The New Normal

My sweet sister-in-law texted me at the end of last week asking how the first week of Bryan being back at work had gone. It took me a bit to respond because at that point on Friday my brain was kind of fried. After the kids were calm and I was able to reflect and form sentences again, I answered her.

"Well, it had its ups and downs and I'm really glad it's bedtime on Friday night. We did make it to the park one morning and the kids did chores everyday, so those are wins. Of course, I'm so tired that I spent most of yesterday thinking it was Tuesday and it took a solid minute for me to remember the name of the town we live in, but that's normal, right?"

This week has been a bit different because we've been up and out of the door most mornings to get Cooper to Cub Scout Day Camp ontime. Here's the breakdown:

• We've hit the park or the grocery store each day. 
• Chores have suffered dramatically because both boys lost the chance to play video games, so for them there's no reason to fulfill those responsibilities now. 
• I made dinner one night and we ate leftovers, prepared frozen food, and cereal the other nights.
• We've done a load of laundry each day because Cooper had to have his one Day Camp shirt clean every morning. This means our playroom is covered in piles of clean clothes waiting to be folded and put away. And yes, three of the kids fold their own stuff. See the above bullet point about chores for further explanation.
• I exercised two of the days and napped on one.
• We stayed up late one night for a bike rodeo Pack Meeting. That means that the next day was rough on everyone.
• We want to have a family adventure tomorrow, but I keep thinking about the sleep that I could possibly get if we stay home and don't do anything, and I simply can't decide which I want to do more.
• My brain is still fried. I can't find words that I want and feel dull-minded. I was starting to wonder about early-onset dementia when I remembered I went through a similar experience when Cooper was two-months old. That's what led to the birth of this blog, so maybe there's something about two months of sleep deprivation that makes my brain feel mushy.
• I adore Topher more today than when he was born, and I adored him then too. I feel a happy sense of contentment when all five of my children are in the same room, like we're all where we're supposed to be.

I like to think that this week has been slightly easier than last week, but Cooper's been at camp for most of his waking hours, so that might account for the difference. No matter, I'll count it as progress.