If you have small children, then you have experienced the seemingly never-ending energy supply that is housed in the tiny bodies of our babies. They will play, sing, scream, and fight sleep until their last drop of energy is spent. Many times, the needle has been on the E of Mommy's energy tank for hours before her child succumbs to eventual weariness. When you are a single mom with no "back-up" for moments like this, you have to be creative and resourceful to make it through. Today has been one of those days for me.
Last night, I did not sleep as well as I had hoped, but I was up and at 'em bright and early this morning. I spread wonderful droplets of knowledge into the minds of my students, worked on looming deadlines, graded mountains of papers, and basically had a typical day at work. But as the afternoon waned, I found myself more and more drowsy. I knew I had five hours of homework, cooking, and entertaining to do with a five year old who was bouncing with excitement to tell me about her day at school.
As we drove home, I devised a plan to get through the hours between the school day's end and the 9:30 bedtime that seemed days away. Then I remembered that I had recorded the Grammy's from last night! Yes! My daughter LOVES music, and that was two hours of pure entertainment that would keep her little self smiling, dancing, and singing while I could make dinner, do some chores, and relax a bit. Perfect!
We came home and finished her homework and spelling words fairly quickly, ate our dinner of tacos, and discussed our day at school. Then, I turned on the Grammy's. She insisted that her baby dolls wanted to watch, too. So, we lined up a sofa full of stuffed animals and babies to start the show. She oohed and ahhed over Taylor Swift, talked about Carrie Underwood's dress, and talked about Hunter Hayes as if they were best friends (we saw him in concert earlier this year). All the while, I finished everything on my list and was able to relax in a semi-conscious open-eyed nap until I heard L.L. Cool J closing show. As I type this, I feel my eyelids starting to droop again but she is still busy telling her dolls about the circus and teaching them to juggle.
How does she sustain this level of energy 24/7? It seems that nature should have given mother's an extra dose of adrenaline that kicks in after we give birth and stays there "on demand" for the next eighteen years. Instead many of us feel zapped of that energy reserve after having a child, which is when we need it the most. Maybe that is why DVR was created! It is the savior of sleep-deprived single mothers everywhere. Now...two more hours...I wonder if I have an American Idol in queue! Let's hope so! Tata for now!
No comments:
Post a Comment