Catching Up

So many thing were put on hold this semester. The priority was getting the lectures done and tending to the basics for the kids. They have these damn laws about feeding and clothing children. But beyond those legal requirements, not much else happened around here.

Ian still has size four clothes in his dresser. When Jonah needed shorts, I didn’t have the energy to drag the boys to Children’s Place. So, I sliced the bottoms off a pair of jeans with a pair of gardening sheers. Jonah was shocked and impressed with that bit of handiness. Our closets still have woolen turtleneck sweaters. Bins of spring clothes are piled up in a corner. Just avert your eyes from the mess in the basement, please.

I have a short grace period before finals, so I spent the day cleaning up and puttering about the yard. I dumped a pile of the kids’ papers from school. That chore can only be done when the kids are gone. Jonah likes to assume that I’m saving every page of his math workbook for posterity. I made a dinner that involved fresh vegetables and not some wilted numbers from day old Chinese takeout. I chased Ian down the block.

Last week, I climbed the ladder to Jonah’s bunk. I whispered, “Tomorrow is my last day of lectures. I won’t have to work so much after that.”

Jonah said, “Tomorrow is your kids’ last day?”
“Yes.”
“You should bring in some floam for them to play with. They will want to do a craft on the last day of class.”
“I bet they would love that.”
“So, three days after the last day will they be grown ups?”
“Maybe the girls will. But the boys have to wait until much later.”