Carpe Tractorem

Okay, so after a fabulous belated anniversary overnighter (my parents watched our boys for us!), we returned to a major dose of "welcome back to real life." I'm taking no poetic license here; these circumstances are quite real. But my husband is teaching me that even on days like these, the idea of "Carpe Diem" still applies.

For one thing, Josh (my 7 MO) had taken a 3-hour morning nap; I knew this would mean a very slim chance of his taking a decent afternoon nap, making the hoped-for bliss of tandem napping a dream I knew wouldn't come true today. He'd also failed to poop the entire 24 hours we were gone, so I knew a real doosey was in store. (By dinner time, we'd change his clothes, just as I had laundry finished up.)

Since we'd left our minivan at my parents' house, we took two separate vehicles home. My hubby wanted to get a nap in before he went to work (I guess I wore him out!), so he headed home first.

We already knew that the parking lot at our apartment complex was being replaced this week, but we didn't know that they'd be working right outside our building this afternoon with heavy (read LOUD!) machinery. So before I even got home, I'd talked with Jonathan and learned that not only was the noise nap-prohibitive, but our internet connection was down. Great. I was pretty much thinking it was the kind of day that had made Alexander want to move to Australia, and my attitude wasn't much better than his.

After a slightly longer walk from the van to the apartment than usual, I was greeted by a still sleepy but smiling Jonathan. He took the boys from me and sat down on the step. "Look, tractors!" he said. "Cackers," Caleb echoed (sort of). Both boys smiled. All 3 watched the yellow giant effortlessly use its claws to peel the pavement back, then smash it with an iron fist and scoop it up into the waiting dump truck. Peel, smash, scoop. The rhythm seemed to transfix all of us.

I can learn a lot if I just pay attention to my hubby. Even though he would have preferred to be napping, he seized the moment, "Carpe Tractorem," if you will.

I have to admit that when my toying with the router didn't work, I returned to my terrible tizzy, but my hubby again calmed me. He wasn't gone to work an hour when he called to say his breaks were acting up. (After the funeral we attended last week, this was not something to take lightly.) I made an appointment for tomorrow, and went to follow him to the shop to drop it off. He took us home, just in time for bedtime rituals to start.

After his Carpe Tractorem example, I was able to Carpe Daddyem and appreciate the rare chance for the boys to see their daddy on a weeknight.

Even in the midst of an Australia-move type day, there's always a way to seize it and make it yours and make a happy memory for your kids.

This is

reminding you to carpe whatever-um today, because even if it's long, the years will still be oh-so-short!