Saturday

Saturday mornings with my son are the best. 

As I mentioned in my last (first!) post, my husband is an airline pilot, for which scheduling is based on seniority (his low), so he basically works every weekend and will be for some time. That's a definite bummer, a) because unless I take a day or days off of work (which is a typical 40-hour, 8-to-5 gig) we don't get to spend the day together, much less go camping, which is one of our favorite things to do, and b) with the exception of my parents, our neighbors, or a babysitter, I don't really get a break from our son on the weekends. I will add here that my parents are a huge exception and that I am very lucky blessed to have a generally well-behaved child; however, as with any child, there are times when the little guy can be really clingy, and there are also times once I've put him to bed that I would love to leave the house (take a walk, run up to the grocery store for some ice cream, etc) but can't.

Anyway, LG (for the purposes of this blog, that's what I'll call my son for now, as I haven't yet decided how much specific personal information I want to share) and I have fallen into a nice Saturday morning routine. He wakes up sometime between 7 and 8:30am and is generally in a good mood while he's still in his crib. Unfortunately, once out of his crib, either on his changing table or underfoot in the kitchen while I'm getting breakfast together, he is not happy. Much like his mother, food is very important to him and he's not very pleasant to be around when he's hungry. I just try and get through that part as fast as I can.

Once fed, LG and I move to the living room, where I can lay on the couch and drift in and out of sleep and play. I usually stay up way too late on Friday nights, either working on a project, ambling around the internet (which my delayed discovery of Pinterest has not helped), or meticulously cleaning something insignificant (instead of cleaning something significant, like my house in general). Luckily, if I'm in the same room, LG will now keep himself busy, and I can doze a little, waking now and then to give him a kiss, play cars, or examine his wooden play food as needed.

There may also be some brief household tasks, such as loading the dishwasher or putting away laundry during this time. Then LG has lunch, and then he takes a nap. Simple. 

This morning there was bustle outside, as this weekend is our neighborhood's annual garage sale, which is a pretty big deal around here. I had originally been planning on putting LG in the stroller and spending our Saturday morning walking and browsing the neighborhood, but AD (which is what I'll call my husband for now) had a contractor coming over mid-morning. This obligation, coupled with the fact that I already had plans for the afternoon and Sunday, meant I was not going to get to go a-saling. 

When I originally started this post, it was going to be about how refraining from going to the garage sales was the right thing to do, as I reasoned that my time and effort would be better spent going through my own home and gathering things I no longer want/need to put in the upcoming sale at my grandmother's house, which would create space and funds (both of which I don't have a surplus of right now) to go garage-saling (or just shopping!) later.

However.

I think a little part of me dies when I know there's an opportunity I'm missing. I'm not talking about opportunity in the context of career or education; I'm talking mostly about garage and mom-to-mom sales and concerts. When a band or musician that I love is in town, but I can't go to the concert (which is basically always, as I'm too cheap to buy the tickets and pay a babysitter, and get slightly annoyed by having to drive across- or down-town) I will mope for a week. Just to get it out of my system, the Avett Brothers were in town last night, and The Shins will be in town in two weeks. I'm actually relieved that I will be out of town the week of 4th of July, because then I won't be so sad about not going to see Brandi Carlile or Death Cab for Cutie. I mini-mope for a good garage or mom-to-mom sale. I imagine all of the other shoppers unearthing hard-to-find items and getting them for a song, and I can't stand it. 

So...

While LG was down for his nap, I may have gone to the eight or so garage sales that are within half a block from our house. I might have gotten two sets of foam tiles for the basement bunker project, two funnels for the water table project (I will detail these projects later, I promise) and a beautiful pot for my peace lily.

I'll leave you with some Avett Brother's lyrics, since I am still in mourning. They're a little ironic, considering much of this post talks about how I mini-mope when I miss a shopping opportunity; however, the second verse is a good reminder:

"I am sick of wanting and it's evil how it's got me
And every day is worse than the one before
The more I have the more I think I'm almost where I need to be
If only I could get a little more

A need for something, now let me break it down again
A need for something but not more medicine

Something has me, oh something has me
Acting like someone I don't wanna be
Something has me, oh something has me
Acting like someone I know isn't me
Ill with want and poisoned by this ugly greed

Temporary is my time, ain't nothing on this world that's mine
Except the will I found to carry on
Free is not your right to chose
It's answering what's asked of you
To give the love you find until it's gone"

-The Avett Brothers