gray day in February

Today is a not-enough-sleep, gettin'- nothin'-done, kind of a day.  The sky is gray, the air is damp, and the ground is covered in half-frozen slush cleverly disguised by a dusting of snow.  I'm reminded that every year, mid-February, I'm tempted to move to the tropics or run away with the circus.

view through the living room window

BUT, I decided this morning to just give in, accept it, trudge through it, let it be what it is.  And I did.  I sat.  A lot.  In front of the woodstove.  However, if I look closely, I did more than nothin', without resentment, without struggle, just, well, plodded, I guess.

I pretended to eat about 200 elaborate play dough food constructions that delighted Ayla (who is currently napping on my lap) very much.

I rinsed, soaked, and cooked chickpeas.

I made sandwiches.  Fried egg with kimchi for me, Papa, and Ayla.  Peanut butter with jam for Sylvia.  Peanut butter with cream cheese on gluten-free bread for Camille.

I washed (but didn't fold) a load of laundry.

I washed (some, but not all) dishes.

I doodled on my toddler with a Tattoo Marker.  Camille drew on Sylvia.

I took out many stitches from Camille's cross stitch project, so that she could have it 'just so' without the added frustration of ripping out all of her hard work.

I baked potatoes and baked homemade granola bars that stuck to the pan horribly, but were still yummy.

I read a dozen or more board books aloud and helped put together the same puzzle several times with Ayla.

I made a chickpea coconut curry with potatoes, carrots, onions, and lots of garlic.

I fed and watered the chickens and collected their beautiful eggs.

I hauled in wood from the woodpile and kept a fire going all day.

I kissed little owies, and wiped a bottom, told my girls I was proud of them, sipped two cups of coffee and a jar full of herbal tea, helped mediate minor disagreements, knit a few rounds and watched Dumbo and watched my girls giggle, whoop, and tumble around the livingroom.

This is a slow day.  I was tempted to feel discouraged somehow, but when I look at it all written out like that, I feel like I should be proud of myself.  I sustained and nourished my family.  It may be mundane, but it's not too bad for a gray day in February.  It'll do :).