Just another Monday.

Huge allergy Monday, though. Slept in a bit, and didn’t get the trash out of the garage for collecting. We’re stowing all of the excess recycling, and kid toy mess in the garage, so the cars are out. To make room for the cars on the driveway, we put the trash bins in the garage. See? It made sense When we did it.

Except for a giant headache, and forgetting the trash, the day was normal. I had meetings, the school girl had school, and mom and not-school boy did other stuff, and helped the school girl. They even took the dogs for the much sought car ride to the park for off leash on the tennis courts.

We have a fenced yard, sure. But you can’t fit a tennis court in it. Dogs and kids can run bigger in the park. Usually that helps all of them at bedtime. Didn’t so much tonight. Probably pushed them too far. Dogs were fine, but kids erupted.

I’m sure my headache and congestion shortened my fuse, too. After dinner, the kids pulled a toy from the basement. It’s a marble track tower builder thing. They played for a bit, and pretty well, too. A little before it was time to shut down, they stopped and wanted to watch some AFV. We’d introduced them to America’s Funniest Videos as a little better and safer alternative to stuff collected on YouTube.

when I gave forewarnings of the time and imminent bed rituals, moods turned sour and fits started. We tempered and turned the attitudes around with short clips of strangers falling down. When we ended and happily headed upstairs, we paused so they could show their marble tower.

Fights started, crying followed, insanity began. The boy hid under the girl’s bed, which set her off which set him off, which set me off. After coaxing and asking, with spiraling tempers, I (very carefully, honestly) pulled him from beneath the bed. Slow, to avoid rug burn and head knocking as I expected resistance. He didn’t really resist, but wasn’t happy to be evicted from her room.

Mom calmed him down and got him changed. I tried to calm the girl down to get her changed, but she couldn’t stop crying and didn’t want to be told what to do and was upset because marble fights and everything since...go away, dad! So I did. I sat in our room to wait.

So much more...you can imagine the rest, because as I went through the cathartic exercise of tapping it out, I realized how dumb and sad it all was. And all because everyone was really tired. There was no hitting or much shouting, at least not by adults. Not trying to hide that, but so much kid fuss because brains wanted lights off, but also didn’t.

Everyone else is asleep now, and I’m very tired, too.

except for fatigue and allergies, everyone is healthy.