Mindy Carlson

I can’t believe it, but we’ve been back for 6 months. In a lot of ways it seems like we just left. In other ways it seems like we’ve been here forever.

Life is filled with the mundane right now. The boys need to go to school. The laundry needs to washed, folded, and put away. An increasing amount of groceries need to be regularly purchased and cooked to satisfy the boys’ appalling appetites.

Falling into the mundane is proof of acclimation, I think. Of going about having a quiet and meaningful life in the society where you live. I’m no longer shocked or stunned by the wide roads or the large houses. Climbing into a car doesn’t feel so wrong anymore. The grocery store is slowly becoming the right size. We even have a regular pizza place we order from. It’s all becoming The Usual.

Today, though, is a Very Serious Cleaning day. And even that is semi-mundane, usually happening after big holidays or celebrations. This is spurred on by the little Lego landmines my feet have been encountering. Well, my bare feet have found these tiny Lego bits nestled into the carpet for the last time! (For this week.)  Plus there are still Christmas baubles gathering dust around the house. And I am NOT doing it alone!

Everyone has a list. If we had a dog, even the dog would have a list.

We are packing away all the detritus left from the Christmas holiday. The tree has been hauled away by the mulching crew and the decorations are boxed and back on their shelves in the basement. The presents that have been displayed in messy piles of possession in the living room have been carried away to their new owner’s room. And hopefully put away. I don’t have the heart to look.  I am adopting the “what happens in their room stays in their room” philosophy of parenting.

I guess when the smell becomes too much I’ll glove up and dive into the filth.

Until then, however, I will thrive in the mundane.