Nov 07
10
Running Errands
Posted by Stephen10
Tags: family, goals
Winter is coming. It’s getting colder every day, and we’ve had several hard frosts. We absolutely had to put the roses to bed before the cold wiped them out for good, so I set out this morning to buy some mulch. We have these little fences we set up around each rose bush, which we then fill up with loose mulch. I feel like I’m burying the poor things alive, but I guess it’s more like tucking them under the blankets.
Anyway, life has been hectic and frantically rushed the last little while, and we never managed to get around to buying some mulch while the garden center was open. But I decided that it had to get done today. I’d spend the whole day on that task, if necessary. I knew that there would be no time for yard work over the next few weeks. Besides, who wants to be out doing gardening in the freezing cold?
So after breakfast I loaded the two older boys into the car and set off on my quest. Seeing I was going to be out anyway, I might as well combine trips and get some other stuff done at the same time. In addition to the mulch, I also needed to get cat food, a light bulb for the hallway, a bulb for the garage, a handle for the kitchen drawer, some more contact lens solution, a new pair of work boots, and a new frying pan for Saturday morning pancakes. As I walked out the door, Debbie spoke up and asked if I could do the week’s grocery shopping on the way home.
This was going to be a productive day.
First stop: mulch. Got that loaded into the car. Then Daniel sat in a puddle and soaked his jeans. Joel filled his pants with an abundance of mushy, sticky, smelly poo. Potty training is not going well with this child. My carefully laid plans went right out the window. We drove straight home.
I cleaned Joel up and gave Daniel a change of clothes. Always a sucker for punishment, I set out once again with the two boys. I cut this second trip short when I realized that lunch was at risk of becoming dinner, and enthusiastic though they might be to go shopping, hungry boys are not good company.
Lunch went well, as it does when everybody is starving. As soon as we were done I set out on my third trip of the day. This time I had the whole family in tow.
We stayed out way too late, and I ended up mulching the roses in pitch darkness after dinner. But I got everything done on my list. Everything except my contact lens solution. There will be a fourth trip tomorrow, no doubt.
Amazingly, the boys were very well behaved all day. They enjoyed their day out with Dad. And the roses did get mulched. And I got lots done. Even managed to write a blog post. A good day, but such hard work.
