Family Circus

 So we were driving home from somewhere and the kids were asking about my grandfather and they were surprised to hear that his name is Ben just like their grandfather.  When they asked why people called him Fahr we explained it came from how a small child (his children) might pronounce "father".  Grace said "I thought it was "Far" like in run far away."  Without hesitation Darragh added "And I thought it was "Far" like Jafar!"  (the tall, narrow, evil advisor to the Sultan from Aladdin)  I laugh every time I think of my tall, narrow grandfather with a twisted black beard and a serpent staff.

The other day we had an unexpected visitor.  My house was unusually messy and it was dinner prep time which is my most busy and hectic part of the day.  Thinking I had imagined the doorbell I opened the front door without changing the atmosphere of the house and was shocked to see a person standing there that introduced himself (was here to see my father-in-law) and asked to come in.  I invited him in and he looked around at what was going on.  I am not kidding when I say it was a circus.  The kids were dancing wildly to the classic Can Can piece that was playing at a deafening volume from the speakers.  The house was shaking from the thuds of bodies flinging themselves from the couches and there was a baby crying and throwing angry handfuls of cheerios in cascades to the floor.  The dining room table was covered in construction paper, pens, homework, a laptop and my papers, piles of folded laundry,  spilled milk cups and pretzels and a vase with dead flowers.  As I led him across the room it got worse as I had to guide him not to trip on the hundreds of legos on the floor and keep children from spinning into him in their frenzied dance.  Thank goodness I had on lipstick as this random touch gave the impression that I had allowed things to be this way on purpose.  Much to my surprise he seemed unshaken by it all and in fact carried on pleasant conversation as if we were in the lobby of an elegant hotel.  I seated him and quickly siphoned off the majority of the mess on the table where he was seated and offered him tea.  My father-in-law came to my rescue and entertained him while I got into a highly focused state of efficient tidying.  Sending the kids to the boys bedroom along with the CD with the Can-Can music, they continued their acrobatics on the bunk bed and I prayed a prayer for their safety and proceeded in closing two doors between them and the living room.  

Sometimes I wonder if I am a bit crazy but I find that one of my greatest pleasures is cleaning my house without kids under my foot.  I can clean up my entire house and put almost everything in its place (I do the job right...not just pushing piles and throwing things in closets), in about 45 minutes including vacuuming for its never done until it's vacuumed.  By the time the man left, my house was sparkling, dinner was on and I was still wearing lipstick and having a glass of wine.  /sigh. There are not many things that can conjure the same feeling of satisfaction and pride to a homemaker.  Sounds shallow I know but we mommies have to find these moments in our days to motivate us to keep going.  An eccentric woman from my church used to have a carved wooden sign over her kitchen door that said "Magic Mommy".  I believe the story is that she got it from friends (she was a groupie with those Greatful Dead guys) for baking "special" cookies and nurturing people.  While I don't quite like the laced cookies idea, I have always loved the title of Magic Mommy.  So there in my kitchen, in my clean house, listening to my laughing children and sipping my wine while wearing lipstick on a Tuesday afternoon, I was Magic Mommy.  Lesson learned?  An unexpected guest can have surprising result on your house and your outlook.  Or, be sure to always wear lipstick.