Holla for the Library
The library may be what saves my marriage. Jesse started grad school in January, and it’s a beast of a program. It’s 20 months with each class lasting 8 weeks. He’s doing school stuff in the morning (provided Boogs decides to cooperate and sleep past 5:30), at night, and all weekend. If it sounds terrible, that’s because it is.
But it’s not just terrible for him; it’s terrible for me. While he’s doing homework, I’m wrangling Satan’s apprentice on my own. It’s not too bad other than the times Jesse’s working out of the dining room (we lost the office to Boogs’s room) on the weekends. These are the times Boogser knows he’s in there and is pretty sure he should be in there, too. Because Jesse’s not the type of dad to go out for a pack of cigarettes and never return, he obliges the tiny terror. This turns into Isaac helping with homework by banging on the keyboard, eating paper, and throwing highlighters. It’s all fun and games until it’s not. And that’s when I have to go in and take Boogs out of there which results in much screaming. As soon as he hits the floor in the living room, he makes a beeline for the dining room, and we start all over again. It’s a real party. And it’s where the library comes into play.
In version one of The Library Saves Us All, I pack up the diaper bag and keep my fingers crossed Boogs doesn’t struggle poop while we camp out at the library for awhile. He plays with the trains, the Legos, the keyboards, stares random people down, throws some puzzles around, and attempts to pull all the DVDs off the shelf. Sometimes he’ll cruise around the board books, handing me one to read one whole sentence out of before he’s on to the next one. When he’s had enough, we head home and I cross my fingers he doesn’t fall asleep in the car.
In version 2 of The Library Saves Us All, Jesse packs up dining room school and heads to library school. This is my favorite because a) he can spend as long as needs to, and b) if I’m lucky, I can get a second nap out of Boogs which every parent knows is the dream. But even if I’m not living the dream, we typically have a pretty solid afternoon of playing, reading, and snacks with minimal screaming and minimal finger crossing.
Without the library, I’m stressed, Jesse’s stressed, Boogs is stressed, and Monday can’t come soon enough. With the library, we don’t all hate each other, and who knows – we may actually make it through the next 18 months intact.
Soybeans, Too 