Well, I’ve made it this far…
Today has not been an easy day. Jacob decided that he wanted to get up at 4:30 a.m. and play. He did play quietly in his room, except for all of the noise making books and noise puzzles we put in there. So, since Jessie was also starting to get up, I got Jacob duty. I went in there about 4:50, and we read the Thomas story about new tracks. The same story I’ve read to Jacob at least 50 times over, but hey, it’s what he wants. We then decide to go downstairs and have breakfast.
We go downstairs after a slight detour into the master bedroom to say Hi to Mom and Jessie. We then go down, and I cook his breakfast porridge. For those of you unfamiliar with Jacob’s meals, breakfast is homemade porridge combined with vitamins and some sort of yogurt bacteria, along with macerated flaxseed. We make the porridge in bulk, which involves putting 2 gallons of water on to boil, then grinding 8 cups of oats and rice. Since we don’t have a large grinder, this has to be done in several small batches. Of course, Jacob finishes his food and decides to come help.
And it’s there that I have lasting memory number one of today: Jacob and I carefully scooping oats from the measuring cup into the grinder, Jacob and I holding down the grinder’s on switch, Jacob playing with the monster whisk. I don’t know if he’ll remember today, but I will. He’s very good with tools, but he can also be “flingy” for lack of a more technical term.
We cook the porridge, which involves waiting for the water to boil, then reducing the heat, adding the ground-up grains, and stirring nearly constantly for 10 minutes. The more you stir, the less likely you’ll get lumps. Also, you have to add the grains slowly to prevent lump formation. Even then, a potato masher is a useful extra tool at this stage of the game.
Then comes the apportionment: 32 or more cup-sized servings, each with a lid. By this time, it’s 7:15 a.m., and I’ve got to start getting ready to go to work. So, it’s upstairs, with Jacob in tow, to wake up the wife but not Jessie (never an easy task). We go back downstairs, and Mama comes down to help with the packing and stacking of the porridge. Jessie decides she wants to wake up at this stage, so I go in and see her for just a little bit. We have a game of sticking our tongues out at each other and then smiling. She’s better at it than I am. After one glorious grin, I hear what sounds like a succession of tires blowing out emanating from her backside. Hmmm. No wonder she was grinning. Memory number two.
Change Jessie. Change Jacob. Get packed to go work out. Do 30 minutes on the treadmill. Work the biceps and the abs. Take a shower. Clean up. Come to work. Work hard.
And then here we are. It’s almost dinner time, and I can’t decide between Ethiopian or Cajun/Creole.
And then, tonight, sleep. Blessed, inviting, sleep. Until the next wake-up call.