She attached the following caption, "The reason the guy on the top is in awesome shape has nothing to do with age and everything to do with the fact that he rolled out of bed at noon and headed to "the quad" to rehash the night.....the guy on the bottom was woken up at 6:08 am by 3 screaming kids!!!"
My kids were conveniently sick in the smack middle of last week, so after several long days at home filled with clingy, fussy children with runny noses and middle of the night coughing spells, I was due for an adult evening out...as luck would have it, both my husband and I conveniently caught it just in time for the weekend.
Although, we were disappointed to cancel our plans for the weekend, (I am always a lover of a good costume party!) we are thankful today that we did so, particularly in the pursuit of good health! The above illustration, though exaggerated, is so true even when you are WELL; so I can only imagine the rough shape we would be in today had we ignored our symptoms and decided to go. In fact, if we simply stay up late reading, for example, it seems to have a similar effect!
As I tend to write about in my posts, the goal is achieving balance. After a state of cabin fever all week with toddlers, you desperately want to get out for a date with your spouse, girls' evening, neighborhood party, etc. And although you are exhausted from a long day with the kids, as well as the circus act required to coordinate the evening: babysitters, dinners, (finally) a shower, and such, you are newly invigorated by the company of other logical and rational adults. It is simply refreshing to finish a day filled with Thomas the Train, Curious George, and The Fresh Beat Band, with interesting adult conversation!
But of course, the price you pay for this much needed fun (or merely staying up too late) is often fatigue/misery the next day. Inevitably, the next day begins BEFORE 6:00 a.m. with kids (a) jumping on you (b) fighting or (c) fighting over who gets to jump on you first. Despite such a delightful wake-up call, you manage to pull it together to feed, dress, and entertain your kids for the following 12 + hours. But, as any parent can attest, it takes superhuman patience to accomplish any of these tasks, even much more so when you are feeling a bit 'groggy'.
Once again, if the goal is everything-in-moderation, it becomes a tricky balance to determine how much fun (and how often) you must have to still feel sane/human while still managing to be a patient, loving, and engaged parent. Hopefully, my fellow neighborhood Rocky River Mardi-Gras-party-going friends will appreciate this little post, after a (presumably) fun evening! We missed seeing you all, but we are thankful today that we felt more like the guy in the top photo, versus the guy in the bottom...nevertheless, hope you all had fun and Happy Mardi Gras week!
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