Back Pains...

Why is it when someone says that I need to shoulder more responsibility, my back ends up paying the price?

Back when we had a dishwasher, I remember complaining about not having enough time to do the dishes. Then, when we moved into a house without a dishwasher, I remember really complaining about not having enough time doing the dishes and wondering what I was doing to not have enough time to do the dishes. Now that I still don’t have a dishwasher and have an infant, I really don’t understand how I could have complained with a dishwasher, and I am pretty skeptical of the me 6 months ago.

With the new year and my husband, still building the studio but now in busy season with his CPA firm, I have had to take on a lot more responsibility. Things like paying the bills, housework, feeding animals really add up when someone is relying on you so heavily – and I do mean heavily. She wants to be toted everywhere I go, and she has had no trouble gaining weight. She is still working on the crawling thing, so in the meantime, I’m having to carry her everywhere and do more around here.

House chores for a lot of people can usually wait until the weekend, but for us in our little house, it has to be done every day. Yesterday I wondered what was going on that the dog was so underfoot, but then it occurred to me – there is a lot less foot room for human/cat/baby/dog to walk in. My husband’s paintings have filled up an entire room, again waiting for the studio to be completed, and the baby’s things are beginning to infringe on our living space with her new high chair (bought used,) and pack-and-play. Everything has to fit together like a puzzle, and if one piece is out of order, it will need to be set right before someone trips on it.

Now I have a new strategy – I’m strapping her to my back. It’s the same baby carrier I made a while back, but now she is on my back. The house is still not bigger, the husband is still busy working in the studio, dinner is still not cooked, and the dishes still need to be done, but now that she is asleep on my back I don’t have to lay down with her to put her to sleep.

It helps me ‘shoulder’ this responsibility a little better. As they say, when all else fails, get a back up.

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Salad Days

First weeks back are never easy, and this past week was no exception.  The school just learned that we have a septic tank system not connected with the city by having the septic tank explode all over the place.  We are having record breaking temperatures, and school is not called off even though I teach in a portable building about a quarter-mile away from the bathroom (that just exploded - the other one is considerably farther off,) and my daughter is getting used to a new sitter.  My laundry is getting out of control, my kitchen really needs some re-organization, and my husband has been spending most of his time in frigid temperatures outside working on his studio, so this has been a stressful week; still, I something amazing has begun, and I can't wait to share.

Last year a friend of my husbands commented that he belongs to a garden share.  I have been wanting to join one for years, but I was under the impression that they are usually hard to get into.  I am pleased to say that my assumption was wrong, and I joined one, and got my first batch of veggies this week.

I have not had food that tasted so real since I ate the food off my grandmother's farm.  The tangerines are sweeter, the carrots much more vibrant, and lettuce so much more... well, lettucier.  Also, I got vegetables that I never would have picked out (partially because I have no idea what it actually is,) but all of it tastes so good.  I have never picked out radishes.  I don't think I have had one since Mom forced me to eat one when I was a little kid, but now I love them.  I embrace the radishes, fennel, green onions, and variety of other things I am now using in salads because it would be a real shame to cook them.

The baby-weight is still not gone, and she is 6 months old.  I went jogging the other day, and I realized that, wow, I really am getting nearer and nearer to 30, and that this does make a difference.  I know that eating a huge salad is not the only thing I need to be doing, but this has been the easiest New Year's resolution I have ever made.