Living a Longer, Better Life: Laundry and Friends

Day 4 - October 20 th, still no sugar :)

Today was Laundry Day. Yes, it gets it's own day in the week. We have a minimum of 8 loads x 60 mins each = 8 hours, plus a couple more additional hours to gather & sort, and then to forget it's Laundry Day in between cycles.

With so many hours confined to the house, it gives me the perfect opportunity to make some phone calls. Today I got to talk with 2 of my friends from back home. They were hour long conversations interrupted constantly by children needing food and kissed boo-boo's, people at the door, people wanting use of the very phone I was talking on...but it was all very delightful, and a real part of being a stay at home mom. We seek support, comfort, and encouragement from others like us. I need to know that I'm not the only one whose child thinks mommy's shirt is a kleenex. I need to know that other peoples kids also spill everything they touch on the ground...is that a super power? I need to know that after 13 years, I'm still not the only mom who is finding poo smeared underwear in her children's laundry baskets- that should just go straight into the garbage! I need someone to tell me that it is okay that my son still has no sense of personal boundaries, and that the senior he is repeatedly bumping into at the Costco check-out line up is going to be okay too (even if it's not true). Thank you friends! I love you for telling me what I need to hear, to get me through the difficult moment, until I'm strong enough to handle the truth. I love you for waiting to tell me the truth until you understand that I'm in a good place to receive constructive criticism. Thank you for being sensitive to my feelings, and situation; and for not judging me. We all know there are enough people out there in the world to put down and stomp on others.

It is friends, who help me get through the monotony of housework. Friends, who make me laugh so hard I cry. Friends, who make my burdens light. Friends, who help me never feel alone. There is amazing power in true friendship.

Found this anonymous quote on google. With all my many moves, this sums it up pretty perfectly:

Lunch (all meal ideas are on a student budget)

Daily Exercise: Lava Tree State Park.

Minutes from my house, and yes the sign is hand painted. That's just how we roll in Hawaii. We seem to be stuck in the 1980's. I have also seen signs advertising big community events written with spray paint on tarps, roped to trees.

What is a Lava Tree?