No Room in the Inn

It is that time of year - that twice a year event that happens in our town, the "Furniture Capital of the World." A place where, "All the World Buys Here," to coin another one of their slogans. Or, the latest, "The World's Home for Home Furnishings" - how clever. This town has been my home for all but a few scant years so it almost is a measure of time for me. "I think I saw them a couple of furniture markets ago", etc. People in this area don't plan weddings or other events during the months of April or OCtobe because every space, caterer, and florist is tied up with serving this industry.

I was tied to this town because my father is a furniture designer - soon to retire. I spent time in showrooms as a young child while my dad feverishly put last minute hardware on casegoods (layman's term - wood furniture) in preparation for opening day. During high school I worked at the priciest and consequently, the "place to be seen" restaurant in High Point. This restaurant actually had career waiters who made about 50% of their yearly income at these two markets. My first couple of "career' jobs were also in the industry - one of the industry's largest and most known manufacturers followed by a stint at THE industry publication. So, to say that I am the expert of the High Point market may be a little exaggerated, but I do feel that I can say we are acquaintances.

Over the past couple of years, my relationship with the market has now been reduced to "landlord." Yes, we do what a medium percentage of High Pointers do during market - we rent our house. This is such a foreign concept for people who have never lived here - "You mean you rent your house to COMPLETE strangers?" "I could never do that!" "I couldn't stand having someone rifle through my things."

PEOPLE! Oh yes you would! You would if you got $5-7,000 of tax-free money for about 20 days out of the year. You would sell yourself to whomever wanted to lay their head down on "your" pillow. You would buy new linens, paint whole rooms, clean out closets and drawers, get your windows washed, wipe down your tooth brush holder, scrub your sink with vinegar and a toothbrush, even buy bottled water and fruit baskets to have "complete strangers" roll out the big bucks and become repeat customers.

You will search high and low for the ultimate destination for your family while these "complete strangers" sleep comfortably in "your" bed. You will farm family members here and there, scattered like dice on a craps table. You will go on Disney vacations (spending your market rental money in one quick swoop), you will call up old friends to visit in far away towns, you will leech off coworkers, you hole up in your basement like a bunch of mole people who shush their children until they begin to scream HUSH, you will even camp at the local swampground, I mean, campground during the first rain events to happen in three months. During this stay in waterworld, your child might ingest your husband's heart medication which has not lockable/unreachable location in the camper. This requires a trip to the emergency room and an admittance for three days. Ironically, it results in the best sleep you will experience in comparison to the camper while "complete strangers" sleep in "your" bed.

So, here I sit...in my basement. Day 6 of 10. We are fortunate. We have great renters who have been with us for the 5th market. They are very kind, very clean and very appreciative of my OCD cleaning tenancies.

However, I liken the entire process to pregnancy and birth. The first time, you don't know what to expect. You clean like a woman possessed. You spend a month cleaning every crack and crevice of your home - wiping down walls, every light fixture, cleaning out the pantry and refrigerator, making innumerable trips to good will., even resorting to vacuuming the tops of door frames that you realize were never painted because they are NEVER SEEN! Your due date, I mean, the check-in date of your market guests arrives and running out of time you leave your kids strapped in your running car for two more hours watching a movie while you scramble to finish the "final clean" which two hours ago you thought would only take "another 30 minutes." You leave, exhausted, beaten, with hands so parched from cleaners and water that no amount of lotion or paraffin wax can resuscitate them. Your car is loaded with everything you think you might need for another 10 days and you head to whatever temporary shelter you have arranged. The market guests are born, I mean, they have arrived. You spend the next 10 days trying to figure out your new schedule, your new temporary home. You try NOT to feed your kids fast food every meal and get them in bed before 10 all the while realizing that it is national testing week and you forgot their library books. Just like with a newborn, you are juggling it all and getting not one ounce of sleep. You stress, you cry, your whole self is on edge as you try to maintain the schedule you had before the "arrival. You remember your house as you left it - so clean you could run your tongue along the front door handle and have not one smidge of petri dish nightmare on it - just like reminiscing of your life prior to the your newborn.

You round the bend, you are heading into home (literally). You walk in the door to your home which smells like "complete strangers" who have been sleeping in "your" bed. You unpack. Not only do you unpack the 10 day supply of items you took initially, but you return all the things you picked up on subsequent trips back to the house to clean (extra socks, books for the kids, sunscreen, heavier coats, a random pot, canned goods that were never opened the last market).

