Seattle has decided the summer is really here. The weather is warm and the nights pleasant. Wayne and I have survived a week of roofing ruckus. Wayne just got back from SIGGRAPH, his big graphics conference, on Thursday evening. Normally, he sleeps 16 hrs straight after a week of sleeping from 2-8am. That was pre-Laura. He got to run right back into the kid grind. Up at 6am, keep moving, down at 10pm.
I threw a farewell party for my friend and work partner, Annie, the following Saturday. I’m sad to see her go. It was fun to have four families together with 8 adults and 9 kidlets running around. Only 5 years earlier, we all were finishing up residency and without kids. Since I was hosting 9 kids under 5 and most of them crawling or toddling age, I pressured us both to babyproof the house. Laura is explores more than Sara did (explore = puts everything in mouth).
So I spent 4 nights being a single Mom while Wayne was away and then kicked into high gear on Thur, Fri, and Sat to declutter our house. The party was actually the relaxing part. It was nice to sit down and talk with my friends. I will miss Annie very much. She’s been my friend and colleague at work. It’s been fun to begin our careers as mothers and physiatrists together. It’s always a balance to do both those roles.
By Sunday, Wayne continued to be exhausted, still sleep deprived from his conference. We went to church for the first time in weeks. We taught the 2-3yo class and didn’t even attend service. It was fun to play with Sara and her friends. Laura spent most of her time with us, shunning the nursery.
I gave Wayne the afternoon to prepare the house for roofing while I took the girls to an afternoon tea at Carolyn’s to introduce Bethany to it’s long standing Hong Kong missionaries, the Brad and Carol Jordan. It was wonderful. Laura hung out with me and even took a nap. Sara played with a babysitter the whole time. I got to learn some history of the church from over 20 yrs ago. I wept at the memory of precious youth lost and for a mother’s grief. I was reminded that God is good and what it means to be a church.
Monday night, as usual, was a stress point. The dishes from the party were starting to build up. We were trying to get dinner on the table. The only entrance was from the side of the house. The house had to be closed up because of dust despite the warm weather. The girls were hungry and tired and I was trying to get them fed while Wayne was assessing progress on the roof. He realized that we had not arranged for insulation. He was climbing up into the attic to inspect our lack of insulation and discovered a large, blazing wasp’s nest the size of a beach ball. Even the thought makes my skin crawl. There was also a large box of who knows what from the previous own sitting in the rafters. Then, Karen, Wayne’s sister, called to announce the birth of Landon, Sara’s new cousin. What a chaotic stressful evening. I also had to prepare a presentation. We spent the late evening hours scanning photos for my talk about Buttock Pain titled “Pain in the Butt.”
Tuesday continued the roofing with a long day and pounding till 9pm at night. We still weren’t able to get insulators. I did a late shopping trip and stocked the house. The dishes continued to back up and I just brought more things into the house without the space to put them away. Now our breakfast nook was starting to become ridiculous. Our floors were dusty and weird things were being tracked in. I was worried about Laura swallowing splinters and staple gun residue being tracked in on our feet. I read a Parent’s magazine about lead in dust and started to obsess about the cleanliness of our floors. Laura wasn’t able to get to sleep till late due to the noise.
Wednesday, roofers think this will be the last day. I took the girls in early so I could exercise and tackle dishes. I still don’t get to the party dishes (which need to be handwashed, and thus need an empty sink), but make a dent in our regular dishes before I hurry off to work. I-5 is also closed close to the VA and traffic is stressful. I get caught in Mariners traffic on the way to work. Wayne and I take the girls after dinner for a walk even though we’re exhausted. We see the best sunset of the summer.
Thursday. Roofers are still there and work all day. Less noisy which is nice since I’m home all day. I take the girls to OAC to work out. I drop by the toy store and buy Sara a toy for using the toilet all week (this is a big deal for the Wooten clan). She is so excited. Even though I work on it every moment I have, I still don’t get to the dishes by dinner time. Wayne is stressed because the insulator guys still have not come and our roof is done. I feel relieved when I see the roofers packing up and open windows. I don’t close the windows in time and all my clean dishes that are air drying get covered in dust from the leaf blowers they use to clear out debris. Wayne and I collapse after putting the girls to bed. I say I’m going for a walk. Wayne relates my earlier anxiety attack about chores undone. Together, we finally finish the dishes though tired. I feel like a weight has lifted off my shoulders.
Friday. The roofers come and wait for the insulator installer. All the work is done. All that is left is the Honey Bucket. I get a rare call from Claire. I bend my schedule and get to see Ruth and Grace for the first time in 2 weeks. They’re doing well, up to 7lbs. I walk to the park with Claire and then pick up Audra, Eilidh, and Johanna for a swim playdate. We head to OAC and have a blast. We make quite a parade with a stroller and a big swim float for Laura. Laura laughs when i put her in her new float. She floats above everyone. Sara and Johanna play constantly for a whole hour.
So we get to the date. It’s been a stressful week and we are just happy to be alone together. It’s soothing to my soul to spend time with my love without interruptions. We eat at the Hi-Life after scrapping a plan to eat downtown at Tom Douglas’ new Serious Pie. We immediately get seating at our neighborhood haunt. I’m always impressed with the Hi-life. They do tapas, regional cuisine, brunch, pizza, bar hopping, kid haunt, and family style meals very well. We ordered small plates and had the following: grilled peaches w/ parmesan and prosciutto chips and mache leaves; corn fritters (like hushpuppies); polenta fries; apple and bread w/ fondue; coconut prawns in a honey walnut reduction; and skirt steak purses finished with a desert of chocolate- pot du creme and a hot fudge sundae. We looked at the clock, looked at each other, and sprinted out the door to catch whatever movie we could at the Majestic Bay. We walk into the Bourne Ultimatum 15 minutes into the movie and sit in the front row. We hold hands and enjoy the wild ride, shaky camera angles, heart pounding action. We’re home by 9:30pm. Then our babysitter refuses to let us pay her. What a gift!