Well, this week- The. Struggle. Is. Real.
Yes, I know it is a kitschy hashtag but it probably is so popular because so many people identify with it. I mean, who has never felt the struggle? This week, I have been just so overtaken with my #firstworldproblems. Oh, there’s another hashtag- I do love them even if they are so overused. But, anyway- let’s get down to business with this week’s list of what is causing my struggle to be real.
1. Summer School:
Baby Bub started summer school this week. And it seems the school has really upped its game! I mean, water days, bike days, ice pops- wha? Yeah. But, that means not only does he need an extra set of clothes, a lunch, a napper, he also needs to be slathered from head to toe in sunscreen and why is that such a big deal? I don’t know. But, Tuesday morning- I felt like I was living the old blog post of Jen Hatmaker- about how the end of the school year is so hard to finish. I literally packed his lunch from the snacks in the beach bag that was left in my car the night before and I chased him into school spraying him down with sunscreen and shoving his extra clothes and towel in a bag… yeah, the struggle is real.
2. Laundry:
Oh Dear Lord! How in the hell do 3 people go through so much damn laundry? You see all these clothes? They are all clean! Yep, clean! I get them washed and dried but fail miserably at folding and putting them away- instead I just throw them around the living room looking for whatever piece of clothing I happen to be looking for— I mean, I love clothes- I do- but I hate doing laundry. And during the summer, the struggle is real.
3. Reality TV:
The reality tv shows are BLOWING UP this summer! I am keeping up with 3. Well, I am keeping up the media shit storms around 3 and then there are probably 3 more that I am keeping up with but really have little to no media shit storm surrounding them. So, the shit storms… the Bachelorette- I mean, she apparently shows it to a contestant before they get to the Fantasy Suite… is this 2015 or 1915? And they tease 2 contestants getting freaky with each other rather than the bachelorette… 2 dudes equals media shit storm but if it were 2 girls it would be just another day at the office. The struggle is real. And then Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner. I am of the mindset that as long as you are not bothering me or mine and vice versa if I am not hurting you or yours then I think we should just let everybody be. I am a Christian but I don’t think I was called to pass judgement, I think I was called to love. We were all created in His image and the struggle is real. And then the 3rd media shit storm going on in reality tv world… the Dugglers’ reality tv platform is crumbling. Seriously. The struggle is real.
4. broke down boat:
B.O.A.T. stands for Break Out Another Thousand. It is soooooo much fun- but, it is soooooo expensive. Well, maybe not sooooo expensive but it is always something that needs fixing or needs replacing or needs an accessory. So, picture with me- we are fresh from Pirate’s Cove headed back to the beach when all the sudden the motor sounds like we just ran over a can and then it rapidly slows down and then dies in the middle of Perdido bay… boats are just whizzing by and we were dead in the water. Luckily our friends were with us in their boat and they towed us to the nearby marina… we got it cranked and we got it back on the trailer but it is by no means fixed. The struggle is real.
5. packing my own lunch for work, homemade hot pockets:
At the end of the day, it is pretty important that I pack a lunch for myself to take to work. I usually take several snacks because about 9-10 pm I am starving probably because I have not eaten since 2 or 3. I know, back to those first world problems- but a hangry bartender is no bueno. So, I try to pack leftovers but to have leftovers requires that I cook… the struggle is so real when it comes to cooking in the summertime. But, I found this pin on Pinterest for homemade hot pockets, more or less.
So, I cooked two big chicken breasts in the crock pot with a can of diced tomatoes. Then I added about 1/2 cup of grated cheese and 1/2 can of cream of chicken soup. (Yes, I used the canned stuff but- here is my recipe for homemade and clean cream of chicken soup- it’s tasty.) Then I took 2 cans of Pillsbury Grand Biscuits- one Southern style and one flaky kind- and I rolled them out to probably 4-5 inches diameter. And I put a scoop of the chicken mixture in the middle, folded over the biscuit dough and used a fork to seal it back together. Then I baked them on a greased sheet pan until golden brown. Yeah, I put a little dab of butter on them when they came out of the oven. These turned out to be a 3 for 3 crowd pleaser in this house. The struggle is real but at least we have lunch covered this weekend.
6. work hard, play hard:
We work so hard in the summer time. We play so hard during the summer time. There is little rest for the weary… I know, whoa is me— It’s just that lots of our friends vacation down here and we want to throw down with all of them because we love them. However, I am not the spring chicken that I once was! But,if the fun we have already racked up in the first few weeks of summer is any indication of what is to come in the rest of the summer- this is going to be one helluva summer- the struggle is real.
7. the world of band-aids:
Last weekend we spent a full day in the pool after the aforementioned broken down boat- and Baby Bub was climbing in and out of it. We woke up Tuesday morning getting ready for school with the additional task of cleaning out and bandaging his toes where he had scraped them climbing in and out of the pool. Baby Bub calls band-aids “stickers” and he is not a fan- even the fun Avengers stickers. Holding him down trying to put on band-aids is like trying to hold down a 40 pound monkey… oh wait, the struggle is real.
8. the pig: 
So, we got this pig… this Mylar balloon pig. It was the cutest pig- and Baby Bub loooooved it. The pig had 4 legs that weighed it down so, it looked like you were walking the pig when you pulled it behind you. But, then the legs stared falling off- after repeated taping them back on, we had to let it go. It got beat up by the ceiling fan- which Baby Bub was the funniest thing ever. But, after a week, the pig has gone on to happier hunting ground. The struggle is real.
9. manners, tissue in the ass:
Bub and I are doing our best to teach Baby Bub manners. Please, thank you, yes ma’am, no ma’am, yes sir, no sir- they go a long way. They really do- They are respectful and that is absolutely what I want Baby Bub to be- respectful. I was at work the other night and our bussers are all pretty much in high school and I was telling one of them something and when I was finished he said “yes ma’am” and another of the bussers said to him, she’s not going to like that because it will make her feel old… well, true but considering I am double his age- I don’t mind him using his manners with me. And yes, I told him that and complimented him on his good manners. And kind of in the same vein, I was on the beach last night when this young dude walked by— he was kind of a big guy and his pants were sagging way down on his arse and it was made really apparent because he had a piece of toilet tissue stuck in his arse crack… I am totally about looking cool and working your swagger- but there is nothing cool or swag-alicious about showing off toilet tissue stuck in our ass crack- pull up your pants, use your manners and smile- it will take you far- the struggle is real.
10. talking to TJ on Facebook:
Modern technology has come so far like in the last 10-15 years. My friends hiking the Camino- they called me from France using Facebook. Granted it was not the best connection but, still. We even actually facetimed using Facebook too. The update is that it is hot there. It seems like not so long ago that cordless telephones were space-age and now we able to facetime with people on another continent via the internet. I mean, the struggle is real.
Well, that’s my week in a nutshell. Where do you find the struggle to be real in your life?
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