My Jonah Day

Today I had what I call a "Jonah" day. You know, the kind of day where you feel (at least mentally or emotionally) as if you've been pitched off a boat in a raging sea, swallowed by a whale, and are resting at the depths of the blackest ocean.

I'm not sure what brought on this horrible case of the blues. Yesterday was a good day, and I slept like a rock last night. But for some reason I just felt "blah" today. Kenneth left at nine this morning for an eye appointment, a golf lession, and 18 holes of golf with his dad, so I knew he'd be gone all day.

Things started off all right, but I quickly and inexplicably ran out of steam. Added to that, the potty training took a turn for the worse. Bella simply refused to even sit on the potty, and I found myself getting frustrated, which I know is the worst thing to do.

I was so relieved when nap time came. I put her down for a nap and settled on the couch for one of my own. Well, Bella decided that she wasn't going to nap today, thank you very much. After several minutes of her hollering "Mama! Ready get up!" I went and got her out of her bed, thinking maybe she'd lay with me in our bed (the big bed, as she calls it). Nope. She wouldn't lay down. So we got back up, my mood rapidly deteriorating at this point.

She wanted a pancake, so I fixed her one and she watched some "Dora". By three o'clock I was bored out of my mind (cleaned house yesterday, thank you!). So I loaded Bella in the car and headed to Winged Deer Park, where Kari's Heart Foundation was hosting a fair with stuff for kids. I thought it would be a good diversion for us both.

Bella fell asleep literally two minutes before we pulled in to park. So needless to say for the first 15 minutes she didn't want to do anything. She finally perked up and we found my sister, who had volunteered to work the fair and was in charge of the water station, where little kids could splash in small pools and bigger kids have water gun fights. Bella got in and splashed around a little, but didn't really like the water being squirted every direction in such close proximity. I didn't either. Some seven year old brat who I'd noticed squirting people deliberately in the face ran up for no apparent reason and soaked the side of my shirt.

Now, normally, I'm very tolerant of children. And really, on a ninety degree day, who should mind getting squirted with a little water? Today, I did! I turned to her, eyebrows raised, and in my best no-nonsense mommy voice demanded, "Do I look like I'm in a water fight?" She ran away. Mission accomplished. Oh, dear.

Next I took Bella to the inflatables. They had a big slide where you climb in the middle, then slide down either side. Bella did one at Jonesborough Days this year and loved it. Well, of course today she got to the bottom of the ladder and simply jumped up and down, refusing to go up or come back. So here I go after her. When she saw me coming she started trying to climb up, so I thought, okay. And there I go, twenty three weeks pregnant, climbing a nearly-vertical inflated ladder with dubious hand and footholds, shoving a two year old ahead of me by her rear-end. I admit the situation would have been extremely laughable (and probably was to those on the ground!) had I not been burning up and exhausted.

So we slid down, during which I got a bad friction burn on one heel, got her face painted and a balloon, and headed home!

I have to admit, my day improved after that. Kenneth came home and we grilled out, Bella went to the potty successfully two or three times, we did her bath, and she went to bed.

And so ends my Jonah day. They do end. Jonah got spit out on the beach, remember! All the same, tonight I'm glad to head to bed.