A really good evening...
Sometimes, life as an honorary stepmom is difficult. I watch the kids make decisions that seem so pig-headed and short-sighted and are exactly the kinds of decisions that I made 20 years ago. Some days, I just want to scream at everyone in frustration. Last night was NOT one of those nights. Some nights, everything CLICKS and you get an idea of what you’re working toward as a family.
This has been sort of a rough week at the house. We had plans to go to the movies together Monday night but it was indefinitely postponed. The kids had a terrible fight over matters so petty and insignificant I won’t even talk about them. By the time everyone calmed down, it was too late to go to the movies - I was really upset with everyone as I was looking forward to it as well. With people on different schedules, it is hard to get all four of us together at the same time.
Last night, I met Mick at the bar near campus - he actually starts work there tonight as a part-time bartender. We both got a text from Stella earlier in the day - she said she had good news she wanted to share when we were all together. Mick said he hoped she wasn’t announcing her pregnancy, but we both agreed it was likely job-related. We left to head home about six. I started dinner - I roasted a pork loin. We coated it with a paste of crushed garlic, rosemary, dry mustard and olive oil. I also roasted sweet potatoes for everyone. We had the last of the green beans and cranberry relish. I told Stella it would be a couple of hours until dinner was ready so she headed upstairs for a nap. Will played video games until Mick & I started rearranging furniture, then he jumped up to come help us. For Thanksgiving, we had switched the living room with the dining room - there was more space in the front room of the house for the dining room table with the leaf in the middle. We hadn’t put everything to rights until last night.
We sat down to a late dinner around 8:30 and everything was perfect. The pork was flavorful and juicy - Stella declared that we need to make it at least once a week. Everyone ate their fill and talked to each other. Stella’s good news was that she’d been hired on full-time and given a promotion at Target. She was hired in as a seasonal worker a couple of weeks ago but has managed to impress her bosses. It seems she spent three hours organizing the grocery section the other night - she was fussed at for spending too long at the time, but later, they recognized her attention to detail and reassigned her to the cosmetics department. I’m so proud of her. Will was talking excitedly about starting his new job next week and I offered to take him out this evening to practice driving a stick shift. His whole face lit up - he said he’d been really hoping I’d offer to do that soon. They are looking for a cheap car for the winter, a beater that will get them around town. He’d had his eye on a standard transmission car for seal on Craigslist for several months - he noted that the stick shifts take longer to sell and are cheaper. He wants to learn to drive a stick so it gives him more flexibility when shopping for a car.
After dinner, I asked the kids to clean up. They immediately agreed and Mick said that if they’d just scrape and rinse all the dishes, he’d run the dishwasher in the morning. Will offered to take care of it after he got up since the three of us would all be at work during the day. We went into the other room and watched an episode of “The Bridge” while still listening to the kids clean up from dinner. No squabbling, no arguments - just soft domestic sounds of the house. We took the dog in our room with us to ease her into sleep before it was time to put her in her crate - Mick & I made an early night of it.
It all seems really average, doesn’t it? It hardly seems to be something to strive for, that quiet evening at home. However, there was a tranquility there, a domestic peace that isn’t always present. I told Mick that I wanted to praise the evening out loud - it makes it easier to remember the next time we have a really bad day in the house. At one point, I asked Will if they were still glad they moved to Louisville? I know they were uncertain at first - they miss their friends and their dog, but I felt like they’re doing far better here. He said yes, they were.
I want them to thrive here, to get to take a breather and figure out what they really want, what is next? Take time to decide what direction to take - college or vocational training? I’m happy they’re both working so they can set back a little money, but it isn’t the most important thing to just work work work.
This has been sort of a rough week at the house. We had plans to go to the movies together Monday night but it was indefinitely postponed. The kids had a terrible fight over matters so petty and insignificant I won’t even talk about them. By the time everyone calmed down, it was too late to go to the movies - I was really upset with everyone as I was looking forward to it as well. With people on different schedules, it is hard to get all four of us together at the same time.
Last night, I met Mick at the bar near campus - he actually starts work there tonight as a part-time bartender. We both got a text from Stella earlier in the day - she said she had good news she wanted to share when we were all together. Mick said he hoped she wasn’t announcing her pregnancy, but we both agreed it was likely job-related. We left to head home about six. I started dinner - I roasted a pork loin. We coated it with a paste of crushed garlic, rosemary, dry mustard and olive oil. I also roasted sweet potatoes for everyone. We had the last of the green beans and cranberry relish. I told Stella it would be a couple of hours until dinner was ready so she headed upstairs for a nap. Will played video games until Mick & I started rearranging furniture, then he jumped up to come help us. For Thanksgiving, we had switched the living room with the dining room - there was more space in the front room of the house for the dining room table with the leaf in the middle. We hadn’t put everything to rights until last night.
We sat down to a late dinner around 8:30 and everything was perfect. The pork was flavorful and juicy - Stella declared that we need to make it at least once a week. Everyone ate their fill and talked to each other. Stella’s good news was that she’d been hired on full-time and given a promotion at Target. She was hired in as a seasonal worker a couple of weeks ago but has managed to impress her bosses. It seems she spent three hours organizing the grocery section the other night - she was fussed at for spending too long at the time, but later, they recognized her attention to detail and reassigned her to the cosmetics department. I’m so proud of her. Will was talking excitedly about starting his new job next week and I offered to take him out this evening to practice driving a stick shift. His whole face lit up - he said he’d been really hoping I’d offer to do that soon. They are looking for a cheap car for the winter, a beater that will get them around town. He’d had his eye on a standard transmission car for seal on Craigslist for several months - he noted that the stick shifts take longer to sell and are cheaper. He wants to learn to drive a stick so it gives him more flexibility when shopping for a car.
After dinner, I asked the kids to clean up. They immediately agreed and Mick said that if they’d just scrape and rinse all the dishes, he’d run the dishwasher in the morning. Will offered to take care of it after he got up since the three of us would all be at work during the day. We went into the other room and watched an episode of “The Bridge” while still listening to the kids clean up from dinner. No squabbling, no arguments - just soft domestic sounds of the house. We took the dog in our room with us to ease her into sleep before it was time to put her in her crate - Mick & I made an early night of it.
It all seems really average, doesn’t it? It hardly seems to be something to strive for, that quiet evening at home. However, there was a tranquility there, a domestic peace that isn’t always present. I told Mick that I wanted to praise the evening out loud - it makes it easier to remember the next time we have a really bad day in the house. At one point, I asked Will if they were still glad they moved to Louisville? I know they were uncertain at first - they miss their friends and their dog, but I felt like they’re doing far better here. He said yes, they were.
I want them to thrive here, to get to take a breather and figure out what they really want, what is next? Take time to decide what direction to take - college or vocational training? I’m happy they’re both working so they can set back a little money, but it isn’t the most important thing to just work work work.