Monday, January 04, 2010

Snowed In and Blue

I was going to call it the "Post-Holidays" blues, but that's not quite right. First, I'm not a big fan of New Year's, but I'll blog more about that later. I know that I am a bit sad about Christmas being over, because Eleanor enjoyed it so much, and I enjoyed buying presents for her.

But Christmas has been over for awhile, and we've moved on. I'm more depressed because Keith went back to work today (hence why I'm already up and typing before 7.30am), after being off since Christmas Eve. It was so easy to get used to spending the entire day together. Keith, Eleanor, and I would all have breakfast and play together. Maybe one of us would run off to workout or run or accomplish some small task on the to-do list. If Eleanor was driving me crazy, I could just say "Here!" and take a short break to replenish my patience supply. Once she went down for her nap, we would play a quick game of Bananagrams before moving onto laundry, cleaning, or whatever else needed to be done that day. It was a life that was very easy to get used to.

And now it's gone. No more mid-morning workouts. No more naptime Bananagrams. No more handing off the baby when I'm out of patience.

In this situation, I would typically run some errands to get out of the house and out of the rut. Eleanor and I might go to the bookstore, to pick up some 2010 calendars. Or swing by the grocery store for some necessities. But it snowed all weekend. We went out yesterday afternoon and the roads were in worse shape on our way back home than they were when we first left. I don't really relish the idea of taking Eleanor out on snowy roads unless I really have to, and I don't.

So here I am. Staring at the Christmas tree, feeling sorry for myself. But I'll do my best to enjoy it. Since I have no intention of setting foot outside the house, I dressed in warm, comfortable old clothes. I don't have to worry about my hair. (We won't even pretend like I bother with makeup.) I can't even imagine what I'm going to do to entertain Eleanor all day, but I guess I've done it before and I will do it again!

And in-between games of Pat-a-Cake or knocking down towers, I'll gaze wistfully into space and sigh, wallowing in my self-pity, thinking of all the people who have an easier life than me. That way both of us will be entertained. And then I'll go back to reading board books or playing with puzzles.

3 comments:

Jonathan Beckett said...

I am back at work today... waiting for huge files to copy across the network - hence being able to read blogs.

I know what you mean about it all seeming a bit depressing. Our kids are back in school tomorrow, which in itself causes mayhem - finding their school clothes again, getting the morning routine started once more...

Nan said...

I have a feeling this will be rather a long winter...my first as a SAHM!
I really enjoy your blog, Megan. Maybe one day I'll write something interesting on mine. ;-)

M. Lubbers said...

Jonathan: I hope everyone is back in the swing of things (and those files eventually copied;)

Nan: Thanks for reading! I am going to go subscribe to your blog right now. I have no doubt that it is very interesting and well written!

Being at home with Eleanor, I've found that my moods are much more subject to the weather. The weather can affect your plans so much more than it ever did when it was just you going out and about. When I want to get out and do something but I don't want to subject Eleanor to the cold/ice/snow/wind that happens on that day, it can be hard to switch gears!

But it can be nice to spend the occasional day in your pajamas, with no plans.