Oh, yeah, did I forget to mention becoming a hotel maid? Yeah. Nothing like cleaning up after "complete strangers"who are sleeping on "your" bed. Washing your sheets they have slept on, cleaning your toilet they have...well, you know. "Complete strangers" who have intimate knowledge about your clothing, toiletries and food habits. They may even, suck in all the air in the room, decide they don't like how you have decorated and make a few changes of their own.

You sit down in your clean house (after you have cleaned it upon your return so you can live in it again). For a brief moment, all seems well. Translates: Your baby is sleeping, content with milk, smiling in his sleep. And you are there to capture it all.

Maybe it wasn't so bad. Maybe, just maybe, you will have another child - Oops, I mean, try renting again, to "complete strangers" sleeping in "your" bed.

DISCLAIMER: Some, but not ALL, of the examples listed have been my experience. They have been told to me by other "landlords."

Monday, April 7 2008

Sadie was at the table in the basement today. She told me she wanted to color. I was washing dishes and she began to work. She finished her drawing and said, "Do you like my picture of Mamie?" I looked, amazed that she was the focus of her drawing today. It was sweet, smiling face with brown curly hair. Very Mamie. I asked Sadie what she remembered about Mamie. She said that she remembered her smiling. And, Sadie said that she could talk to her all the time because she is with her, in her heart. Sadie asked a few questions about the geography of heaven, if we sent balloons there, if you go up in space are you there, etc. Regardless, of my answer, I could see in her eyes that she believes with all her heart that heaven is real, and most importantly she wants to go there without any reservation.



Lily told me today that she was playing with "engine" turtles (instead of ninja turtles). We sat at the piano and played a bit today. I actually tried to teach her how to play a few notes of Heart & Soul. What was I thinking - she is 3 for crying out loud. Anyway, while I played she sat beside me and leaned in putting her head against my arm. What a sweet little moment between the two of us.

Ethan told me he had a good God moment today. Someone called someone else in the class a "butt cracker". Actually, it was whispered into his ear on the way back from the playground. Not totally sure what that means exactly, but anyway, I asked what he did. Ethan said that he told him to stop that it would hurt the other boy's feelings. Yay, Ethan.

So, I am trying to keep a list of things that I worry (not sinful-keep-me-awake-at-night worry, but just fleeting-should-I-be-concerned worry) about because I don't know how they work... OR something along those lines. I'll figure out the category as I go along because I am not sure all the things that infiltrate that area of my brain.

Issue #1: I worry about setting the house on fire when I dim the lights to their lowest point. I don't know why, but it seems to me that it would short them out or frazzle them or something. Maybe it is because I really don't trust the electrical in this house. Certainly it is not because I don't know everything there is about domestic electrical wiring - HA HA!

And, finally, if a certain person reading this blog DARES to show up at my house for any fun event with electrical wires or a manual or anything - I will find ways to use bananas.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Conversation told to me by Sadie's teacher - Miss Adkins
Setting: Chapel - Mr. P was talking about needing the key to heaven - Jesus
Sadie tapped on Miss Adkins arm, looked up at her and said, "My aunt had the key to heaven."
A sweet and special little moment - a look inside her heart.
Today Sadie said she was going outside so she could spend some time talking to God and Mamie. :)

Conversation told to me by Tina B:
Last night we had small group. Lily was playing outside with the other kids. When it was time to come in, Tina B told them they all had to wash their hands. Lily licked both of her hands and declared, "all clean!" UGH and YUCK! Where in the world did she get THAT idea?!?!?

Ethan this morning - Mom, you are the best mom ever, in the world. Not sure what I did to deserve that comment as it was their Dad who got up early and fixed them pancakes from scratch!!! Oh well, I'll take it, save it for a lousy day!

My children are all so very different. I love it! Thank you God. I think that it will really help any jealousy or competition between them as they will excel in all different areas.

Ethan - could be a philosopher, a theologian, a writer
Sadie - professional athlete, artist, possible scientist
Lily - public speaker, leader (i.e. dictator), mathematician

I will have fun looking back on this when they get older and see what God has in their lives!

Dad is taking the 5 grandchildren to the movies today- I am in total shock! It is the first time and I pray that mine will be great listeners and mannerly. He won't do it again if they don't -no pressure or anything!

Easter tomorrow - praise for Jesus - my heart is full - and I want to fall down on the floor for all he has done for me. We got our first offer of equipment today - and we don't open until May1. The customer is willing to wait until then. PRAISE - PRAISE - PRAISE. God's blessing on our lives is so incredible and I am so undeserving of it. May I use it how He wants me to.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Happy St. P Day! Actually, I could care less about it - I mean, I am not Irish - so why should I participate. I forgot to tell the kids. Sadie was spared the obligatory pinching, but Ethan was not so lucky. He was a little perturbed at me. Oops! I told him I would try to remember next year.

