A LABOURING SATURDAY

‘Mama, am I adorable or cute’, asked my son after drinking his tea tonight.

‘Ahhh, you’re cute’, I replied.

‘Adorable is better’, he stated.

Though it was the weekend, I was still not able to sleep in later than usual. I was awake before the sun and settled on my little twin mattress and continued reading the second book from Elizabeth Haynes. An hour later I was out of bed to get ready to go buy a few items at Central Market.

My son heard me open my bedroom door so I asked him if he would like to go with me to the shop. He readied himself and then we left. The drive on the highway was pleasant as the road was near empty. By the time we reached the shop, it was around 08,30.

‘Why are all these closed’, my son asked about the several checkout lines that were not yet open.

‘It’s still early’, I replied. And it was the perfect time to be close to city centre as most people were likely still sleeping in on a Saturday morning.

He seemed surprised when the lady at the checkout told us the total. It was the amount I quoted my son as I had kept a running total in my head. I let him know that math is one of those skills in school he learns that will actually be useful in the future. History, on the other hand, is not a subject I see as being used on a daily basis as we reach adulthood.

We stopped by the bank after going to one more shop but the wait was too long so we continued to home where we awoke the girls for breakfast. Fresh baguette with Irish butter and mixed berries jam, eggs for two of the children, and coffee. Simple and pleasant as it had been a long while since we ate such a breakfast as we had been without jam for several weeks.

After breakfast and cleanup, my son and I went to the house to clear out his room and his sisters’ room. The management company will be arriving Monday to check on the house and see if it is ready for potential residents to view it for leasing. I told the lady that it is not and that we still have furniture and other items there. One more month and the place will be empty and clean. For now, it is a work in progress.

We laboured for over an hour then put most of the items in the garage at the apartment. I then left my son home and returned for another transfer of the items from the upstairs rooms. There are not many more things remaining upstairs except the two dressers, a cabinet, and a wooden bunk bed. The bed will be relegated to the garage with hopes that someone will buy it at some point in the future.

After returning home, I stayed indoors the rest of the day. We ate ice cream and cookies upon my return which we all enjoyed. An hour or so later, I prepared a salad with cod fish fillets. And then after that we had our evening tea with cookies, albeit without the usual shortbread cookies which accompany our tea.

Though I had hoped this to be a more relaxing day, it turned out to be more of a labouring Saturday. I look forward to the day when I can hand over the keys to the rental house and move forward with our new home.