the plague

First it was Calvin...then Marcus...now Violet. My home has been hit with a stomach bug marked by shivers, vomiting, and lethargy.  I've been playing nursemaid all weekend, precluding any progress on the multitude of unfinished projects that keep piling up around me or the house cleaning that so desperately needs to be done.

It always amazes me how my husband, who generally can handle most things, gets incredibly needy when he gets sick.  He's always been a bit of a hypochondriac, finding the littlest symptom and worrying that it is indicative of cancer.  And whenever it's a bona fide illness, he just succumbs.  He's been fighting this stomach thing since Friday afternoon...was nauseous all night...and spent most of Saturday combating a headache and extreme tiredness.  I don't begrudge him any of the attention he needs and deserves while he is sick, and in fact, I like that I can take care of him when he needs me.  However, I wonder sometimes if his symptoms are exaggerated a bit.  Not on purpose to get attention or anything...just exaggerated in his own mind due to his constant worrying.  Regardless, I certainly owe him as much TLC as I can generate - he was my savior during all my pregnancies, and especially with this last one when I was nauseous with morning sickness for about 6 months.  I just hope that tomorrow doesn't bring symptoms of this for Hazy and I, making this weekend a total bust. 

uninspired

I've started a few unfinished blog entries, but have been uninspired to finish any of them.  It has something to do with the whirlwind that these weeks since Christmas have been.  I'm behind in just about everything.  Work especially seems to have gotten away from me.  My usually neat cubicle has fallen into severe disarray...cluttered with unfinished projects, emails I have yet to respond to, and documents still to be read.  I am overwhelmed.

On top of everything, my house is a complete mess.  We successfully got the Christmas decor stashed away until next year, thanks in large part to the diligency of my husband.  But, in his frenzy to rid our living space of the boughs of holly, he unearthed the crates upon crates of children's clothes that we've accumulated.  All of it was scattered around the upstairs...and he reorganized it by gender and age.  There must have been 10 bins of clothes!

"Betsy, we have to consider getting rid of the baby clothes...especially Calvin's stuff." 

"Betsy, here's the clothes Hazy has grown out of already...can we get rid of it now." 

>sigh<

I'm not a hoarder, but "getting rid" of my babies' clothes?  I'm just not ready.  It's like saying goodbye to my newborn babies all over again...those little footed sleepers, the tiny overalls, the adorably small dresses and rompers.  I can't do it.  Even while I celebrate each passing milestone of all three of their lives...I mourn them at the same time.  I wonder...will this be the last time Violet wants to kiss me goodbye on her way to meet her friends...or the last time Calvin tells me he's my "fella"...or the last time Hazy chews on her toes.  It's downright depressing, actually.  So, I hang on to their clothes as tangible keepsakes of these memories....at least for a little while longer.  Marcus graciously carried all the bins back down the stairs and packed them in the crawlspace.  He's labeled them "To Donate"...a reminder to me that I won't be able to recapture their babyhood, but at least I can delay thinking about it for awhile.

not the cookie mom

My little Violet is a Daisy Scout. I was happy to have her join...I couldn't think of a better venue for camaraderie with her school chums and involvement in some fun activities...plus, I certainly didn't want her to be left out. Years ago, I was a Brownie, and then a Girl Scout. Back when I did it, there was no such thing as Daisy Scout...this newfangled pre-Brownie stage for the kindergartners and first graders is a new concept for me. So far, they've made a fleece quilt and donated it to a local shelter, baked Christmas cookies and had a cookie exchange, and had a manners tea party...all VERY good stuff for little 5 and 6 year olds to do. And Violet truly enjoys it. She especially loves that on days her troop has their meeting, she gets to wear her Daisy Scout smock over her uniform jumper and display all the patches she's earned.

The next big thing, however, on her troop's agenda is the annual sale of Girl Scout cookies. I'm a bit perplexed as to why little girls, especially of this age, are being asked to sell cookies. I'm told by the propaganda informational handouts that selling cookies builds confidence and teaches responsibility, skills in handling money, and how to run a business. Hmmmm. Right now, I'd just be happy if Violet could tie her shoes...and as for the confidence building, I can think of a few better ways to accomplish this than having her sell confections. Can you believe that the troop only profits 60 cents for every box sold? Marcus said that he'd happily donate $30 to the troop (the equivalent of 50 boxes of cookies!) just so we didn't have to deal with this cookie selling hassle.

The troop moms got together and made a few decisions on behalf of the girls, since they are so young. (Typically, older girl scouts are involved in every step of the decision-making process.) After a little negotiation, the troop cookie selling goal is 700 boxes...and each girl can set their own personal goal. We have 14 girls in the troop, so on average, they expect each girl to sell 50 boxes. That seems like a lot to me...but what do I know. I'm just glad we collectively agreed to lower the expectation from 100 boxes per girl to 50. (e-gads!)

I've started talking about this process with Violet a bit...why she's selling cookies, her troop's 700 box sales goal, and of course descriptions of all the cookies that she will be selling. I asked her what she thinks her personal sales goal should be...and bless her little heart...she optimistically announced "100 boxes". !!!! Oh my. I don't want to crush her enthusiasm, but I can barely think of 10 people for her to sell to. I don't really think its appropriate for me to try to sell cookies at work...and we will NOT be selling door-to-door...so that leaves family and friends. After some cajoling, she settled on a 50 box goal...and so our sales and marketing campaign begins this week. She can't wait!  Tonight she told me she wants to build a stand out of a cardboard box so that she can properly take my cookie order. 

Despite my confusion and disagreement with having children sell products to raise money...and my negative attitude about how valuable this experience really is...I desperately love Girl Scout cookies. I mean...come'on...everyone has a favorite, right?  Mine is the Samoa...that coconut carmel chocolatey delight.  And now, it seems that I have my own personal supplier.