I thought I should blog about that, then I came and looked at my page. Wow, it's been 6 months! I know we've had a few things happen that I considered blogging about during that period only to end up not having time or, in some cases, the inclination. Sometimes we go through things we don't want to blog about.
A few things have happened to ensure it's been a rough time, but we've also just been caught up in everyday life. With the rental situation being what it is, our daughter and granddaughter are still living with us. It's great, little Miss J really is being raised by a village for now and we all, our sons included, get to spend as much time with her as we want to. The only problem is, with all of us having jobs and school to keep up with, life can get pretty hectic.
My sister, who lives a couple of hours away, came for my birthday and stayed for a week afterwards. While she was here, she commented on how busy and tired we all are with a toddler in the house. She wasn't being critical, just observant.
She's right too. Our daughter's adorable little girl is constantly on the go. She's curious, adventurous, sociable and doesn't like to rest - so no one else gets to either! Plus, she has been unwell over the past couple of weeks, so she's been more clingy and demanding than usual (and wasn't able to attend day care). It really has been more tiring for us all. It's been hard to get anything else done, so the housework has fallen behind too. When I get the chance to do anthing, I find myself with so much more to do than I expected.
As an example, one morning I said to my sister, "If you're okay to watch her for me, I'll just pop to the bathroom for a minute." No problem, she loves playing with her grand-niece. I went and used the toilet, then noticed dirty washing on the bathroom floor while washing my hands. I scooped up the washing and went to the laundry to put it into the washing machine. The previous load was still in the machine so I transferred that to the dryer, then put the next load of washing on. Came back out of the laundry to be ambushed by the cat meowing for food. I filled her food bowl and remembered to grab a loaf of bread out of the chest freezer before heading back to the kitchen, where I put the bread on the bench, put away a couple of items that had been left out after breakfast and filled the sink with water to start soaking some dishes for washing up later on. My "minute" ended up being almost ten!
That was just one morning, but it shows why I'm so tired these days (and I'm certainly not the only family member who leaves the room to do one thing and gets caught up in a heap of extra chores on the way).
I commented to my eldest son recently that I still feel relatively young and healthy, to which he said, "You know, Mum, when I watch you doing everyday stuff around the house, you look the same as you did when I was little. You seem to have the same energy and do all the same things." What a wonderful thing to hear from one of your offspring - the very same people who are supposed to tease you for getting old (and don't worry, they do plenty of that too!).
I am fortunate to have pretty good health and I'm glad I can help out my daughter with her little one while she works to set them both up for the future. Sometimes I'm exhausted, but I'm also better these days at taking time for myself when I need to as well. Besides, I know one day they'll move out and we won't see them as often. I try to enjoy this time as much as I can (and occasionally lose myself in some quiet gardening!).
Life might be busy, but 50 looks alright so far.
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