Homeless for a day

The boys and I were homeless today. The painters were here from 8AM-4:30PM and they said because of the fumes, we shouldn't be in the house. Never mind the wet paint and the fact that they will be working in every room and closet of our house.

So I needed to entertain the kids for a day outside the house. I did this on President's Day when I went to the zoo with Mark & Cindy and left Tom home to pack in peace. But it feels different when you're booted out of your own home with no option to come home early if you needed to. Plus, Tobey came down with a fever last night so not only could he not go to school, we couldn't go to our "safe house" (Alice's). With one sick child and one healthy child, it's hard to find an activity that both will be happy with. And if Tobey needed a good nap, where to go? So I headed into the day with a bit of trepidation.

Turns out, the day was fine. Blessed even. For one thing, as long as Tobey's fever was medicated, he was generally in a good mood. And at 4.5 years old, he would actually ask me to take his temperature when he felt uncomfortable. That usually was 4-5 hours into the Motrin dosage, meaning the meds were wearing off and I needed to give more. Sure beats deciphering the whinings and moanings of a sick child.

And when he was feeling well, he and Eli had a good time together. It's liberating not only to not have a schedule, but to relax some of the rules a bit for the sake of sanity. We had breakfast at McDonald's and had the PlayPlace all to ourselves (first time I let them play in a fast food joint's playground). Ran an errand at Costco (and of course ran into Alice, the Costco Queen). And while I was unsure of whether to hang out at Valley Fair Mall or the library (they both had couches I could see ourselves crashing on in an event of fatigue), Tobey wanted to go to the mall. I'm usually not one to let the kids dictate the events of the day but on a day like today, why not. The mall we went and we had a great time. I had considered asking Pora to babysit Eli, the healthy one, thus making it easier to be sensitive to Tobey's needs, but I didn't want to be bound by drop off and pick up times. So I opted not to ask for the help and the day turned out for the better.

Some small tidbits that made the day warmly special:

• Classic cartoons were on the TV in the Family Lounge at Valley Fair. I got to flip through a Glamour mag while the kids were introduced to Penelope Pitstop and Snorks. I didn't realize how many sounds and expressions from PP I would recognize. I didn't think I watched it that much. Somehow letting them watch classic cartoons seemed almost educational (like a history lesson) and less mind numbing than watching a ubiquitous Dora or Spongebob cartoon.

• Tobey asked for his temperature to be taken once we got to the mall play area. Boy, what screams, "I brought a sick child to a public play area" than taking a temperature and giving Motrin right on the bench in front of the play area? Of course I used to only end up at the mall play area with a sick child, opting for more pleasant places when my kids were healthy. But to take a temp, treat a fever and send the sick child into the play area seemed brashly rude. So I told Tobey he needed to sit with me for a little while as Eli ran around. Tobey was cooperative, laying down at some point but also just sitting and watching. As the play area kids cycled in and out and Tobey was a little better, I let him play a little too. But not for long.
  

• Tobey declared he had to poop as soon as we sat down at lunchtime. Being the only adult and having just divided hot bowls of non-takeout soup for the boys, I told him that he had to hold it. I felt bad for him so I did tell him in the most sympathetic voice possible. But still, if we went the second he said he needed to go, we would have had to leave our food and the women who worked in the bakery did not look like they wanted to babysit our food while we ran to the mall restroom. Tobey was a total trooper, not complaining and able to hold it until we were at least done with our soup. I was definitely thankful because things could have turned sour that very moment.

• Eli quietly fell asleep in the stroller at the mall (I'm noticing more and more what a great sleeper he is). So Tobey and I snuck in a visit to the Lego store. It was cute to see Tobey "shop" the Lego shelves the way I would scan and scour the shelves at The Container Store (which we went to later with Tom before dinner). Like kids in a candy store but for Tobey it was Legos and for me, storage boxes and pretty gift wrap.
  

I definitely felt nomadic. In the event that we could not find a place to crash if we needed it, I actually threw Tobey's blankets and pillows into the back of the van, ready to make a makeshift bed if we needed it. When the kids fell asleep in the car after the mall (as I cruised up 280 until they konked out), I came home, 45 min. earlier than the painters said, and just hung out in the minivan parked on our curb. The kids woke up, played in the front yard and I tidied up the van, my 2nd home. I didn't even walk into our house taken over by painters. I've felt an affinity to the minivan before, feeling like it's my mobile office or my mobile home. Today, even more so because it was my home on my homeless day.

Thanks, Lord, for not just helping me survive the day, but actually enjoying it. Could I have some more of that grace tomorrow? It's another homeless day, you know.