What's In a Day?

I often wonder how many people wonder what I do all day. I'm surely flattering myself that anyone gives me that kind of contemplation, so in all likelihood it's my superego at work. To his credit, Tim has never once asked me this, nor do I honestly think he ever will, but sometimes I feel the need to be prepared to answer it just in case. Or maybe it's just a fun writing exercise.

On most days, in no particular order, I:

• spend far too much time on my phone/computer/iPad. This blog would be Exhibit A, closely followed by my profile on Facebook.

• spend what I consider a healthy amount of time exercising, but probably too much time obsessing about how I will work it into my day.

• am trying to spend more time cooking healthy food, and a little less time drinking coffee. This can be a thankless task, especially when faced with a child prone to tossing food on the floor if she doesn't care for it or has simply had enough.

• spend a lot of time in the car. So much that it occasionally makes me weep. But then I take a deep breath and recognize that I am blessed to have a car, the resources to pay for endless amounts of gas, not to mention the ability to send our kids to the school and activities where we want them to be, regardless of where they are in relation to our home. Still, it's a lot of driving.

• volunteer at school, and witness Clare's restrained delight as the art teacher holds her sculpture up to the class as an example. Then I drop in on Danny's lunch and revel in the genuine delight that lights up his face as he sees me enter the cafeteria, quickly followed by lots of hugs and happiness.

• meet up with friends. I am blessed with many and don't see them all as often as I'd like, but I enjoy trying.

• monitor homework, enforce rules, and fill out the endless number of forms parenthood requires.

• do laundry, loads and loads of laundry.

• load and empty the dishwasher, and load and empty it again. And again.

• grocery shop, and run other errands. Sometimes these are fabricated to give me something to do outside of the house.

• continuously tidy up baby toys and the kitchen and fantasize about my kids playing with and eating invisible items.

• play hockey, and football, and basketball, and soccer. All of it pretty badly, but well enough for a little boy just looking for a willing and warm body.

• usually shower.

• watch Laura. Not just take care of her, I mean I really watch her (well, okay, except for the times I don't because I'm computing or texting, so she puts little Legos and Playmobil pieces in her mouth that I later have to fish back out). I often take a photo of her while I'm watching her, because it's all so fleeting, and I'm trying to capture every minute of it for myself, and for the family who doesn't get to see her daily progress. Some of these minutes are really boring, and I wonder how many more of them I can endure before it's time for her nap. And then she stands by herself for a moment, or says "wow" for the first time, or even just smiles at me. Only my memory can really capture these things.

• am grateful.