The Fine Art of Nothing

I love Saturdays.

Ben and the kids hate that I love Saturdays.

And therein lies the problem—a problem that rears it’s head every weekend as I plan all the big, big things that can finally get finished because everyone’s home, and  Ben and TDHD do their best to ignore me.

Because for them and their 9-5ish routine of work and school, Saturday is the welcomed change of pace that brings cartoons ‘til 10 o’clock and big breakfasts that fill a sink full of dishes. It’s doing nothing, happily, until 2 o’clock when someone wonders out loud what we’re having for dinner … and someone makes a list … and a single, just-for-the-weekend grocery trip may get done by 5. It’s maybe a spontaneous, couple-hour adventure to somewhere around town, but mostly a day to not leave the house to do anything.

And it’s the day slips away, my frustration grows. Epically.

Because for me and my all-days-blend-together-stuck-in-the-living-room, Saturday is the welcomed change of pace that means running errands without kids and tag-teaming projects around the house. It’s hey-you-run-here-and-I’ll-run-here-and-we’ll-get-this-done-in-no-time. It’s let’s-lift-heavy-things-and-borrow-trailers-and-take-stuff-to-the-dump.  It’s maybe a spontaneous, couple-hour adventure to somewhere around town, but mostly a day to get out of the house and do everything.

So when Saturday night time arrives and nothing has been done—week in and week out--I get closer and closer to crazy.

It’s becoming a serious source of contention and that bothers me.

So I’m trying to remind myself that Ben and I have two completely different needs from our Saturdays, and that there is a genuine need to both work and play on our one day off that somehow has to be balanced.

For starters, I’m learning to cut the list to just one project or job that can be done in an hour, that way the most critical stuff gets done without the day being hijacked by the honey-do list. And I’m learning to be okay with it not happening until dinner time so long as it just gets done.

I’m also learning to chill if our day doesn’t start until noon.  Ok. Or if kids don’t get dressed until after lunch. Ok. Or if the floor doesn’t get vacuumed until naptime. Deep breath … ok.

Because as it turns out, some pretty cool things can happen on a Saturday morning when kids are completely ignoring that they should be doing morning pick up.

Big, cool, very important things like this:

And if that floor had been vacuumed … and we had rolled out to run errands, I might never have learned about the reflective magic of Sean’s plastic protractor …

… or that Savannah is a hand-puppet sound effect genius …

… or that Kaden and Cam are masters at the two person dinosaur-head-with-sharp-teeth shadow …

… or that Dylan is a butterfly-making rock star.

Told ya. Rock star.

So, the painting in the upstairs still isn’t done, the organ still hasn’t gone to D.I. and the metal scrap still hasn’t been hauled away.

Deep breath … ok.

But six kids spent the morning laughing and playing and dreaming and imagining as warm sun streamed in behind their jammied bodies.

Summer hot spot?

Today mine was sitting in the living room enjoying the fine art of nothing and learning to love everything great that it brings.