Wednesday Wanderings

It's a Wednesday afternoon. It's not so different than any other Wednesday. I'm relaxing in the upstairs bedroom listening to the various cacophonous symphonies of  two rambunctious twelve year olds downstairs, the extensive home reno project that's in full swing next door, a family of woodpeckers that have decided to nest on the side of the house (which is mildly rage inducing, and intriguing because to the best of my knowledge, I don't think there are woodpeckers back home). The sporadic, rapid-fire of those little beaks tapping on the house (and ripping out insulation) never fails to start around 9am every morning, before dying down during the day which I think I might be helped by the level of aggressiveness the reno's are at next door.

Plus there are countless magpies. They're a pest, apparently, but I think they're kinda cute. Granted, I always thought that Jeremy from The Secret of NIMH was a magpie which is why I kinda like the little suckers, but all these years later I just discovered via a quick Google search that Jeremy was actually a crow.

That revelation aside, I don't remember the last time I was quite this happy. I felt like I had been struggling for such a long time, that there were days when it was hard to find the positives. But, as cliched as it might be, there is always a positive if you look hard enough for it.

Over the last seven months, I've learned that stay at home parents are the most underpaid people out there. And while I am by no means stepping in to the role of a happy house on a full time basis, helping to keep a house clean and everyone fed, the never ending loads of laundry, be a loving and supportive partner, while still trying to propel yourself further ahead to reach personal and mutual goals ... it's exhausting! And EI pays you dick-all when you're unemployed, so there really isn't too much extra disposable income leftover. It's tough, incredibly rewarding, and stay at home parents ought to be paid the highest salaries out there.

It's Easter this week end. Honestly, it's been a minute since I got excited for family-oriented holidays like Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving and all that jazz. But this year I am so looking forward to it. I've been absorbed into this crazy, outgoing, family and it just fills me with so much love and gratitude. We're planning a birthday party for Saturday, then celebrating Easter on Sunday, spending Easter Monday together and then ... at long last, I can finally say that I'm going back to work on Tuesday! The added bonus is that perhaps I'll get to spend the day with my best girl in the world who - thank the universe - came back Christmas time! There's a video somewhere of us driving to her Mom's place around midnight on Christmas Eve to surprise her, and has gone down as the biggest.secret. that I have ever kept!

As challenging as the last seven months of my life have been, I have also been so incredibly blessed. I've found the love of a good man who makes me laugh until I'm near tears almost every single day. He's also an amazing father, an incredibly supportive partner who's always referred to me as his ladyfriend, a dyed-in-the-wool provider ... essentially he's the man I've waited my whole life for. And while this wasn't supposed to turn into an ode to the man that I am incredibly in love with, his support over the last several months has been something that I can't quite put into words, and for that I owe him an immense amount of gratitude. 

Right then ... back to reality.

I somehow have to find a way to bribe a twelve year old into helping clean the house ...