An Unexpected Hour

Today was a PTO day for me, and I love being out and about on a weekday with the kids. The three of us had a jam-packed day that included the donut shop, the mall play area, the library, and the park (I spent less than three bucks total). There was a lot of laughing, running, chasing, cuddling, and unfortunately, a bit of whining, crying, and pinching, too. Needless to see, we were all wiped out by dinner time, and Linus had a meltdown right after caking his entire body with puree of teething biscuit.

After the baby went to bed, I tidied up the living room, where Josh and Linnea were watching a SpongeBob video. There were Candyland pieces here, tiny scraps of paper there, and four pairs of tiny shoes strewn about the room. I counted three cups of the sippy variety, a few dozen mismatched playing cards, and a stray piece of wood that turned out to be the guts of one of the cheap roller shades (which I glued back together with Elmer’s).

As I buzzed in and out of the room depositing dirty laundry and hair accessories in their rightful homes, Josh noticed the most astounding thing. Linnea had passed out in the wingback chair—a full hour before we usually start her bedtime routine. An hour. This is a child who usually fights bedtime with every cute, sneaky trick in the book, and there she was, out like a light. “What?” I thought. “No bedtime snack, no milk, no books, no tooth-brushing, no custom-ordered Goldilocks story?” I scooped her up, plopped her in her bed, and placed the blanket, “Polka-dot,” atop her little bod.

Suddenly, I had an unexpected hour on my hands. So what did I do? A load of laundry, a cup of tea, a blog post, and if all goes according to plan, a bath. I’m thinking that some bubbles and a good shave are in order, as it’s been warm enough in Minnesota lately for bare legs—hurrah!—and I’m not the kind of gal who’s meticulously shorn all winter long. Call me lazy. And then—then I’m going to curl up with Bossypants and possibly my spouse.

Finding yourself with an unexpected hour is like finding a ten dollar bill in the pocket of a jacket you haven’t worn in months. Bingo!

*****

I Want to Know

• What would you do with an unexpected free hour today?
• When was the last time you passed out watching TV?
• Do you intentionally leave cash in outerwear so you can discover it down the road?

Find me on twitter @emmasota, look up emmasota on Facebook, and visit me at my other blog, Divorced Before 30.

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