She thinks my Laptop's sexy

With three growing boys in the house, my kitchen is always on the verge of being a mess.  I can spend an hour and a half making a great big, delicious meal, spend another half hour cleaning it up, and STILL someone says to me an hour later:"mom, I'm hungry is there something I can eat for a snack?"  Grrr...I mutter as I begin the process all over again.  

Now, on the surface, it's easy to be frustrated by the constant stream of dishes and crumbs.  Never mind the fact that $125 worth of food seems to be gone in two days!  But, I try (the key word here is try) to see the deeper meaning behind the always messy kitchen.  It means that my family was together.  We were talking and laughing.  Yes, some of our funniest conversations take place in the kitchen while eating.  Most importantly, it means their bellies are full.  They are healthy and happy and fed.  This brings me joy.  I have to dig deep to get there sometimes.  But, it does bring me joy!

I have similar feelings about Justin and his constant need to be on his computer.  Those of you who know my husband know that in a 24 hour period, he'll be on that thing for 18 of it.  Now, on the surface, I find this extremely annoying.  He brings it to dinner, he brings it to a game of candy land with Carter, he brings it to movie night,etc. However,  I didn't realize until today that I don't find it as annoying as I thought I did.  

Allow me to explain.  The first day of my Poly Sci class, I sat next to a kid with a laptop.  I didn't sit next to him on purpose.  I just got there too late to be picky where I sat.  The next time I DID  sit next to him on purpose, only because Justin asked if anyone in my class was using a Mac.  So, I sat by him to get  closer look at his computer.  It wasn't, by the way. The third day I sat on the end seat because as a lefty, it is really helpful for me to be on the very end of the row while taking notes.  He sat next to me this time. 

I didn't think this was becoming a pattern, but today, I got there a good ten minutes before class started.  I had the pick of the litter so to speak.  But, I saw this kid and thought to myself, "oh, there's that laptop guy."  Yes, today I sat next to him on purpose and realized that on a very deep level, I love the laptop!

  It is symbolic of our livelihood as a family.  It's our source of income and stability. The things Justin does on that stupid thing provide a wonderful life for us and the boys.  I realized this morning that I sought him out on purpose because it's very soothing to me to have this kid take notes at 90 miles an hour and then switch over to his email or facebook while he waits for the rest of the class to catch up.  In fact, I found myself smiling several times today as I heard the peck peck of the keys and then saw his screen flip over to something entirely unrelated to the Articles of Confederation.  

The laptop is the same as my messy kitchen!  It means we are safe and cared for in these tough economic times (knock on wood).  I will most likely sit by this kid often. It's comforting and entertaining in an otherwise boring class.  Oh, that's another thing that makes me smile.  Someone will ask THE stupidest question and this kid will grunt painfully.  I almost laughed out loud as I heard Justin in my mind saying: "C'mon people!!!  Aren't you living in the U.S.?  Didn't you learn anything in high school??!!  How do you not know what the preamble is!?"

 Hee Hee.. It seems this kid is a mini version of my husband.  I could tell by his grunt what he was thinking.  

The one concern I have is that this kid will get the 

wrong idea and think I'm interested in him. I'm thinking "it's so comforting to constantly be reminded of my husband. " 

He's probably thinking, "wow!  This middle-aged hottie wants me!" Sorry, kid. 

 You're 18 and blond.  I prefer the nearly 40, greying type!