Sleep

Sleep. Superficial
Unneeded
Eyes burning
With the sting of weariness
Caffeine at my fingertips
Doing little to revive
Head groggy
Tongue loose
Incoherent speech
Reminding me of a previous life
When sleep was superficial
Unneeded.

As a little girl
Not wanting to go to sleep
Using ever excuse
To try and stay up late
“I’m not tired”
“Just a little bit longer”
Excuses not working
Holding in the yawn
Not wanting them to see
Trying to convince them
Sleep is superficial
Unneeded

Back in college
I would often sit
On the rim of exhaustion
Not falling off
Able to function with even less
Day after day
Not needing it
I’m not as young
Can I go back
To those days when
Sleep was superficial
Unneeded

Newborn baby in my arms
Rocking gently
Back and forth
Feeding, comforting
Singing gentle lullabies
Baby smiling up at me.
At the slightest cry
I would wake in a flash
I was needed
Rest would have to wait.
Sleep was superficial
Unneeded

And now I have
A glossy look in my eye
Mind wandering
Drifting away
Barely conscious
But I must go on
As the day goes by
More life being drained
Lifelessly going
Through the motions
Knowing sleep is superficial
Unneeded

My eyes are getting heavy
The sleepiness is over coming
With a jerk of the head
I’m awake again
How long can I continue
In this state of unrest
I can’t keep them open
Can’t fight it off any more
I have lost the battle
Sleep has come
No longer superficial.
Needed

McDinner

I highly doubt I have an original idea here. Nor do I think I am about to coin the phrase. Really, it was a Freudian slip. My 7 year old declared he wanted McDonald's today and I was trying to tell him we were not going to McDonald's for dinner and instead I said we are not having McDinner. So I have decided every time we go to McDonald's for dinner, I will call it McDinner and the world should fallow in my footsteps so I can become famous!

I am a terrible parent. It's the truth. I know I should fix meals low in fat, sugar and with plenty of fruits and vegetables. But, I often choose to McDinner. My two oldest children are off to college. My 16 year old daughter is often at activities. My husband eats at strange times, so often it is just me and my 7 year old who needs fed. He hates vegetables. Its a battle to get him to eat them. I am an old parent now. With my 3 other children, I would take on the vegetable battle, but I find with my younger son (almost 10 year gap between you 2 youngest), I am less ambitious to fight the vegetable battle. Instead of cooking a meal for my 7 year old and I, it just seems easier to run through the drive thru and McDinner. No dishes. No prep. I'm pretty busy. Often don't leave school until around 6pm. I'm tired. I have work to do. McDinner just always seems like a good idea.

So yes. I often fill my 7 year old son up with empty calories. Dr. Pepper to drink. Fries. Double cheeseburger or 6 count nuggets depending on the day. What's worse about McDinner as often as we have it...My 7 year old is overweight. 99th percentile. I know that's bad. Heck, I'm overweight. Obese in fact. My own weight loss goals are to no longer be "obese', but just overweight. I really should be a better parents. I should not let my 7 year old convince me to McDinner.

So, what's on the menu for dinner tonight? I have NO idea! Will it be McDinner? Maybe. Will I magically become a good parent? I highly doubt it.

Dusting off the Old Blog

I haven't blogged in almost a decade. But a Facebook comment from a friend prompted me to dust off this old blog and write again. You see, I am pretty transparent on my Facebook page. Where some people use social media to depict  a life that is better than reality, I use mine to make fun of myself and my children with the raw reality of real life. I have the philosophy that if you can't laugh about it, what's the point?

It was the comment, "Are you writing this stuff down somewhere. I mean beside Facebook?  Because I think you have the potential to be the next Erma Bombeck!" that got me thinking. I have to confess, I had to Google who Erma Bonbeck was. I am not really good with knowing famous people's names (actors, actresses, authors, etc). It's on my bucket list to be a published author, (authoring a blog would be close enough), but never could think of content to write about. People have said, "You should write a book," but I have been telling myself, who in the world would want to read about an average ordinary person's very odd and unique life. My friend's comment, the fact I have been reading a book written by someone (can't remember author) about their life and googling about Erma Bombeck got me thinking, maybe there is an audience out there for the crazy world I live in. 

So here I am. Dusting off the old blog. The title of this blog (Stuff About Nothing) still seems appropriate. I guess some things never change. 

Brief introduction about me. I am currently 43 years old. Married, divorced, remarried. I have 4 kids ages 20, 18, 15, 7 (3 from first marriage and 1 from second marriage). My kids are my life. I am primarily a teacher. And that's me. Sounds pretty ordinary and boring, right? You would think. My last line of the Facebook post that prompted me to dust off the blog was, "Is everyone's life like this, or just mine?" 

Here is the post (with a few insertions to clarify)

If I told you the story of today, no one would believe it...so here it goes.

1. Prom dress shopping in Omaha for Hannah (16 year old daughter) and her BFF (I hate shopping)

2. Nathan (oldest child) runs out of gas 

3. Birthday party 

4.  Nathan blows a tire. 

5. More shopping in Sioux City (remember I hate shopping)

6.  Impromptu trip to Sioux Falls to do more shopping. (Have I mentioned I hate shopping)

7. 15 minutes away from Sioux Falls mall, van dies (fuel injector issues) almost had to be saved by Nathan. Never made it to mall. 

8. On way back from Sioux Falls, stopped at gas station. Bought lottery ticket because surely the bad luck was over. 

9. Brian (7 yeat old son) has icky accident in men's gas station restroom and had to ride the rest of the way home in wet pants.

10. A 12:30am trip to store for a new plunger when my literal prayers were not answered.

11. Lose 1 hour of sleep tonight.(day light savings time)

12. Did not win the lottery

Throughout the day I kept saying that it could be worse.  Maybe I should stop saying that.

Is everyone's life like this, or just mine?

So there is the question I pose to you? Is this kind of day normal, or do these things really just happen to me?