Tuesdays With Barb

I spent the day with my mom Tuesday. It was one of her many days to watch Cameron, so I got to see first hand what her life is like. Usually I am only there on the weekends, so I just hear about her typical weekday. Yesterday, I got to witness it. . .

The day started out okay. All right, so it really didn't. I was woken up at 7:45 by a screeching 10-month old. I'm the type of person who likes to wake up slowly. I purposely set my alarm an hour earlier than I need to so I can have a cup of coffee and read for a while before I start my day. I didn't get to do this so much on Tuesday. Instead of waking up peacefully to my alarm (the kind you can shut off with the simple push of a button, might I had), I woke up to the lung capacity of a very unhappy baby. Instead of reading the next chapter in my very enjoyable book, I had the privelage of watching Sesame Street, and then Dora the Explorer. This was just the beginning. . .

About halfway through Dora, Cameron started getting fussy. Enter Super Nana! I watched as my mom came in and started entertaining the baby. First it was patty cake. Then climb on Nana. Then it was to the exersaucer. Then it was bouncy seat. Then more patty cake, and a little more climb on Nana. Then, crawl around on the floor for a while, with Nana chasing behind like crazy. This went on for an hour or so before it was time for lunch and a nap. The amazing thing about it, was that this entire time, my mom's dog, Chelsea, was also crawling and jumping all over her!

Around noon, Mom finally got Cameron to go to sleep. Not two minutes later, the lawn guy showed up. Boy did Chelsea love that! Not only was nap time over for a very cranky baby, we got to listen to her bark non-stop for about 10 minutes. During that time, I think the phone rang about two or three times.

After the lawn guy left, and the dog was banished to the back yard, it was back to the cycle: patty cake, climb Nana, exersaucer, bouncy seat, crawl everywhere, patty cake, climb Nana, exersaucer... you get the picture.

My mom did this from 7:30am until 8:00pm. During this time, I think the phone rang at least a dozen times, the dog continuosly hopped around her feet (she tripped over her twice), the dog threw up the fruit loops she stole from the baby, and Mom still managed to fix a wonderful pork chop dinner for my dad and me. Miraculously, she seemed to enjoy every minute of it, and was still smiling when Krissy showed up to take the sweet little cherub home. I was over it by 11:00am.

My mom and dad are going to Kansas for a few days this summer, during which time my mom is turning this job over to me. Yay!!! I truly can't wait. (big sigh).

The next time my mom tells me she has a migraine, I will know why.

The next time she says she is exhausted, I will believe her.

The next time I sit down to one of her fabulous meals, I will truly appreciate how much went into it.

The next time I go into her blog and there is no new post, I will not question her about it.

The next time my mom invites me over on a Tuesday, I will politely decline.

I am in awe! She truly is a super nana!