April Fools’ Day – yes, the apostrophe comes after the S.
I googled it.
But does it go there when you jump from behind a corner with a knife and yell,
APRIL FOOLS!!!
?
Does it?
Do you participate in the April Fools’ Day tomfoolery?
I have.
In the past.
Kinda.
But imma tell ya…
I have to deal with tooth fairies and Santa and the Easter Bunny and the occasional leprechaun and feeding 3 children ery.day… 3 times a day… and laundry and homework and we have 2 dogs and when I go to bed on the eve of April 1 I kinda just want to go to bed.
Am I an April Fools’ Day scrooge?
Perhaps.
I am also generally (and adorably, I might add) gullible, which makes April Fools’ Day a bit of an anxiety party for an adorable gal like me.
And anxiety is actually quite un-adorable.
Non-adorable?
Ill-adorable?
I am not saying that those who do observe it are terrible or even lame.
I am just saying you guys stress me out and if I was under the care of a medical professional for my easy slips into Anxious Land, April Fool’s Day would be a day I would consume the daily recommended allowance of prescribed drugs.
I wouldn’t say I am an April Fools’ Day scrooge, but…. maybe you would.
I was going to post on Facebook, “I’m going to Hawaii!”
But that made me feel bad. Because I am not. And never have. And sometimes feel I never will. And then I realized I even make me feel anxious on AFD because the thought of not ever going to Hawaii is just horrible!
I told you I have issues.
Honestly, I can pull anxious thoughts out of a clean, dry sock.
I have a connection on Facebook that said she stole her kids’ bikes from school last year, and this year she had more amazing plans… and part of me wants to be so clever because honestly, THAT WOULD BE FUNNY.
I gotta give props the brilliance.
But I’m tuckered out, y’all.
Yesterday (March 31) I baked 2 loaves of braided bread, 1 loaf of banana bread, a batch of chocolate chip cookies, and one of my kids’ favorite dinners (something with a garlicky, cheesy sauce with pasta, chicken & broccoli).
I got so many compliments and so much praise from my kids my head is the size of a hot air balloon right now.
I’m not foolin’. I was a domestic bad-ass.
And frankly, I need to space-out said bad-assery.
Or people expect things.
And we all know expectations are predetermined resentments.
I prefer to surprise people with my moments of brilliance. If people expect brilliance from me at all times, I have only me to blame.
It’s kind-of like wearing make-up. I don’t wear make-up every day, so people don’t get freaked out when they see me without make-up. BUT WHEN I DO… I call those Compliment Days. “You look so pretty!”
It’s not about aiming low as much as it’s about managing expectations.
So, on that note…
On this April Fool’s Day, perhaps the most I have in me is to tell the kids they are going to be having all ALL VEGGIE DINNER at a new restaurant in town and then I will take them to Dairy Queen for burgers and a Blizzard.
BOOM.
Who’s the hero now?
Plus it means I won’t have to cook dinner.
As they say… keep your friends close but your enemies closer.
Wait. That’s the wrong analogy.
You know what else about April Fools’ Day?
It’s my great-grandma’s birthday. My Gramma Sue. She’s been gone for close to 20 years, but I still miss her so much. Some days more than others. Some days her memory doesn’t pass through my mind at all.
I think of her almost every day in the Fall because she loved the changing leaves so much. I think of her when I buy new bras and underwear, because she always bought my bras and underwear when I was growing up.
Sometimes I see something in Lucy and all I can see is my Grandma Sue… those blue eyes and spicy attitude.
And today.
She wasn’t a big jokester, but my dad is… and she adored him. I loved the way he could always ::get:: her. It was just the cutest.
And that’s no joke.
