Coffee Shop Mommy

For a few precious minutes on a Saturday morning, I get to slow down time just a little. One of my favorite things to do is take the baby to the coffee shop. He seems to love the noisy background and people watching. I get to enjoy a hot beverage and a book in relative peace. Also, coffee shop people aren't usually the type to be easily offended by public breastfeeding. Most coffee shops have conversation corners with large comfy chairs and the music is usually pleasant. I meet interesting people who are also looking to slow down just a few minutes of their time and enjoy a cuppa.

Today I am at a coffee shop near a hospital. I've been to this coffee shop a couple of times before in the mornings before work and have gotten acquainted with the young lady at the counter, she remembers that I ask for soy - no dairy, thank you.

 There are scrubs all around, young students studying medical books together, a couple who appear to be on a first date (Tinder?), and a gentleman who just asked if the seat across from me is taken. Of course it's not! I'm not sure what his gig is but he is now working away on his laptop. Everyone stops to dote on the adorable baby in my arms (because he is more than a little cute) and he is all smiles, loving the attention.

 People don't seem angry when their order is wrong or that they have to wait in the long line. Maybe it has to do with being with the kind of people who stop and visit the coffee shop. I feel relaxed in this communal atmosphere, like this is the way time should pass for always.

Monday no Funday

Why do Mondays seem to start worse than any other day of the week? I like my job and look forward to getting back to it after the weekends, so it's not a matter of setting myself up for it by dreading it..

Last Monday I returned from Thanksgiving break and our QA inspector pops up just as i sit down to run payroll.

Having QA show up would have been just fine and dandy any other day of the week. It is a phenomenon that puzzles me.

Today, our freezer went out overnight, just in time for our public health inspector to arrive...

Of course, we got through it and did just fine. It was all that much more stressful because it's....Monday.

Weekend Mommy

Sometimes I feel like I only really get to be a real mommy on the weekends and there aren't enough of them.

Weekday mornings, dad takes care of the baby and I am out the door before my teenager has opened his eyes. My days are long and I usually have to stop in the middle of something because "oh look at the time! Daycare closes soon!" My teenager spends the evenings as most teens do...in his room. He'll peak his head out long enough to seek food then he's back to his teen-cave. I spend the evenings over dinner, dishes and packing bags to do it again the next day.

Today is Sunday and as I type, the baby is still asleep in his car seat after today's outing. He's been there for about an hour because if I move him, he will wake early from his nap and spend the rest of the day in cranky irritability...egads!

I'm glad he's still small enough to not care that time together is spent running errands and doing chores. Food still needs to be procured and laundry still needs washing...

Intro

I have reinvented myself many times over. I've been a mom since I was fifteen and recently gave birth to another bouncing baby boy (who is already quite an amazing human being). I'm a hotel manager and I enjoy my job. Spare time is a luxury I don't have in bulk. I spend my days working through guest complaints, employee drama, motivating a teenager as he sighs and rolls his eyes, and spilling my expressed breast milk all over my suit just as an investor walks in the door to tour the property. In between all of the crazy there are amazing moments of teenage smiles, baby gurgles and employees who stop me to say that I've made a difference in their lives. I often find at the end of the week that it has all passed in a blur. Good and bad, I will share it with you as I go.