this morning I woke up, worked on my homework, did some more laundry and some other chores, gathered my stuff and kids' stuff for the day, started to make lunches but got distracted and didn't finish, repeatedly tried to wake kids up and get them to get ready, dressed in jeans and a dark T-shirt, just before leaving I could tell it wasn't going to be as hot today so I switched to my favorite sweater instead.
~~~ shoot, this looks like it would have been a really good one but I didn't finish it at the time, I remember about the shirt, but I don't remember the exact circumstances of this particular time that I was declared to be the "meanest Mom on the planet," there's just SO many (and this was a couple weeks ago, there's been a zillion I'm sure since then)
oh, this is the week I MADE Jessica and Jacob come to the computer lab with me to work on the online school stuff they were supposed to be doing all summer but had fallen WAY behind on - oh yeah, there was a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth that week, AND the next week because I made them do it all that next week too! And if the lunches didn't get made and I had to rush to a drive-thru instead, the kids had to pay me back. (Plus other horrific requirements like my DEMAND that they have ample sunscreen coverage to go swimming, and my refusal to purchase certain items at the grocery store.) I remember that there was a big public announcement as to my horribleness, but I don't remember where or the exact phrasing - it would have been my darling daughter, with backing by my youngest but he doesn't proclaim stuff like that out loud in public, he's more the turns beet red and silently glares at me type.
About the shirt though - like I said, last minute I switched to my favorite sweater, a light weight short sleeved seafoam blue-green thing (same one I had on when Jacob's tooth was yanked out and blood was spurting, but I managed to keep clean) forgetting that we were helping Krissy in her garden that evening. When I finished my class and picked up the kids and called her, she was so happy we were still coming because she'd picked up a truck-load of dirt and needed it all unloaded because Rick needed the truck. Michael and Nathan were gone, and I knew that if I went home first to change that I'd never get Jessica and Jacob back in the car and over to Krissy's before dark, so I figured I'd grab us a quick dinner and myself a cheap shirt.
I can't remember exactly, but I remember Jessica and Jacob were NOT in a cooperative mood and that I wanted to park once, get out of the car only once, get healthy food AND a shirt, fight to get them back in the car only once, and get to Krissy's ASAP. There's a TJMax next to a Safeway and a Jamba Juice - that seemed good.
I love TJMax and have found a lot of really good deals there. I didn't realize though until that day that they are not the run-in-and-grab-a-super-cheap-who-cares-if-it-gets-stained-shirt kind of store. Yes, they have some things for $2 or $3 but they all looked so nice, like I'd want to keep them, and wear them, and not shovel dark garden dirt in them - the laundry nazi in me just refused to purchase one of them to be doomed to instant ruin on it's first day worn. I ran over to the packs of men's undershirts (Jessica loudly disgusted that I dragged them so close to packages of mens' boxers) but they only had fancy name brand stuff, cheapest was $7, and the cheapskate miser that I am refuses to spend so much. All this had taken about 2 and a half minutes so far but then Jessica and then Jacob declared they needed the bathroom "NOW," so we rushed to the back and I spent the majority of the time back there standing between the bathroom doors. I wanted a sales person to take me straight to a darker colored, easy to clean, comfortable to move and work in, extremely cheap shirt, but I was far away from the clothes areas and the only sales person near by was arranging throw pillows and knick knacks (really cute stuff, but I didn't have time for that!) who heard me muttering stuff like, "dirt," "kids," "cheap," "taking forever," "$7 undershirt!" "late," "need," as I impatiently tapped my foot and fingers and kept looking back and forth at the restroom doors and back over at the clothing area. She asked if she could help - EXACTLY what sales people SHOULD DO when they see a tired, cranky, muttering mom who is obviously in a rush and annoyed with her kids. I hate it when those young sales clerks won't look me in the eye and rush off to the far corners of the universe, when you see a customer in that state, HELP THEM!!!!! - anyway, I was so grateful for her kindness I nearly cried, and spouted, "I just want a cheap shirt to shovel dirt in." (the kids were finally coming out) She seemed a little surprised but took us right over toward the clearance womens' shirts where I'd first been and she wasn't upset or rude at all when I quickly explained that I'd gone through those but I didn't want to ruin them and I'd be shovelling dark garden dirt (you know what's in dark garden dirt, right?) She changed course and led us to a rack of clearance mens' T-shirts and there was a comfy Boy Scout-green T-shirt for $4 - I nearly hugged her. We paid for it and were out of there and into Safeway for sandwiches, milk, fruit, and veggies, and back in the car (no one earned Jamba Juice that day) and on our way.
At Krissy's, Jessica and Jacob were all smiles and politeness and just oozing with cooperation - and Jacob ran over to the truck breathing in deeply and said, "Poop Dirt! my favorite!" kicked his shoes and socks off and climbed up to stand on the heaping pile of it to help shovel it into the wheelbarrow. And Miss Jessica tackled the job of weeding the corn field, persisting until dark
