Sequestered with Teens; Day Seven

Wow. Day seven. And our governor is talking about extending the Stay Home, Stay Healthy ordinance.

I was actually excited to wake up for work this morning. It must have something to do with normalcy, routine, a guarantee of productive activity. The day quickly became overwhelming with long hold times, technical issues, and fires to be put out (thank goodness, not literally). I am scheduled to be off work at 2pm on Mondays. I fully intended on keeping that schedule today. I got caught up in stuff and didn’t sign off until after 4pm. I get so frustrated with myself when I do that. It’s hard to change hats when my kids don’t NEED me or I don’t have anything PRESSING to do. I get stuck with my work hat on. But I’m more than just a breast for my kids to suckle, or a maid when the house is dirty. I need to stick to my priorities of spending time with the kids even when it’s a treat, not a necessity. I need to pursue my passions when I don’t have a house to clean.

Judge me or not… but I gave my two older kids some freedom, within boundaries. Phoenix went for a walk with her boyfriend who has been quarantined at his house ALONE for the last week. Ayden went to play catch with some buddies. The boundaries were that they could only go with friends that have been quarantined this last week, and that they keep their distance. No touching, high-fives, holding hands, hugging, and no tackling. Jesse and I walked Abby to the school to check on Ayden. Apparently, he thought touch-football was keeping appropriate distance. Well… at least Ayden and Alexis will have each other to themselves for the rest of the week.

Jesse and I worked on cleaning out the garage. Is it possible to actually clean out the garage and keep it clean? We’ve not mastered that. It seems we are always cleaning out the garage… and it remains a mess. I get rid of so much stuff. And I don’t feel like I buy a lot of stuff. Yet here we are. A full garage of things rarely used.

We ate a new recipe, found on Pinterest… Ground Turkey with rice, spinach, and artichoke. Everyone actually liked it. Well, I got a shrug from Alexis, which was even surprising since she doesn’t care for rice. And it was cheap, and easy.

Against the wishes of Alexis, Ayden, and Jesse… we played Battle of the Sexes board game. The men are asked questions that a lady should know. The ladies are asked questions that a man should know. Some of the questions are quite amusing… “What was Snow White’s sister’s name?” Whaaat? Snow White had a sister? Rose Red! Who knew? “What was ‘The House Ruth Built’ called?” Yankee Stadium… Phoenix got that one. “What do you call a walk-in food cupboard in a kitchen?” Really… what man doesn’t know what a pantry is? Sheesh. Even though Jesse’s attitude matched that of 2/3 of the kids during our game-playing… he gave us ladies a good run for our money. He knows his way around the kitchen better than me. Thank goodness he didn’t know the manufacturer of Barbie, or what Hitler forbade women to wear, or what a valance is. The ladies took the victory tonight. And then the family scattered.

This is exhausting. I yearn for the day the kids were younger. We would have done so many projects, and played games, and watched movies, and snuggled. It would have been like a two-week long party. That was when they liked me (I know they love me… this comment is not fishing for sympathy). When I didn’t have to mentally prepare myself for the barrage of complaining when I asked for something to be done, or when I suggested an activity. I really miss those days. If only we could go from child, skip the teenage attitude years, and head straight to grandkids. (Not that I’m trying to rush that one!). I go back and forth… is it better to just pretend they don’t exist and allow them to be like zombies in front of their video games and phones for 18 hours? Better that I work to pay the bills, and do everything around the house as to avoid the bitching about a few measley chores? I know the answer is no and I can’t imagine I’m the only parent of teens that is experiencing this frustration right now.

I love these people so much. They have no idea. But they really push me to my limits sometimes.