Sleepy Time

Ever since the H1N1 virus turned up - or whatever it's being called - the schools here have had us keep kids at home for 1 week from the time any symptoms of illness first occurred. Because of this, Boy 2 (or T - as I will call him today) has been home all week.

He doesn't have the symptoms associated with the swine bit. I would describe the symptoms more like those that occur when a child's non-custodial parent has them for the weekend but is so wrapped up in spending time with the "unemployed-but-has-money-for-cigarettes-boyfriend-in-the-basement" now that she has separated from "unemployed-but-will-pawn-for-cigarette-money-husband", that she just can't find the time to go to the store to get cough syrup.

Wow. It always seems bitter when I read stuff like that back to myself. I better not even mention how the non-custodial parent often seems to think that there is no such thing as a set schedule for sleep for school age children, or that they should probably bathe and brush their teeth at least ONCE during the weekend there. (He typed while wearing a twisted, fiendish...yet satisfied smirk.) Thankfully, they're now old enough to accept their own hygiene burdens.

At any rate, I'm fairly certain that T hasn't slipped off to Mexico, but must admit he doesn't always let me know where he's at. Actually, he's been grounded all week due to this. Lucky week for him to get sick, since he couldn't go anywhere anyway.

Having T at home has actually been really nice...except that he seems to think that when I set the alarm for noon that I actually intend to get up. At noon.

He's a weird kid.

So this week, with much impatience, T has consistently roused me out of bed several hours before I normally would have gotten up.

One afternoon, we potted up a bunch of lilies and hostas and planted 30-some shade plants next to the patio before I had to leave for work.

The following day, he asks if we're planting more. I'm thinking, "Hell no! Lay off me you freaky gardening child!" But I instead tell him that I need to get more pots and that there's some garden-club-plant-sale-thing this weekend, and that we should check that out before getting more bulbs. So then we find other outside things to do.

Today I went to bed at around 6am. He shut the alarm off for me at 9am and then came into my room as if he thought I was going to get up. (On a side note, don't eat a full bag of broccoli-and-cheese just before going to bed if you're getting up within 3 hours. It's just not breakfast material and it sure tries to be.)

So after roughly half an hour of being crawled over, pushed, prodded, poked, and shoved...with occasional instances of having my eyelids pried open and "GET UP, ALREADY!" being vocalized into my ear, I crawled out of bed and got ready for the day. I'd told T to make sure I got up when the alarm went off because I needed to do some shopping in Willmar.

And so shopping we went.

I wish more businesses would adopt the Hy-Vee and Wal-Mart notion of being open 24-7.

I could set my alarm for 2:45pm.