Please Pardon My Distraction

I'm afraid I may not have anything very interesting to talk about in the next few days, as my time seems to be completely filled with various spirit-crushing tasks of motherhood.

That is, sleep training and potty training.

Cubby is doing quite well with the whole bed transition, but still requires my presence outside his door pretty much until he falls asleep at naptime or bedtime. Which means I spend a good hour of my day perched on a stool, telling him to go to sleep every time he asks, "Mommy?" Except it's not a good hour. Obviously. Also, he randomly wakes up at times like 10 p.m. or 4 a.m. with several "Mommy?"s in a row, which I answer through the door (our rooms adjoin) without getting out of bed until he gives up and goes back to sleep.

Then yesterday we began the Potty Training.

Anyone who has ever done this knows it deserves capital letters. And if you had one of those (mythical, I am convinced) children who threw aside the diapers one day and never looked back, with nary a soaked pair of pants or puddle on the floor as a souvenir of those baby days, well . . . I don't want to hear it. I have seven pairs of small pants, nine pairs of tiny underwear, and one pair of socks in the washing machine right now, all the result of yesterday's adventures.

He's actually doing pretty well and it's clear he's ready to do this, but goddamn, does this ever suck for the parent in charge of the training. I would like to publicly thank my mother for doing this for me (and my dad, though I suspect he was a lesser figure in the whole thing). Talk about the unappreciated aspects of parenthood. Sitting in a bathroom for several hours a day, working up outrageous enthusiasm for gross bodily functions, is nothing anyone prepares you for.

Anyway, as you can see, my life is far from entertaining for others at the moment, so bear with me until I emerge on the other side of these small trials of toddlerhood. Back to our regularly scheduled country living soon. I hope.