Backdated Post No. 2 (Feb 15, 2006)

Happy Valentine’s Day To Me….

We celebrated V-Day early. On Monday evening H and I doled out the heart shaped boxes of chocolates (every girls fave) and we all exchanged cards. Then we sat on the upstairs landing in our pj’s sampling each others chocolates. Yummmmmm! That was really kind of neat. Yes, I did say “neat.”

The actual Valentine’s day had a much different feel. I had been up since 3:30-ish – not out of anticipation or anything. I just couldn’t sleep. Since I had already told the girls that from now on I’d be getting them up much earlier I took advantage of my sleeplessness and roused them promptly at 6:00. This was a full one hour early. Now, they MUST be able to get ready with an extra hour of awake time, right? Right! Yay!

Off to work – a relatively uneventful day. Oh God! I just realized that I fired someone on Valentine’s Day! Oh My GOSH! I can hardly believe that! That sucks! Details: she was getting canned the hard way. From the top it was said that she would be terminated effective the 15th – with no advance notice. Uh uh – Whitey don’t play dat. I insisted that we give a full review, keep it positive – with constructive criticism – and give advance notice. Therein it became my responsibility. I was actually highly praised for taking the high road and for the quality of my follow through and review. So I guess there was a “little” love on V-day. Yay me?

Ah, but home is a different story. A cheerful call from H is received during the day. He’s had a good day at school, got done early, and was headed home. He even mentioned that he might get dinner started. Sure enough he was cooking when I got home…for him. Then he grumbled because all the ingredients weren’t there.

So I arrive home, immediately get to work cooking dinner FOR THE FAMILY and find that we have one extra kid who is also staying for dinner. As I’m doing that H is totally in my way cleaning out the fridge and grumbling about it the whole time.

Let’s not forget that he then decided he didn’t like what I was cooking and the kids wouldn’t either. So he puts on a pot of water for Mac N Cheese ~ also leaving me to work that out. No, he doesn’t want potatoes. He wants rice, again. So I switch to sweet taters instead of baked taters (who doesn’t like sweet taters with brown sugar n butter??) AND rice.

Then he decides he doesn’t like baked chicken – especially w/bones! Eeeew. What about when I make Chicken soup??? That comes from bones. Eeeeww.

THEN he continues to grumble about my choices, about what I’ve done or NOT done. Then we remember E has guitar lessons – natch I’ll be taking her. Then H is yacking on the phone w/his feet up and I’m trying to get dinner done and kids fed before I leave. All of that is done just as E and I have to leave. H is still on the phone.

While I’m gone H eats. The extra kid goes home. The table sits with all of the dishes and food out. The kitchen sits with all of the pots and pans and the pot of H’s food that he never finished cooking. I eat.

Then I clear the table while H watches a movie. Finally he comes in and starts the dishwasher. Of course he leaves any pots or pans – wouldn’t want to hand wash anything. I’m doing laundry. I’m folding the piles of laundry H has washed but left in piles in the basement and our bedroom. I’m discovering the stuff piled on our bed isn’t even clean and he’s brought dirty laundry back up from the basement as though it were clean.

I’m helping with homework. I’m avoiding him at all costs. Happy Valentine’s Day to me.