livin' on a prayer (Bon Jovi style)

The past few days, my thoughts have strayed from "hooray for summer vacation!" to "how can I get out of this looney house?!" After a week of being held captive by a feverish child and dark dreary un-June-like weather, I have only one goal - ESCAPE! I love my children, I do, but I need a breather. Where is the challenge? THREE kiddos. Three wonderfully, angellic, noisy, cranky, ornery children. One kid is easy peasey grilled cheesey. Shoot, 1 kid for an hour could easily be 1 kid for 2 days. One kid fits in your car, eats just a little extra food, fits into anyone's bed, but 3 whole separate kids for 30 minutes, Holy Mary in a bathtub! It might as well be 45 vampire werewolves for a month!

I totally get it. Except, "getting it" doesn't get me freedom for any amount of time. I don't really have a stash of babysitters and the neighbors appear to speed up when they drive past #49. I can't leave them with the dog or even Little Jerry Seinfeld (or can I???). Strangely, when I can go anywhere solo, I don't really want to. Truth be told, I am a hopeless homebody. I enjoy being here with the family, but when I can not leave, I get a skosh squirrely. I fantasize about going to the grocery store all by myself - no fighting over breakfast cereal or stuffing unwanted bits of deli cheese into my pants pocket. No getting clipped in the heel by the cart or trying to funnel the wild hooligans into the check-out line. To leisurely try on unsensible un-mum shoes at Aldo without a gaggle of goslings sporting nude ped socks on their heads and pretending that they are bank robbers. No wonder I dressed so much nicer before - I could try stuff on before I bought it instead of guessing and trying it on at home later and then never wearing it because it's not-quite right but it's too much of a hassle to go back to the store for an exchange or finally getting back to the store only to realize that 1) I have forgotten the receipt, 2) I am a season too late or, c) I am at the wrong store.

So here I am - stuck. I could beg, plead, bribe, but I will most likely do nothing. Just vent. Venting always helps a bit. Thank you for listening - that helps, too.