Day Six (Saturday, March 21): Saturdays are usually one of the best days of the week: Jamie isn’t working, the boys are home from school and have sporting events to attend, there are great sports on TV, etc… Today was a little different: Jamie still didn’t work, and the boys were still home, but we had no sports to attend or watch on TV.

I missed the craziness of a DeMaria Saturday. I missed waking up early to take Edward to water polo warm-ups an hour before an 8am game. I missed running to pick up breakfast between games, while rushing back in time to work the game clock. I missed trying to figure out how to watch Edward play water polo in Annapolis, while trying to make an afternoon baseball game somewhere else in Maryland. It was often a stressful juggling match (and I only have two kids), but we no longer have such “problems.” Which, of course, weren’t problems at all; and now I would consider them a blessing.

Instead of water polo, Edward and I cleaned his bathroom (ha ha) and his bedroom (on par with the Bro Cave). I could pay a year of college tuition (or at least room & board) with all the money I have found lying around our house, stuck in couch cushions, and in the pockets of laundry. But it gives me some small sense of accomplishment to clean - literally - every nook and cranny (an idiom that originated in the 14th century: it combines 'nook', being used from mid-1300s which means - a distant corner, with 'cranny' in usage since 1440 which means - a crack or gap.)

I was spared a Monopoly game today, but we did play several hands of cards (Hearts, Sevens, and Tenzies - a quick dice game) tonight after dinner (take out, after Edward and I drove around for a while, so he could practice driving with his permit). I thought it would be a “long” day with nothing structured or scheduled to do, but it passed quickly and I’m still not in bed as early as I wanted to be. Jamie and I have been catching up on Lego Masters and the Masked Singer reality shows…all the shows we have no time for in “real life.”

Tomorrow, we hike. And we begin (or Jamie begins) teaching the older son how to cook - his request, “since I have to be home anyway.” Score!
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