Like almost everyone, I have days when I wake up with exceptional energy and attitude.  I think today WOULD have been one of those, if Aban (the 4 year old grandson) hadn’t come upstairs at 0:dark:30 and woke me with the exciting news that Pickle just pooped on the carpet. A lot.  And it was diarrhea.  He used all his 4 year old knowledge to speculate that she might be sick.  He was right.

So before dawn, I was already running a carpet cleaner.  If anyone had stumbled into my living room at that moment, they might have surmised that I was hugely motivated today, but then the smell would have hit them like a wave and totally distracted them from pondering my motivation any further.

After finishing the carpet cleaning, I made Aban & Ethan (the 8 year old grandson) pancakes.  Emptied the dishwasher, then cleaned up from breakfast.  Took the dogs outside, emptied garbage, and checked Pickle over to see if I could identify what caused her to….how shall I put this delicately?…… sneeze from her butt.  I think it was an overdose of Milk Bone biscuits, which sometimes happens when the kids are over.  They love giving her treats.

I glanced at the clock after that, and it was not yet 7:00 a.m.  On a Saturday.

That’s the point when you decide if you’re going to get grumpy, or make the most of the jump start on the day.  I debated the grumpy option, but then realized it would annoy Steve oh-so-much-more if I went in the other direction.  See, if you’re the spouse that has to get up super early and clean up dog poop, the other spouse has to go along with whatever you want to do the rest of the day.  It’s an unwritten rule.

I jumped up and told the boys to get ready for the park.  I got Aban dressed, and ran upstairs to alert Steve to the amazing fun we were going to have.  His bleary-eyed, coffee deprived, confused face was worth the carpet cleaning effort.  I grabbed socks and headed back downstairs, where I found a naked Aban.  “What are you doing?  Where are your clothes?”  He looked at me with complete seriousness and said:  (are you ready for this????)

“Sorry, Grandma.  Robots don’t wear pants.” 

How do you argue with that?

Hot damn, it’s going to be a good day!

We spent the next several hours flying kites, feeding ducks & geese at the lake, and even crammed in a trip to McDonald’s for some Play Place action and hot fudge sundaes.  Steve took pictures, we tangled up kite string, and both boys realized that geese can be MEAN when you run out of bread.  We even found some crested ducks, or “ducks with Afros” as Ethan called them.  I don’t know if I was more intrigued by the crested ducks, or by an 8 year old knowing what “afros” are.  It’s not exactly 1974.

 

Sometimes the best days can have a rocky start…You can make lemonade out of lemons… Attitude is everything…Happiness is a choice…. all that motivational, positive thought process stuff…..once in awhile it’s spot on.  I’m still hiding the Milk Bones, though.  I don’t want to push my luck on positivity two days in a row.