Choosing to laugh

Today was a warm day, and when it’s warm I have to open the windows in the apartment because it gets really hot (the heat doesn’t turn off just because it’s warm outside).

Someone was jackhammering across the street, so it sounded like someone was jackhammering in our apartment.

I did manage to get the babies down for their first nap, I think that was before the jackhammer started.

Their second nap is the one where I go for a walk and sit somewhere nice and read blogs and stuff.

And since today was warm I thought I should either go to the library (a longer walk away) or go somewhere with easy access outdoor seating.  In the end I decided I would go down the street to a little place that has a bench outside, and I would buy a limonana and sit for an hour enjoying the sun and warmth.  Except when I got there, the bench was gone, I guess for the winter.  So I went to the coffee shop right by it, which was so packed with people I couldn’t fit in with the stroller.  So then I went to another coffee shop – one that was much closer to me – that had an outdoor bench.

I had now been walking for 20 minutes to find a place to sit outside, but if I had gone straight to that coffee shop I could have been there in 5 minutes.  Whatever.  I was there, and I had 20ish minutes left before the babies would start stirring and I would need to go home for their next feeding.

After standing there for about 10 minutes, someone came by and tied up their dog right next to me in order to go inside and get a coffee.  I was like, oh my Gd, please let this be one of those quietly patient dogs.  NOT SO.  The dog started barking, the babies started stirring, too early.

I walked away from the barking dog but had nowhere to go.  I spied another place with a bench outdoors but as I approached it I saw the bench was behind a little gate, and the gate was locked.

I just decided to stand on the sidewalk for 10 minutes.  I read blogs, checked facebook, etc, on my phone while I literally stood outside on the sidewalk.

Then I went home.  To the apartment that sounded like it had a jackhammer inside.

It was all so ridiculous.  The effort I put into that nap.  And the babies slept better inside with the jackhammer than they did during what turned into an hour long walk (I took the snap-n-go which is so bumpy and uncomfortable, I just use it for short walks because the jostling keeps Noa awake).

I started getting irritated but then stopped and decided I was choosing to laugh.  The babies slept for another 30 minutes after I got into the apartment.  I made the bottles for the rest of the day, had a snack, picked up the laundry from the drier, talked to the neighbors, checked my email on my phone, and then ended up waking them up for the feeding so we could stay on schedule.  It turned out all right.

It felt good to choose to laugh instead of getting irritated.  I think it changed the tone of the afternoon.  I hope the evening is as good as the day has been.  They are in the middle of a nap right now that has lasted an hour and a half.  This nap is going so long and I am not “forcing” it by taking them out on a walk.  Noa woke up after an hour and put herself back to sleep.  Eitan woke after half an hour and easily went back to sleep in the swing.  Right now I do have a sense of being on borrowed time.  But I am looking forward to this evening’s dance party.