by Irmi
It’s 15:30. We left home at around 14:00 to do necessary shopping for the house. We just got home with two lively sprites. Kira gets hugely overstimulated at school (we recognise this problem) and Luca seems to relish the reunion with us…aka we cannot put him down. I know that this is our reality so before they get home, lunches are prepped, dinner is all but thrown together elegantly and Jaco’s lunch is also ready with his vitamins for tomorrow. This is something Lockdown afforded us.
Now, the routine begins. We will transfer all the newly acquired groceries to the house, the school bags and the kids too. Then the dogs need food, the kids too apparently (despite having been fed like just 20min ago according to the school log in there feedback books… I mean, are these things even accurate? Because over the weekend I maybe manage 500 Kcals for the both of them… Mom-WTF).
So, here’s how this happens…stay with me:
- We put down the bags.
- Kira cries because she needs <insert random request this afternoon>.
- Kira gets what she wants just as Luca starts crying for <insert unresolved emotional separation issue replaced by either milk or water>.
- Luca gets milk. Yes milk…unless his water cup works… then water. Water works maybe 5minutes. We realise it’s milk. We give him milk. 10 minutes this time. At least we progressed.
- Kira is already iffy… we are trying to avoid full melt-down with distraction <read screen-time, re-dress, new toy, fun new outside activity or whatever we find to create a distraction>. We gauge the overstimulation. Kira does best with either outside time or complete isolation from outside interaction (again, read screen-time).
- In the midst of this the dogs’ bowls get pellets, the schools bags get unpacked and repacked for tomorrow and Jaco and I get dressed for exercise.
…this wasn’t even the tough part…stick with me… - Now we exercise. Luca is still in full-on “you-left-me-with-strangers-for-the-whooooole-day” mode so we run when the other one is open, squat tickling between reps, push-up with playful kisses, pull-up only when the other parent can take over… we get it done.
- Dinner. I plate and serve. We fend off sibling blood feuds and eat mindfully… hahahaha no, it’s one or the other. If Luca eats while we eat, we can manage eating. Kira ate by now. This is a fact. She is playing with whatever she can only play with when Luca is otherwise occupied.
- Everybody fed, I clean the kitchen after hubby cleared the plates. It’s nearly six.
- At nearly-six we “wash feet and hands”, brush teeth and dress in PJ’s.
- This takes roughly 20minutes. In time for Luca’s last milk bottle and nighty-night dance.
- Okay, you need to be fast now. While either of us rock Luca, Kira gets a phone to watch her favourite engineer buddy. Quiet…
- Last call of action: pack the night bottles, make tea for the over-achiever parents and remember to, if you haven’t yet, tell your partner that they rock, so monumentally. So much!
It is now close to or after 19:00. Bomb shock has both of us looking at messages sent by 15:32 we didn’t get to read until now, replying to friends and family like “we’re sorry. Kids”. I’m done for the day. At 19:00. We’ve had nothing of each other. We’re both secretly praying for a calm night (AKA Luca will have his first all-nighter or even as simple as nobody will throw up). Yeah.
I love this. It’s rough. It’s dirty. It’s NEVER as clean as I outlined it above, but I love it. THIS is my tribe. These are my peeps. Luca is on the verge of walking. Kira is on the verge of reading. Lockdown is forcing a sort of reconnecting thing I guess and I am loving it. Dirty and mucky as it gets.
This pandemic has given me perspective. This is not the issue. It is the shit. I love them. I love this. I love cooking for them. I love taking care of their nutrition. I love making sure they are emotionally secure after every day. I love taking care of them. Call me a traditional home mom? I couldn’t be more flattered.
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