When the dad is out of town, the estrogen can flow freely
"Mom, how long do we have to listen to this?"
"Listen to what?"
"Your music." This was accompanied by a wrinkled nose that seemed to liken The Smiths to broccoli or asparagus.
So it was that my daughter and I spent the weekend together last weekend. Her dad was out of town on a "guys' weekend." He was asked to bring poker chips and condiments. I quizzed him about it because I was suspicious about the industrial-sized containers of mayonnaise and ketchup he had purchased. Part of me wondered if perhaps had been asked to bring condoms and he had misunderstood.
All I knew was that my competition for the use of the living room television was temporarily reduced. I let her have it on Friday evening as I had other stuff to do. The little Minecraft addict can play for hours.
Normally, on Saturday mornings, I get up and go to the gym or to yoga, run errands, hit the farmers' market, etc. Often, it's nearly lunchtime when I return home. My family is almost always still clad in pajamas at that time. So, the kid is used to a very leisurely Saturday morning. Not on my watch, mister. I hauled her out of bed by 7 a.m. so that we could make it to a Weight Watchers meeting at 8. She was still partially unconscious when we left the house, I think. She played on her iPad during the meeting. After the meeting, she ran to the car so that we could head to the bakery to buy her favorite bread (her Highness prefers a particular brand of French bread that's $4.00 a loaf). And then it happened. As she ran, she dropped the iPad. It flew out of its case and landed face down in the parking lot. "It's okay, it's fine!" she exclaimed as she climbed into the car.
And then it wasn't fine. "It's cracked!" she wailed, her eyes filling with tears. I knew she felt terrible. I assured her that I would get it fixed but that she would need to do chores to work off the cost. After that, I dropped her off at her friend's house so that she could get in on a sledding excursion in the park. I went to the gym in peace and then hit Home Depot. I am in the process of replacing all of the cabinet/draw pulls in the house. I was also determined to put new blinds in my bathroom. The bathroom featured pink blinds when we bought the house 17 years ago. Coincidentally, 17 is the number of years I have hated those blinds. Anyway, I picked up the drawer pulls and the blinds and headed home to grab a shower.
Later, the kid and I headed to the mall and that's when I got the bad news about the iPad repair. $139.00. Argh! "You. Will. Do. Chores." I said with a tightened jaw. I mean, that is a lot of money and I am cheap.
Speaking of cheap, I had a good coupon for The Children's Place so we popped over there and picked out a few spring-y things for the kid. Right about then, I got a text from Mr. Guys' Weekend. He said he was playing cards and was up $100+. "Oh good," I replied via text. "iPad repair is also $100+. Win more $." While we were in the fitting room at The Children's Place, my daughter informed me that I am too strict. Girlfriend has NO idea what strict is.
We had a quiet evening at home. I installed the new drawer/cabinet hardware and then set my sights on the blinds. I could see that a drill would be required. I have never used a drill but I was pretty sure we have one somewhere.
"Where is the drill?" I asked my husband.
"Why?"
"No reason!"
Anyway, I managed to get the new blinds installed and the Pepto Bismol ones are gone at long last. I was playing music as I worked and that was when I got the "how long do we have to listen to this?" question. I feel like I should mention that a Stevie Nicks song was playing at the time and if not liking Stevie isn't a criminal offense, then I just don't know what is.
Sunday was pretty uneventful. I had to haul her out of bed early again because I needed to get to church early. We were having a special service to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Selma and I was coordinating the service. Later in the day, we went to an art festival.
All in all, it was a good weekend, despite a few mother-daughter clashes. I capped off the weekend by registering both of us for a 5K (to be held in May). It is billed as being a good event for beginners and families, and that it's okay to walk, too. So, I figured it's something we can do together before the day comes when I'm so embarrassing that I get banned from the mall altogether.
"Listen to what?"
"Your music." This was accompanied by a wrinkled nose that seemed to liken The Smiths to broccoli or asparagus.
So it was that my daughter and I spent the weekend together last weekend. Her dad was out of town on a "guys' weekend." He was asked to bring poker chips and condiments. I quizzed him about it because I was suspicious about the industrial-sized containers of mayonnaise and ketchup he had purchased. Part of me wondered if perhaps had been asked to bring condoms and he had misunderstood.
All I knew was that my competition for the use of the living room television was temporarily reduced. I let her have it on Friday evening as I had other stuff to do. The little Minecraft addict can play for hours.
Normally, on Saturday mornings, I get up and go to the gym or to yoga, run errands, hit the farmers' market, etc. Often, it's nearly lunchtime when I return home. My family is almost always still clad in pajamas at that time. So, the kid is used to a very leisurely Saturday morning. Not on my watch, mister. I hauled her out of bed by 7 a.m. so that we could make it to a Weight Watchers meeting at 8. She was still partially unconscious when we left the house, I think. She played on her iPad during the meeting. After the meeting, she ran to the car so that we could head to the bakery to buy her favorite bread (her Highness prefers a particular brand of French bread that's $4.00 a loaf). And then it happened. As she ran, she dropped the iPad. It flew out of its case and landed face down in the parking lot. "It's okay, it's fine!" she exclaimed as she climbed into the car.
And then it wasn't fine. "It's cracked!" she wailed, her eyes filling with tears. I knew she felt terrible. I assured her that I would get it fixed but that she would need to do chores to work off the cost. After that, I dropped her off at her friend's house so that she could get in on a sledding excursion in the park. I went to the gym in peace and then hit Home Depot. I am in the process of replacing all of the cabinet/draw pulls in the house. I was also determined to put new blinds in my bathroom. The bathroom featured pink blinds when we bought the house 17 years ago. Coincidentally, 17 is the number of years I have hated those blinds. Anyway, I picked up the drawer pulls and the blinds and headed home to grab a shower.
Later, the kid and I headed to the mall and that's when I got the bad news about the iPad repair. $139.00. Argh! "You. Will. Do. Chores." I said with a tightened jaw. I mean, that is a lot of money and I am cheap.
Speaking of cheap, I had a good coupon for The Children's Place so we popped over there and picked out a few spring-y things for the kid. Right about then, I got a text from Mr. Guys' Weekend. He said he was playing cards and was up $100+. "Oh good," I replied via text. "iPad repair is also $100+. Win more $." While we were in the fitting room at The Children's Place, my daughter informed me that I am too strict. Girlfriend has NO idea what strict is.
We had a quiet evening at home. I installed the new drawer/cabinet hardware and then set my sights on the blinds. I could see that a drill would be required. I have never used a drill but I was pretty sure we have one somewhere.
"Where is the drill?" I asked my husband.
"Why?"
"No reason!"
Anyway, I managed to get the new blinds installed and the Pepto Bismol ones are gone at long last. I was playing music as I worked and that was when I got the "how long do we have to listen to this?" question. I feel like I should mention that a Stevie Nicks song was playing at the time and if not liking Stevie isn't a criminal offense, then I just don't know what is.
Sunday was pretty uneventful. I had to haul her out of bed early again because I needed to get to church early. We were having a special service to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Selma and I was coordinating the service. Later in the day, we went to an art festival.
All in all, it was a good weekend, despite a few mother-daughter clashes. I capped off the weekend by registering both of us for a 5K (to be held in May). It is billed as being a good event for beginners and families, and that it's okay to walk, too. So, I figured it's something we can do together before the day comes when I'm so embarrassing that I get banned from the mall altogether.
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