Ok, so earlier today I was at home with the kids. They were at their best behavior and cooperated excellently with me. The story of my failed attempt at successfully multitasking the coordination of scheduled activities goes thus: I was doing the laundry, troubleshooting a failed service over the phone, and trying to reach an agreement with a handyman who’d come to carry out some repairs for me, when “suddenly” it was lunchtime.

Having established what my trio wanted for lunch, I hit the kitchen, and that was when things got interesting. I tried to wrap my hands around cooking noodles, warming up baked biscuits and hot dog buns, sausages, and making a lemonade drink. Noodles went great, and I gave it a mental checkmark. I probably must have entered at least 15 minutes on the microwave timer just to warm the biscuits, hot dog buns, and sausages. It was the popping sound of a sausage that drew my attention back to the microwave, by which time the timer read 12 minutes… The biscuits and hot dog buns were as hard a brick. Please don’t ask about the popped sausage.😂😂😂

I was running all over the place and fumbling in confusion like Frank Spencer😂😂😂. I also over-dispensed ice cubes which littered the kitchen floor. God bless my 6-year old daughter who came to my rescue and said, “dad it’s ok to make a mistake, let me show you what mom does.” She went on to talk me through the regimen of fixing their meals: from using the countertop grill for the sausage instead of the microwave oven to set the right time on the microwave just enough to warm their stuff. Then she assisted and mopped the floor. With a sigh of relief, I wished I made a checklist before the adventure.

Finally, with all settled and Sweetheart returned home I had a chance to drive out to do other stuff. On my way, I thought through how I spent the first half my day, smiling to myself and saying “not so bad after all,”😊 then I received a call from sweetheart, about my forgetting to bring out meat from the freezer to thaw…😰 What a day it has been!!!😂😂😂. Well, it all made me to further appreciate my wife for doing such a great job on the home front! I also appreciate the mothers and all homemakers who manage and maintain the sanity of homes.

• 6/3/16