I’ve found that since I’ve been staying at home, I don’t get the Sunday Night Blues anymore. I don’t wake up Monday morning praying for it to be Friday. Most often, I welcome a Monday. It’s when I can resume my regular schedule and settle back into my routine and recoup from the weekend festivities. Which, lately has consisted mostly of working on the bedroom project. And last Monday I had plans, and I was excited to be out and about and away from the house for awhile. But the problem about having plans is that they don’t always go as planned. So you could say my Monday was just a little, off.
It started first thing in the morning. Aya makes this banana fruit protein smoothie thing for breakfast every morning. I used to make it but since I’ve been staying up way too late, I can’t get up early enough to make it so she has been. But on Monday morning she overslept and asked if I could make it. As she nudged me awake and asked, I didn’t say no, but I just kind of grunted and grumbled, and then rolled over. After she disappointedly walked away I contemplated waking up. But then I decided against it. And then karma whispered in my ear, “Are you sure?” I responded by pulling the covers over my head. I knew right then that I should have gotten up and made the stupid smoothie. It was that moment that sent out a ripple that would affect my whole day.
First of all, Ellie woke up early. She was in a good mood, but it was early. So my plan to sleep in didn’t really work out anyway. And then she didn’t want to eat breakfast. Eggs, French toast, oatmeal, bananas…Her response to everything was “noo, noo.” I was finally able to get her to choke down some yogurt and a few crackers. Then I played “chase the naked baby.” This is when Ellie ran through the house in her diaper giggling as I tried to put her clothes on. She was like a goose that just ate a whole pack of Twizzlers. “Honk honk!” Finally, we were ready to leave the house.
I had plans to go to Macy Mondays at Greenfield Village. The past few times, I’ve been tagging along with my friend Kelly, her daughter Evelyn, and her mom. But this time I was going to bring my mom too. Our moms were going to meet. I can’t remember the last time I had to introduce my mom to one of my friend’s moms. The older you get, the less and less that seems to happen. But I wasn’t worried, they are both first time grandmas and they both like gardening. It was going to be fun.
It was supposed to be fun.  My mom called sometime in the morning and canceled because of a previous engagement she had forgotten about. Okay, that’s alright, it’ll be just like normal then. No big deal. But once I got on the road, I heard from Kelly saying that they would have to cancel too. Oh, okaaaay. It would be just me and Ellie. I was a little disappointed, but me and Ellie roll together all the time. It was still warm and sunny, we’d still have fun. And I was going to debut my sandals at my first major public event of the summer. I had enough to keep my mind occupied without company.
But when we pulled into the parking lot, it seemed like everyone was wearing shoes. Socks and shoes. What!? It’s going to be in the high 80s, where are your sandals, people!? How could this happen? I’m usually in the reverse situation.  Oh well, maybe this would be an opportunity to get some sun on my feet. But as we were walking towards the Village entrance, the clouds came in. It was not only getting overcast, but it was getting dark and a little breezy. And then after about ten minutes of walking in the park, it started to sprinkle. We went home. It’s like my mom and Kelly knew. Why didn’t they tell me?
My sob story doesn’t end here. There’s more.
When we got home, Ellie didn’t really eat lunch either. Again, it was just some yogurt and crackers. And after she said she was done, she walked around the house saying “Cackas? Cackas?” (Translation: Crackers? Crackers?) But when I offered her crackers, she got mad and stormed off whining. Then she got cranky, and then she got angry. It was nap time.
Naptime is usually a pretty simple procedure these days, even when she’s worked up. But not today. She was an uncontrollable crying mess. She didn’t want books, she didn’t want to be held, she didn’t want to not be held. She didn’t know what she wanted. Woah!? She wasn’t a hyper goose anymore, she was a cranky baby donkey who liked to kick. “Hee-haw!” Smack!
She finally calmed down a bit and I was able to get her to fall asleep in my arms. After a little struggle back and forth, I managed to get her in the crib and was able to escape the room without a major mishap. I thought that maybe my “off” Monday was over. Hadn’t karma slapped me in the face enough today? Apparently not, because Ellie was still cranky when she woke up too. She was antsy, irritable, and downright annoying.
But of course, as soon as Aya came home, she started dolling out hugs and kisses and ate a good dinner.
Next time, I think I’ll get up and make the smoothie.
