've got way too much clean laundry to fold at the moment; but, at least we have clean clothes to wear and my littlest doesn't have to borrow her big brother's undies like she did earlier in the week.
I guess what I'm getting at is this: boredom can be a blessing. It's way better than total chaos. And while it might seem less meaningful than winning the Lotto or being at Disneyland, we're all doing pretty well right where we're at. Things could be way worse.
So, if your day has been slightly dull, but free of catastrophe like mine, then you should count yourself lucky and stop complaining. Let's enjoy the trivial stuff more often. Let's take time to feel thankful for life's mediocre moments.
Truth be told, we all know that there are plenty of crazy ones just lurking around the corner. Sometimes, we long for something more, but really we should just sit back and enjoy the nothingness of the moment that we're in.
Peace out and enjoy your night! I think we're gonna cook some pancakes and stay home for family movie night. How boring, right? I might even squeeze in a jog around the neighborhood, which will negate the caloric intake of Mud Pie ice cream that I intend to eat before bed. Total excitement, right?
BTW, if you're wondering about the holiday references, in my opinion, it's never too early to start thinking about Christmas. I love it more than dark chocolate and even Starbucks coffe; as such, I generally start playing Christmas music in July, which drives my husband insane.
In closing, God bless and remember to enjoy your kids while they're still living at home! Be glad that you have some boring moments to share together as a family. And please share some of your boring blessings; we'd love to hear from you. :)
Labels: boredom, kids, parents
