First day flying solo

Somehow here we are almost 2 weeks post surgery. Somehow the days fly past even without my normal jam packed schedule to fill the hours. Now the hours fly by as I just try to do the very basics of getting through the day.

Saturday was my first day flying solo as the Mom and general manager of the family. Solo in this context does not mean that I did this without the incredible help of all four children, it simply means that I had no adult supervision (as in they do the work...I rest) to get me through the day. Ken was called in to do a long heart case and I felt good enough to contemplate making breakfast (can't say no to that dark haired girl that carefully cuddles up to me, bats her eyelashes and asks for pancakes).

So the adventure of the day begins when I realize that the pancake batter is in a cupboard that I can't reach as is the griddle...so Ryan is recruited to be my arms...then the gallon of milk must be retrieved from the fridge by Cathryn and once the batter is mixed (I did actually dump the mix in and crack the eggs) the bowl is too heavy so Cathryn is enlisted to pour the pancakes...my job is to hand her the plastic pancake turner. Kids want homemade syrup so Ryan has to reach the corn syrup, maple flavoring, and carry the pan to the stove once it is full of water and sugar etc....but I did turn on the stove! So I guess the question is.....did that really count as me making breakfast???? I did at least have the energy to eat the pancakes served up by Cathryn standing in my usual spot on the inside of the bar as I sat in the "kids" chairs.

After such a nourishing breakfast I did of course manage to muster enough energy to assign chores...a normal part of life that the kids have been happy to miss! Each kid went to clean up their zone ( do I have to mention that the cleaning ladies were here on Wednesday...and Aunt Treasa was here until Yesterday keeping everything together??) and find the floors of their bedrooms, practice the piano and do a job in the yard. Triumphs of the chore time were that we found a shelf in Rachel's closet where Andria could stash her treasures because Rachel found a few treasures from 2nd and 3rd grade that she could finally part with, and Cathryn and Ryan did a fabulous job of cleaning dead plants out of the pots and flower beds in the back yard. I did a fabulous job of supervising and keeping everyone on task...and then declared chores done and friend time, I mean nap time, as the order of the afternoon.

Everyone found some social activity to engage them but poor Andria who elected to keep me company on the premise that I would try again to find her a friend in "half an hour". I vaguely remember her asking me very quietly a few times if it was a "half an hour yet???" but somehow I managed to get just a few more minutes of rest before I was ready to wake up--a full three hours later! Andria kept me company the whole time reading herself stories and writing/drawing on her little portable desk in my room--is she amazing or what! Apparently while I was out for the count the phone rang (next to my head) and a neighbor, Elizabeth, called to see if there was anything we needed from Costco. Luckily the home supervisor for the afternoon, Ryan, remembered that we were really in need of some milk and put the proper order in. So I woke up to the voice of Elizabeth delivering milk and asking if Andria wanted to come over and play (finally...the half an hour is up!!). Whew!! This is quite a job adjusting back to the rigors of everyday life!