busy bees

Two quotes come to mind in a humorous way when reflecting on yesterday.

I advise thee to visit thy relations and friends; but I advise thee not to live too near to them. Thomas Fuller

My stepfather usually takes my grandmother on her errands, but due to Mother still in the hospital I volunteered to drive her home from the hair parlor. It is her social event of the week due to her age and immobility. She tends to be cranky and is old-fashioned in her interactions with children. She likes them neat, quiet, and polite- all the time. It took 15 minutes to drive downtown, 20 minutes to wait for her to come out, 5 minutes to drive her across the street to her apartment building, and another 15 minutes home again. The 5 minutes with her in the car was the longest aspect of the morning. I love my grandmother dearly, I really do, but to be polite she does best with tiny babies and much older children.

What the mother sings to the cradle goes all the way down to the coffin.

Henry Ward Beecher

In the afternoon we drove back downtown for art lessons for Will and Mary. I took the younger ones to Mother's and plopped them in front of the TV while I mowed the grass, pruned the bushes, and cleaned up the backyard. She is coming home from the hospital today and I wanted it to look neat and tidy. It is the only thing I can do to help and I am happy to do it.

I did feel a little jealous of some of the other moms who looked cool and fresh after their lunch out while I was hot and sweaty with baby barf on my shirt. However, I know that lunch out with 3 under the age of 4 wouldn't have been refreshing at all and I actually enjoy mowing the grass. Seeing clipped grass is instantly gratifying, much like folding the laundry and vacuuming; at least until the grass grows back, the next load of laundry is deposited on the bed, and muddy children tromp on the carpet.