Just a quicky

So anyone (all three or so of you) who read yesterday's post knows that my first official day as a non-working mom (well, moms all work.  Most more than me on the mom front.  But in this case I mean since the company I was working for pretty much fired the whole division.  Except when that many stores close I suppose you couldn't really call it being fired, but still) was...cold.  And miserable, made more so by the face palm moment when I realized that the whole thing could have been avoided if as home owners we were smart enough to check the batteries in the flipping thermostats.  Day two wasn't much better (read worse) because of a clogged kitchen sink, a missing debit card, a snafu at the bank, a wasted trip to the gas station (because of the missing debit card)...and I kept thinking about how much January just sucks as months go.  Unless you ski.  But even then it's been so cold that ski areas have been closing so...January sucks.

The last couple of days (weeks, months) have been a real downer.  And I am very sure that my downer would look like someone else's silver lining.  Which made me decide that I was going to try to find at least 10 reasons why January is acutally a GOOD time at the zoo.  So here goes, in no particular order other than this is how I thought them up.

1.  The windows are all closed, and the birds are all indoors.  Which means I can't hear them unless I deliberately go provoke them.  And no way am I doing that.

2.  There are no flies because they all froze to death.  The stink bugs seem to be gone too.

3.  I can wear my cozy bathrobe all day and call it "keeping warm."

4.  The constantly bickering heathens daughters are still in school so I get several hours every week day that I'm not hearing "MOM" every ten damn seconds and my referee jersey gets a rest to myself.  Which brings me to the next one...

5.  I'm not the one who has to haul my ass out of bed to drive the daughters to school in the freezing cold. Yay for the zookeeper!

6.  Random members of the public do not show up after hours with rescued bats that I have to do something about. 

7.  I'm in my 40's and have had three children.  Which means I actually look better in jeans and a sweater than I do in shorts and a tee shirt.

8.  Chocolate.  Duh.  It makes everything better.

9.  Boots with stiletto heels.  As long as you don't have to walk on ice. And no, do not wear them with the robe.  Because that would not be fashionable.

10.  Best excuse ever for locking the door and taking an hour long bubble bath?  I got cold going from the car to the door.

11.  You don't need ice for your water, since it's barely above freezing straght from the tap.

12.  The days are short, which means Sampson spends less time destroying the carpet by pouncing on the light.

13.  I actually don't mind (ok, let's be honest, I always mind...just less in January) doing the laundry since the dryer helps keep the house warm.

14.  The flower beds are all buried under snow so the dead stalks don't make me feel guilty daily that I didn't clean them out last fall.

15.  I don't know how to use the snow blower, so I don't have to clear the snow.  Hey, if "I don't know how" is an excuse for cleaning bathrooms and folding laundry, it can work for snow too, right?

16.  Wait.  This was supposed to be a "10" list and I'm on number 16?  Hmmm.  I guess it means that you can always, always find the good in something if you really put your mind to it.  And once you start looking it gets easier and easier to find it.

~tzkw