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stormy!
It’s such bad luck to write about how manically happy you are. Singing songs about boxes…such foolishness! Well, you know what happened. A switch flipped in my head and suddenly I was struck with PMS (or something) from hell. That’ll teach me to brag about my office box. Whatever goes up must come down.
Don’t worry, the office box is still rocking. The sun went behind some clouds and a storm moved into my head, that’s all. Thankfully, I have some very good friends who’s feet are firmly grounded in reality and they called me on my crap. I moped a little bit and decided they were right. I know not everyone can kill the blues with a good talk with a good friend but it worked for me…this time. And I am soooooo thankful. I hate falling down that pit of sadness.
I plodded through the day, faking smiles at all of Baby Bug’s cute and not-so-cute antics.
Let me just take a sidebar on the not-so-cute antics. I’m not complaining here, I just thought I’d share…because I can.
Suddenly out of the complete blue nowhere, Baby Bug has a huge aversion to scratchy seams. She never cared before. She’s not an overly sensitive child. I can yank on her hair pretty hard when I put her ponytail in. She never complains the way I used to when I was a kid. She never complains that the bath water is too hot or too cold. She’s really mild-mannered for a two year old.
Until lately. Oh my goodness! She will not wear anything that has “scratchy” seams anymore. Of course all the really cute clothes have super scratchy seams. It’s part of some great conspiracy involving Target and Old Navy and children from China sewing with thread made of steel wool for three cents an hour. Or maybe not.
Maybe Baby Bug is just rebelling because I have not jumped on the organic-free-range-vegan-threadless-hairy-armpit bandwagon all my other friends have jumped on. (I’m just teasing you guys!!!) I guess I’ll have to start budgeting for more expensive clothing from now on. Hopefully, it’s just a phase.
The other day she was walking around shirtless again and Toby told her to go put on a shirt. I already knew the battle ahead so I told her to go pick her own shirt out. I figured maybe if she was in charge, we might get somewhere.
She goes in her room and comes out five minutes later wearing her super-soft crocheted blanket her aunt made her wrapped around her middle three times. Apparently, a wrap-around blanket sufficed for a shirt in her book. Whatever. Toby got a kick out of it but I just rolled my eyes. This is the sort of stuff she pulls all day long.
Later in the day she decided her shirt and her pants were too scratchy so she took them off. Five minutes later she decided her diaper was too scratchy and off it came too. Then she ran around the living room screaming, “Naked Baby! Naked Baby!” I allowed it since this is sort of a fun game we play right before bathtime and frankly, I was worn out with her antics. I just wanted to sit on the couch and stare off into space for a minute or two.
She crawled up on the couch next to me. It was nice. Just a few minutes of quietness between the two of us. I sighed. Maybe motherhood isn’t so hard after all, I thought. It’s moments like this that make it all worth it…
AND THEN SHE PEED ON THE COUCH!!!
Oh well. Life goes on. My new couch cover is very easy to remove for washing (because I’m a thinking mom like that and I planned ahead. I know you all thought I was an idiot to sew a couch cover in white but believe me, I had my reasons). I rinsed the cover off and set both the cushion and the cover out on the porch to dry.
Wow. I got so sidetracked on my sidebar, I forgot what I was talking about.
I guess I’ll just finish up by saying it was a pretty blah day with laundry and absolutely no box time, which could be part of the problem. But by the end of it things got much better and Baby Bug and I baked some watermelon cookies!!!! Which I will write about in my next post.
In the meantime, I’ll just leave you with this photo:
When the weather gets you down, just yell at it!
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my box rocks
I got a new office box today and I think it is post-worthy. I had to give my old one to the kitten. My office box rocks. It really does. I just love it. I could write a poem to my box. Maybe I will.
I love my box
my box is tops
in all the world my box rocks
my socks…or something something something…Okay that’s enough. I was channeling this book but you probably haven’t read that book so the cadence is lost on you. Not a big deal. What is a big deal is my box.
Why is it so wonderful? A lot of reasons. Mostly because it is allowing me to be soooo productive. I love working in my box. When I stick my head in there, it’s like I become Robo-Designer. I work work work and hardly ever goof off. I’m still swamped and there is no hope in sight that I will ever catch up but I feel just the tiniest bit of control over my freelance work load. And believe me, that is a good thing.
It might just be the natural rhythm of things. Maybe it’s normal for me to go through cycles of frustration and then after the lows, feel exceptionally happy and productive. Maybe I just have to learn how to roll with a toddler’s schedule that changes every three months or so. Maybe I’m just not pms-ing for a change. Or maybe it really is the box. I’m just happy right now. I have a routine. I get about two hours of box time a day and that makes me happy.
I also have started a public list. I’m not going to link it here because even though I write in secret code, I don’t know if all my clients want the whole wide internet to know what I’m doing for them. But I’ll just say that if you poke around on this page, you’ll find it. It’s nothing really. Just a short quick list of what I’m working on in May and then June and then July. But this list has changed my life.
It’s silly really. I’ve always had lists. I have paper lists and electronic lists and two calendars to keep track of my life. Why does this public list on the internet work so much better for me than all of those others? I think because it is always there. It never gets lost or forgotten to be turned on (like that other list program I have on my computer) and it’s public. I know you guys are looking at it and it forces me to stay in gear. It holds me accountable. I love it.
So between my office box and my new public list, I am 100% more productive. It’s the best feeling in the world. It also could help that Baby Bug has been taking three hour naps lately. She must be growing. That said, I better appreciate this productiveness while it lasts because nap changes, pms and other naturally-occurring catastrophes are always around the corner.
In the meantime, I’ll just sing my happy box song.
“I love my box! My box is tops. In all the world, my box rocks.”
p.s. It has been brought to my attention that the word “box” is sometimes used to refer to something else. That was not my intention at all. Please get your mind out of the gutter, Bethany.
