Exhaustion and the Great Mr. Sloth

It is with great exhaustion that I write tonight. In fact, it's the second night in a row I've felt like this. Let me explain...

Monday evening I had some time to kill before people gathered to watch "Heroes". I found an article online that spoke of strong marriages and challenged it's readers to do something everyday for their spouse. Nothing I hadn't heard before, but it inspired me just the same. I was going to do something for Mr. Sloth!!

Things didn't work out like I had planned. By the time our late viewing of "Heroes" was over I was exhausted and on the verge of rather bad headache so I went to bed. I woke up at 3am to a horrible, horrible headache. I got up and took Tylenol (obviously not something I do often during pregnancy) and grabbed ice for my head. I was convinced it was a migraine triggered by the weather (we had gotten a few inches of snow that day). Weather migraines are the worst because there's nothing I can do about them. With that in mind I thought I would have the headache the entire next day. I hesitantly woke Mr. Sloth and asked him to massage my neck, half expecting him to half heartedly oblige, but with little to no effort before falling back asleep himself. To my surprise, without question he rolled over and managed to actually bring me enough relief that I could fall asleep again. I thanked him the next day, adding that I was in so much pain at the time I couldn't tell him he was actually helping me.

So instead doing something nice for Mr. Sloth he did something nice for me. I was still motivated to do something nice for him though.

Yesterday was super busy. Our day started with a slower than slow drive due to snow to gymnastics class. Then Demand and I headed to the fitness center so *I* could work out. I had a fantastic swim. It's so much better to swim when there are only two other people in the pool than when there are three people to a *lane* while a water exercise class is going on causing ocean like waves in the pool. I could have kept swimming but I figured baby needed a rest and Demand would want lunch eventually.

So after basically two work outs, I headed home for more work. Demand took a nap after lunch while I cleaned and got dinner ready. After dinner I got Demand bathed and ready for bed while Mr. Sloth had his turn for the gym, as soon as he got home I headed out the door to pick up gifts for the "adopt a family" we had. I shopped for two hours with Obscure and Sidekick. By the time we got home, it was 10pm and realized that I hadn't sat down all day. Quite literally. Mr. Sloth and I both fell into bed beyond exhausted. Now remember, I was still determined to do something nice for Mr. Sloth. I had tried really hard to have a clean kitchen for him when he got home, but it never completely happened. So I woke up at 3am again. Not with a headache. With severe leg cramps. Between the standing, swimming, walking, pregnancy, etc, my legs we're done. I would sit up, get the cramp to go away, only to have it re triggered due to the unique way a 7 month pregnant lady has to lay down. It went on for a long time. Finally Mr. Sloth heard my whimpers and asked what was wrong. As soon as he heard I was having leg cramps he jumped out of bed.

Mr. Sloth has told me many times of how he used to get severe leg cramps all the time growing up, really bad ones that would make him walk with a limp for days. So for the second night in a row Mr. Sloth went above and beyond for me when I had planned on doing it for him. He jumped up and massaged my leg until the cramps stopped completely. I would have been completely blown away by his charity, had I not known his empathy for leg cramps. I was no less grateful, but definitely more indebted to his recent acts of charity.

So, the moral of the story is that Mr. Sloth has to stop being so nice so I can be nice.

So that brings us to today. I still haven't really done anything for Mr. Sloth. I've been trying, but nothing seems to get completely done in the time I'm allotted every day. I did get the fridge completely cleaned out and wiped out though. I know it had been bother him, and after cleaning it out I think we might healthier people now too.
Part of the reason I couldn't get the kitchen clean today was that I had 15+ presents to wrap for the "adopt a family" while Demand was napping. When Demand wasn't napping she was "potty training" or as I like to call it pooping and peeing in underwear. But that's a whole 'nother adventure for a whole 'nother post.