themumzone

I step into the living room and I am quickly defeated. There is an explosion of toys; storybooks, building blocks, cars and broken bits of some other toys I’ve forgotten I ever bought. And the church is at it in full force! Ms P clearly gave up. D and J have built a fort out of the cushions which they go on to destroy amidst loud screams of excitement. Again, someone gets hurt. I say sorry and change the channel. So between their exclamations, me ducking and stretching to see around them and then the loud strains of the church’s band practice, I eventually give up and turn us in for the night. We’ll fight the fight of the toys strewn around the house another day.

Sunday morning.
Yay! Finally, daddy’ll be home, I sigh and stretch out on the bed. I should probably just stay home, I’ve never been to church by myself and with the kids. It would be interesting to see me struggle with both of them while maintaining my balance on the sandy mounds leading to the church building. Oh yeah that’s true, I’d have to park so far away too… Nah. We’ll go next week, too much drama. Just as I roll over to burrow deeper into my bed, I hear, “Praise the Lord!” from that Other Church’s PA system and I immediately jump off the bed.

Mba, not today.

“Boys, let’s go! Church, now now now,” I barked like a drill sergeant. In record time,  I have them washed, dressed and fed. D helps me pack their refreshments in a back-pack so I can finish my make-up. Wow, just enough time to make the sermon. Let’s go. I grab the keys to the car and the front door off the table but there’s one missing.

“D? Where’s the key to the gate?”

“It’s J.”

“Ees D.”

Hian. That’s where problem starts. Our Gate person had gone back home to farm, so we had no one. Apparently, while they played and hopped off furniture and bounced off the walls, they had misplaced the key to the gate which must have looked unfamiliar to them. Because they know not to play with the house keys, but this gate key must have looked unusual to them, therefore play-thing!
“Oya, go and find the key.”

That is how we start lifting and moving the most ridiculous things to look for key o. I look at the time. There’s no way we can meet the sermon now.

“Stop. Just go take off your cloths.”

“First, let’s pack up the toys. Pick each one carefully in case the key is stuck in. Still no show.” D keeps going to look under the TV stand but I can’t see anything there.

This can’t be happening. How is Hubs going to come in? My goodness. These kids! From that moment on, cool mummy was gone. Every shout, noisy play? Go and face the wall. I was frustrate, defeated.

Finally Hubs calls. He’s almost home. Well good luck getting in, your children messed around with the key to the gate and lost it! Dammit!

I really shouldn’t have bothered. He manages to get in and when he asks D where the key is, D heads straight for the TV stand again and starts looking underneath.

“He keeps going there. I can’t find anything, even when I moved the wires…”

Will you believe that Hubs reached down and lifted the keys from the tangle of plugs and wires without even straining his back? I’m done.

I just can’t.
And this is the beginning of the summer holidays o… Hey God….

At least the church band had finally packed it up.