The Dog (Tired) Days of Summer

When I run into friends as the store (because let's be honest: I don't have any time to actually visit friends these days), they always ask "What's new?"

I have come to that time in motherhood when the answer is quite startling: "Nothing."

The excitement of pregnancy and the whirlwind of infancy are behind me. I have entered new territory, in which I have enough time to think about the things I am missing but not enough time--or freedom--to go out and find them again. I am officially boring.

The days seem to melt together now. Awake, work, kids, house, TV, sleep. Awake, work, kids, house, TV, sleep. Sometimes I can only tell what day it is by what's on TV. And given that it's summer TV, it's not all that accurate. "What did I do yesterday? Hmm. Was Big Brother on? So that means today is Monday, Thursday, or Friday."

Some moms can wade into perilous waters at this stage. They create their own drama or meddle in someone else's. It's unlikely you'll find the mom of a two newborns talking about who said what to whom at the kids' baseball game last night. But the mom of two toddlers? She may very well live for that little bit of excitement at the ballpark. It's boredom, plain and simple.

I'm pretty sure I left drama behind when I convinced Larry to hang out with me, so you won't find me at the ballpark. Or on the soccer field. Or even at preschool (at least not until the boys are potty trained). Motherhood at (nearly) 40 and after infertility makes a difference, too. I look at the boredom and know that I asked for this, I wanted this, so I try to enjoy it. Just as when the boys were 6 weeks old and I had slept less then 20 minutes at a time for nights on end, I reminded myself that "This is wonderful. This is what I wanted so very desperately." I do that now, too, when reading "Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site" for the 200th time, or when watching Ruby yell at Max for the 300th time, or when singing "Pinkle Pinkle Little Star" for the 400th time. In a row. I remind myself that these times are perfect, that they are mine, and that they will not last. I cannot ever get them back, and thirty years from now, I will not be able to fully remember what it felt like to have two beautiful children use me as a jungle gym every single day.

And if I do start to feel bored or restless or trapped, one of my boys can usually break the spell. "Mama, you're my best friend," from Ren, or "Mama, thank you for singing with me," from Gray. I am graced with daily moments with them that make all the mundane, all the repetition, and all the difficulty worth every minute.


Summer 2013 Update in Pictures and Videos
 

Weekly trip to the grocery.

Twins: Alike but Different. 

Potty training times two.

Forth of July Chick Magnets. Or mini-Bruce Jenners.

Biggest goose egg to date! So proud!

 We celebrated Aunt Maria's birthday.

Gray's first saltwater fish: a puppy drum!

Ren's first saltwater fish: a baby flounder!

 We learned a lifelong skill (not sure who taught them this one).

Our first dinner at a restaurant, just the three of us. This was a major accomplishment.

Vacation in Gatlinburg.

A trip to the Cincinnati zoo.

Greatest day of Ren's life.

Introducing the boys to the finer points of Cincinnati.

Showing the twins where Mama used to go Christmas shopping.

Going to the chapel! (And Sara's going to get m-a-a-a-rried!)

They danced at their first wedding. As Grandpa says, "Fred Astaire and his brother Ka-boom!"