Monday

While most people hate to see Monday arrive I'm the opposite. I like the feeling of a clean slate for a new week - plus it's nice to have the house to myself after a weekend filled with man-stuff. I never realized how hard it would be to be the only female in a house. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade it for the world - but it's not for the faint of heart. You know all those things that the man in your life does to drive you crazy - not putting the toilet seat down, not knowing what the flush handle is for, dirty socks lying on the floor, putting dirty dishes beside the sink rather than in it? Imagine it multiplied by, in my case, three!

I've tried to teach my boys to be different. To be fair my 16-year old CAN sew his own buttons & rips, cook easy-peazy meals like spaghetti & tacos, and do laundry properly (i.e., he know how to SORT peeps!) - and my 8-year old is already learning the same fundamentals. You just can't get around that XY-chromosome thing, though (or as my mum calls it an "X,X-with-a-piece-missing chromosome"!). So while I know that the women that my sons eventually marry will be getting someone who can and WILL help them around the house, I just hope they're prepared to be oh-so-pleased that the hubby cooked dinner - then turn around and see a pile of socks in the floor by the bed, stalk into the bathroom and promptly fall in!

Now on to my stress-management post. Yesterday was bad. Really bad. I ended up beating myself up over that silly Tai Chi workout until I was surly and VERY difficult to be around. The hubby, in a moment of insight that I wouldn't have thought he possessed, sensed that I was at my breaking point. He told the boys to be good, tossed me in the SUV, and took me out for a bit of Christmas and birthday shopping. He then took me for a quick bite to eat at Penn Station, so that I could get my favorite artichoke sub. That small amount of decompression time really did the trick. We came home, popped some rising crust pizzas in the oven, made a salad, and had a family movie night. I must say that watching Kung Fu Panda, munching frozen pizzas & eating salad in the living room (gasp!) with my guys was a really nice way to draw the week to a close.

I'm feeling tired today. I woke up with a slight cough, which is almost always a sign of bad things to come - so I'm planning on taking it easy. I'm heading right now to do my Tai Chi workout. I think that, if it's so important to me that I'm going to be a real b@tch to live with if I don't get it done, that I should probably make it the priority of my day. Other than that the only things I'm asking of myself are:

1. Scrub my toilet. (See above about all of the men I live with - scrubbing a toilet in my house requires a Hazmat suit and an hour of elbow grease!)
2. Make my bed. (I've discovered that the sight of my pretty purple bed all made-up is a source of happiness everytime my eyes light on it!)
3. Finish the baby hat I'm knitting. A little over a month ago, I made this hat for a girl in my church's baby shower. Apparantly one of the guests fell in love with it, and wanted one in green and white (Marshall University colors, for those in West Virginia and thereby in the know!) When I went to vote last week, the mother-in-law of the original hat recipient asked me if I could make one. NEVER one to turn down the opportunity to knit something, I cast on last night. I'm currenlty at 50% on it :)

Of course, the usual things will have to be done. Cooking, feeding animals, etc., but those aren't really personal goals - just part of my job. Which brings me to my goal for the week:

This week I want to learn to start differentiating between my personal happiness and the happiness I get taking care of my family. I realized during my bad day yesterday that I have no clue what it takes to make ME happy. Almost all of the list that I made last week were things that made others happy AROUND me. So, this week I want to do one or two things each day that bring ME moments of bliss - even if everyone else around me thinks they're silly!

Hugs & chocolate~

Jenn