This is the finished side of our basement.  It is the place in our house where IEP did his first crawling.  The place in our house where we watch movies and ball games.  The place in our house that doubles as guest quarters when we have overnight company.  The place in our house where GAP and I have had some of our most important conversations.  It is one of the most-used rooms in our house.

And as you can plainly see it’s a disaster right now.  The original cast iron sewer pipes under our house were corroded and must be replaced.  This means that a crew of men must dig into the ground beneath our house, exhume the old pipes, and put in PVC.  This also means that everything from the basement is now strewn about the first floor of our home.  It looks like crazy hoarders live here.

So, last night as I sat and stared at my computer screen, scanned the web for blogging inspiration, and came up empty handed, I resigned myself to the fact that I just don’t have it in me this week.

I will be back next week.  In the meantime, please keep your fingers crossed that this whole operation goes smoothly!

I’m certainly not alone in finding satisfaction in certain accomplishments.  It feels good to sit back and acknowledge the fruits of your labor.  It’s nice to know that something got done.  A job well done – even if you’re the only one who knows about it – is a welcome addition to any day.  Things like painting a room, finishing a long book, or spring cleaning the whole house are enormously satisfying.  Sadly, though, I’m not crossing many big projects off of my list these days.

Don’t get me wrong, I have plenty of semi-ambitious projects queued up.  I still have plans to start an herb garden this spring.  And I want to refinish the coffe and side tables in our basement.  And I will get through A Tale of Two Cities at some point this year if it kills me.  But for the moment (this moment when sleep and energy are far too dear) I’m finding my satisfaction in smaller accomplishments. 

Sunday was a perfect example.  For a variety of reasons we skipped church on Sunday.*  The boys and I spent the morning puttering around the house, not breaking our necks, but slowly tackling little projects.  Sheets and towels were changed.  Both boys’ dressers were culled of clothes that no longer fit.  My closets were switched out, summer for winter clothes.  A Goodwill donation pile was started.  Two loaves of bread were baked.  A couple dozen sugar cookies were frosted.  Both dogs were bathed and walked.  And both boys took solid afternoon naps. 

At the end of the day I looked back at it and thought, “This was a good day.”  And it was.

As I’ve thought about it since then I have recognized that in their own way, small accomplishments like these can be even more satisfying than big ones.  Perhaps I only feel that way because I’ve lowered the bar lately.  But perhaps there is some truth in it.  On Sunday morning I didn’t set out to have an excessively productive day.  And it was only in the absence of any larger goal that I had the time and inclination to knock out several smaller projects.  I was almost surprised at all that I had accomplished, and tickled by the fact that I wasn’t spurred on by any stress or ambition.  The day turned out to be - as my mother would say -  a pleasant surprise. 

I’m still looking forward to starting my herb garden, getting back into reading, and painting our basement tables.  But in the meantime I’m quite enjoying opening my closet to see all of my spring skirts and blouses.  These small accomplishments can be quite big in their own way. 

*The Calvinist in me must justify myself: GAP is in the throes of a monster month at work and had to spend the entire weekend at the office.  I’m certainly game for doing church with the boys on my own, but given the current sleep deficit I’m facing I just couldn’t muster the wherewithal.  Also, my parents were in town for a weekend visit and they were hitting the road just about half an hour before the service started.  There.  I’ve explained myself.  (You can take the girl out of the Presbyterian church, but you can’t take the Presbyterian church out of the girl…)

There once was a blogger named Gale
Who posted each week without fail.*
But try as she might
she just couldn’t write;
last evening her efforts did pale.

So I come to you now with a limerick.
Please don’t think that I’m playing a trick.
For I earnestly thought,
“Make an effort, or not?”
And this is what I could pen real quick.**

But I still bring good wishes for Friday.
And I trust that big thoughts will come my way
over the weekend,
so come back here, my friend,
for something worthwhile on Monday.

Last night the creative juices just weren’t flowing.  I joined all of the boys to walk the dogs.  Then I went out for a run on my own.  Then I came home, bathed and fed SSP, ate a sandwich, watched an episode of Modern Family that was saved in our DVR, made my lunch for today, showered, and went to bed.  Blogging just didn’t figure into the mix.  I hope you’ll forgive me.

Have a happy and safe Super Bowl weekend, and I’ll see you back here next week!

————————————————————–

*I realize that this is a stretch – especially coming on the heels of my hit-and-miss posting during maternity leave – but sometimes we must sacrifice the truth to save the rhyme.

**And sometimes we must sacrifice the grammar to save the rhyme.  For all you adverb mongers (Hi Granddaddy!), I’m fully aware that this should read “really quickly.”

My dance card was full last night and today’s post will be going up a day late.  Please stop back by tomorrow for my delayed Monday thoughts!

1. Picked up IEP at the house and then went to meet GAP at our neighborhood pizza joint for supper.
2. Let IEP wipe pizza sauce all over my shirt when he wanted to snuggle during dinner.
3. Resisted the temptation to have a Coke with my dinner.
4. Sang “Wheels on the Bus” and “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” with IEP before bedtime.
5. Listened to GAP regale me with descriptions of his own happiness at the start of college football season.
6. Surfed the web for blog post inspiration while said college football season played in the background.
7. Laughed with GAP while we folded two loads worth of laundry.
8. Confronted the fact that my housekeeper didn’t show up yesterday and cleaned my bathroom myself because it had become just too gross to ignore anymore.
9. Sadly pondered the fact that with my 34th birthday in a couple of weeks I will have officially entered my “mid-30s.”
10. Wondered whether or not the colds that befell my family this week are waxing or waning.
11. Took some NyQuil (with my OB’s permission since they took the alcohol out of it!)
12. Went to bed early.

I’m taking today off from work, so I figured I’d take the day off from blogging as well.  Hope you’ve had a good week, and I’ll be back on Monday!

Last night GAP and I watched Blue Valentine, after which I was too depressed to write much of anything.  So this week my Monday post will be going up on Tuesday.  Please check back tomorrow and I’ll have something worthwhile to say.  Hope you had a great weekend!

Happy Memorial Day.  I hope you’re enjoying the end of your long weekend.

As a little reward to myself for blogging through my first trimester (when I really could have used the break) I’m taking a couple of weeks off from blogging.  I’ll be back in mid-June feeling refreshed and full of interesting thoughts.

See you back here soon!

Happy Friday!  I am winging my way westward today to visit my sister and her tiny, sweet baby.  This means that last night, when I usually would have been blogging my little heart out, I was scampering around doing laundry, packing, snuggling IEP, and various other planning-related things.  I will be back on Monday with something worthwhile to say, but for the moment all that comes to mind is baby talk, which I’m sure only interests my new niece.  So I’ll spare you all my goo-goos and ga-gas and come back when I can use my real words!

Have a wonderful weekend.

It was a full weekend for us.  Dear friends came into town for a long weekend visit.  Our time together was filled with lots of laughter, toddlers, and food, but very little sleep.  And very little time for blogging.  So I’m taking today off, and will be back on Wednesday.  I hope you had a lovely weekend yourself, and that your week is off to a good start.  Happy Monday!