Lily was her usual bossy little self today. I found myself being the patient to her doctor late this morning. I was laying on her floor as she poked, prodded and gagged me. It was delightful. I got the biggest kick out of realizing that underneath her doctor smock, she had on no panties. As she bent over to shove the thermometer in my mouth, I was a little startled and started laughing. I couldn't help it - I had forgotten to get her a new pair right after she went potty - obviously, she didn't care.

We dyed Easter eggs Saturday night. What fun! It was nice to only have that overwhelming feeling right at the start - everyone excited, materials not quite ready, hands reaching and grabbing, boiled eggs being held too tightly or dropped on the table, etc. Everyone settled down and got busy. Even Lily took her time and enjoyed it. We all got 4 eggs - Jay did 2. Sunday, I made egg salad which no one will probably eat! Sadie liked dying the tops and bottoms different colors. Ethan liked writing things on his eggs. Lily liked using the q-tips and coloring her egg with it - made an attempt at writing her name, too. We had an egg hunt at church after KidsStuff - They LOVED it. It was great - no one grabbed, no one panicked and even Lily loved it. All day today she was opening up her eggs to reveal the hidden treasures. I can't imagine how much candy she actually consumed!

We had family time dinner tonight- the kids ate like little piglets. They kept thanking me for the dinner which made me feel so good. Sadie's has really started turning out the prayers - really heart-felt stuff. It makes me feel that she is growing in her faith. It is great. She told Lily that she needed to be nice to people or else they wouldn't want to be her friend. Maybe some of this is becoming apparent to her (Sadie) - realized, known, and most importantly experienced. She surprised me greatly this weekend on two occasions - she really thought about someone else before herself. It was great to witness. I took her aside on Saturday and spent some special time with just her, telling her how proud I was of her - how I could see her changes and effort. She beamed. We took a great little snuggly nap together. So sweet. She has wanted me to fix her hair lately - pigtails. Another wonderful event because it shows that she wants to present herself as maybe a little more polished. I want to be careful to not to promote beauty, but promote taking care of yourself.

And, maybe most interesting...she ROCKED on Saturday at the last Upwards basketball game. I couldn't believe the improvement. First, I was talking with another mom and I started hearing parents cheering - someone said, "Go Sadie!" I looked up and there she was hovering over Hunter Gines (a boy in her class). She would not let him get past her with the ball - she was all over him. It was a shining moment in what I could see could be a long career in sports. She continued to play strong defense and attempted to make 4 baskets, made several assists ALL while being the ONLY girl on the floor. At the after game meeting, Coach Blackburn told Sadie it was THE play of the season! She got the Christ-like award and the defensive player award. WAY TO GO SADIE! You are fearless!

As I write this about her, my heart is so heavy. Painful - pity - I don't know how else to describe my feelings about Gray. There is a little girl whose years are lost - the days are not marked with milestones. No one is writing down her accomplishments. No one is teaching her about finding her worth in Christ. No one is giving her the attention in her life that makes her feel secure or helps her to know that she is so incredibly loved. Well, at least no one in her immediate zone. I don't know how to help them. I don't know how to save them. I wish more than anything that their situation were different. My God - why do you allow this to happen to your children. I know the answer, God, I do. I trust that You will bring them out of this, that these experiences will bring them to a deeper reliance on You.

My heart is no longer filled with anger or bitterness. Instead it is pity and sorrow. The brokenness that is sure to come will be heavy and painful. I brace myself for it as I know that those around will feel the affects.

I must move on.

Sunday, Lily had her hair in braids - so incredibly cute with those glasses. She had on a dress with a red cardigan, white socks and red Mary Janes. She just be-bopped herself around showing off her braids (which were quite long). I could have just GOBBLED her up. When we arrived at KidsStuff- she just RAN into the show and started dancing, jumping and singing. Everyone around me (Debbie Cooper and Beth) just started laughing - we couldn't help it - it was just so darn CUTE!

Ethan had a great long weekend. He went to the barn to work on Thurs afternoon. I think he is itching to ride - maybe this week. He spent Friday morning with the Silver's at Peyton Fowler's grandfather's farm. He played hard - riding bikes, playing with a donkey and all sorts of other things. Then, Colby came over. They had such a SWEET time together. I love watching them play. They made a fort in the front circle - complete with tarp, sticks, blanket and Ethan said, an Activity Center. Colby even wrote down some rules (horribly misspelled, but readable). At one point I saw them with their shirts off on the trampoline. I just wish they had more time like that together. They played Star Wars Lego, checked out some I Spy books together...Ethan was in heaven.

