Mama Byrd

Earlier in the week, I had strep throat and was ordered by the doctor to stay home from work so I wouldn’t infect my entire office. He said it was “good PR.”

I really didn’t feel bad, and I was on steriods to shrink the swelling in my throat, so I spent most of the day doing housework that I never have time to do– like changing all the sheets in the house.

I re-discovered why I hate changing sheets, especially on the kids’ bunkbeds. Changing sheets on my daughter’s top bunk takes me– literally– twenty-three minutes. First, she has a mountain of stuffed animals and blankets that I have to throw down from the top bunk. Then I have to climb all over the bunk just to strip the bed. Finally, I have to balance my toes on top of the metal sides of the beds to adjust the new sheets so that I’m not standing on them while I’m trying to pull them tight. All the while, I’m praying that I don’t fall off the bed and break my neck because it will be like 3 hours before anyone comes home and finds me.

Needless to say, some of this resentment toward changing those sheets has rubbed off somehow on Ellie. A couple of times, I’ve mentioned how much I hate to change her sheets, so she has decided to sleep on top of the comforter with her blanket pulled over her so that she won’t mess up the sheets. During the summer, it’s not a big deal, but this week it was below freezing every night. Her daddy insisted that she sleep under the sheets and comforter (he doesn’t have to change them), and she protested wildly: “But I promised Mama that I wouldn’t mess up the sheets!” One day, her therapist will make a lot of money off of me.

Filed under: Uncategorized on February 8th, 2007