I Will Not Clean and Feed Them on Mother’s Day!

We traditionally celebrate birthdays and special occasions at our house because our family home has plenty of room for our teen and young adult kiddos and their significant others, plus, well, I’m the MOTHER who is expected to host celebrations. My recent birthday party was well attended, but having to clean the house prior to the party put somewhat of a damper on the occasion for me. Therefor, I declared that my children are old enough that I no longer have to host events where I am the honoree. While I have certainly appreciated all of the home-made artwork, baubles and trinkets, flowers, candy, (especially those Swedish Fish,) gift certificates and sweaters, what I would REALLY like is to have a day off with no work. No cleaning. No cooking. No hosting.
A nice breakfast out would be great. I don’t eat much and I promise to stick to the $2.90 “breakfast special” and not order extra bacon.
Or a lunch at a local family restaurant where others will do the serving and cleaning.
Or even out for an ice cream sundae. Or a shake at Burger King. ANYTHING where I don’t have to do any work!
Better yet, they could chip in and get me a gift certificate for a spa day. I dream of getting a massage or a mani/pedi, and their thoughtfulness could make my dream come true.
Alas, my children do not read my blog. So I will get flowers or candy or gift certificates this Sunday, which I WILL appreciate. Just don’t ask me to clean my house so they can come for lunch. They will have to step around the dust bunnies and join me in the backyard where I’ll be relaxing with a frozen wine cooler in my hand, serenely looking at the gentle waves washing over the jumping fish and turtle heads popping up from the small lake behind our house, marveling that time has flown by and my children have successfully reached young adulthood, and savoring in that reality. Ah…life is good…

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“That’ll be $20 a Mile, M’am”

While driving on the highway last weekend, on our way to our little cabin in New Hampshire, the alternator “went” on our van. I didn’t even know what an alternator WAS, so it is a good thing that good ole hubby was driving. He noticed the problem while we were on the highway, and the amazing GPS on my phone led us right to a Sears Automotive where, pulling into the parking lot, the car stopped working. (My life is just SOOOO filled with luck…we could have broken down on the highway which would have been much more problematic!) The time was 6:45 pm, too late to have them fix it, but enough time to talk to a mechanic who promised to fix it first thing in the morning. He recommended we stay at a nearby hotel for the night and he graciously called a taxi for us.

My husband and I are not world travelers. I can count on one finger the number of times I’ve ridden in a taxi, and my husband never has. We enjoyed the sweet smelling cleanliness of the car, and were treated to tour of the city on the way to the hotel. It sure did look pretty with sparkling with city lights. The driver told us they had a one price policy, $10 for anywhere we wanted to go in the city, and our hotel was within the limits. What luck! When we got to the hotel, my inexperienced husband graciously handed the driver $12 while he shook his hand and thanked him for the smooth, scenic ride to the hotel.

Hubby and I checked in to the hotel and had a wonderful evening in a much more elegant setting than that of our tiny cabin in NH. (Electricity!! Cable tv!! Hot showers!!) The next morning, we feasted on at the wonderful breakfast in the hotel. We could make our own WAFFLES!! And I could eat more than ONE!! Joy, joy!!

Gathering up our things, we sauntered, (as experienced travelers,) into another taxi for the return trip. On the ride back, the taxi turned left on the main avenue, then took another quick left and we were there. The mileage on the meter read .5 miles and the cost was $3.95!! Our hotel was only a half mile from Sears! ($20 a mile per the evening ride there!) I realized that the scenic tour of the city, and giving us the “special” low price of $10, was a “con”. I suddenly felt “worldly”! What an adventure! And what great fodder for my blog!