Monday, March 3, 2008

Lily:
Accomodating Esotropia - new glasses, doing well - surgery still possible.
Needs to help mom "Brush" the potato crumbs out of the bed - which she can't do because she doesn't have a brush

Sadie:
Throwing away school work - the devastating revelation that her mean mommy does
Crushed at having to leave the puppies when Bobo was nearly attacked by momma dog - she hated Bobo at that moment

Ethan:
Sweet, sweet older brother to Lily - caters to her, loves her, likes for her to sleep with him - without bringing to his bed "beep beep or sound toys" as he has taught her to say
Feeling a little sicky today - sore throat - handling it quite well.

The end of an era - the revolving door of pets in the Dumoulin household. Over the past three years, we have had:
1 dog
2 cats
3 puppies (sweetie, and two other found puppies)
4 love birds
2 hermit crabs - one of which made trip to church in Sadie's underwear and then, forgotten, spent time in my car
Not pets, but found three wild birds in the house, one baby squirrel and a bat
2 field mice - one found in car, one found in pantry and then lost in my car, then caught in my car, then clubbed to death by Sadie.

Now - we have:
1 dog - Bobo - who we started with and will end with. NO MORE PETS! I can't take it and will not suffer through any more tears from my children. As I write this, the children have not noticed that the birds have been gone for over a week. That pretty much says it all - who took care of the pets, who loved them. Actually, it is probably not their tears I am tired of, it is mine. The only thing I take care of worse...houseplants. We have one, a peace lily, which has been here since Ansley's death. That would be a record. Only Bobo beats it (and he only has one eye).

Pathetic.

Tuesday, February 19, 2007 journal list

Things you love that I don’t:
Ethan:
Video Games
Fish
Beanie Weanies

Sadie:
A mess
Sleeping on top of covers
Hair that is styled all your own


Things that are uniquely you – that fascinate me:
Ethan:
Likes ears
Ability to remember from long ago
Dream up lego creatures
Deep thoughts about God
Wonderful singer
Space Cadet moments, totally in your own world


Sadie:
Sleeping on top of covers
Always sweating when sleeping
Ability to cut perfectly even tiny details
Dancing like no one is watching in your own Elaine-esque way
Loving all of God’s creation, especially animals
Can paint your toenails with precision at 6

Lily:
Your little gallop-run
Your eyes that wander
Hair with beautiful natural high-lights
Ability to laugh at absolutely nothing- just random acts of giggle
Your increasing southern drawl
Playing with a group of little things - you will talk to them, let them interact and make up your own little story - all by yourself, regardless of who is around.

Things that trouble me:
Ethan:
Ability to let others take the punishment for you
Concern about how others see you
Believing you know better than I do

Sadie:
Manipulative
Mean

Lily:
Sneaky

Things we are working on:
Ethan:
Trust
Self-worth in God
Anger

Sadie:
Kindness
Self-Control

Lily:
Obedience
Listening

Tuesday, February 19, 2007

So, there was no decided fate (see yesterday's part 2 blog). Instead, I got the - you need to change, stop yelling, end of story. No helpful hints, no teamwork, no encouragement, no prayers...NOTH - ING. Very frustrating. SO that furstration built over night, unbeknownst to me and grew into a yuck ball of "I hate everything, but mostly you, J." Great. Lost it again on my way out the door to pick up Lily. Emotions so out of control - anger so deep that I nearly drove away, never to come back again. I am so tired of life out of my control. Such a deep seeded issue for me that I don't know if it will ever be in the light and completely over. I hate this cycle and spent the better part of the drive calculating my next move and wondering to God why this keeps happening. The best part of the day was that I was stuck at Wal-Mart for 2.5 hours. Why, might you ask, is this the best part? I was waiting for a prescription transfer which takes some time. This allowed me to shop at my LEISURE - because I couldn't go anywhere else. How nice to spend as much time as I wanted walking the aisle...AND THEN... I saw it. John Rosemond's latest book on Parenting. I simply read the best part right there in the book section while my frozen chicken breasts were slowly defrosting. I got some great tips on how to get them to do the simple things, the simple tasks like putting clothes in the hamper. So, I picked up the kids from school and away we went home with my new plan and ideas prepared. Did it work? YES - in that the were receptive and not at all rebellious or whiney with the punishment which was quite severe for the act. Did they come out of their rooms with a new attitude - YES! Will it last? I sure hope so!!!! I will stay diligent in this new offensive against whiny, bas attitudes and apathy!!! Oh, and it probably didn't hurt that I found a fabulous pair of cropped stylishly dark jean pants for only $5! Whoo-hoo!