Superheroes

Once upon a time, there was a mom who'd had an unusual day.
Her kids had started back to school, blazing temperatures made her lethargic and her hubby was working long days.

On one particular Friday, she'd experienced what seemed like the longest. day. of. her. life.

Time simply could not pass fast enough.

It wasn't a bad day for her. No, no. In fact, no yelling took place, no injuries occurred and her children were clothed and fed. A relatively good day with many blessings.

However, it was looooooooooooooong.

Now for this mom who typically does not wish days away, this was a rarity.
After sending her kiddos off to school, she enjoyed a cup or two of coffee and spent an hour of solitude reading a book. When her youngest spunky child woke up, she put down the book and shared breakfast with him. Then the two of them played with Magnatiles (which she highly recommends), did an art project, shared a morning snack and read several books.

It was then only noon.

With great excitement, that mom and child drove to school to retrieve his older siblings. They both eagerly awaited them getting in the car, sharing about their short day at school and making fun plans for the weekend.
Lo and behold, that mother and spunky child were surprised to have grumpy children load into the car. Very quickly, the mood of EVERYONE in her car changed.
The mother became frustrated.
The spunky child became quiet.
The older siblings stared silently out the window for the duration of the drive home.

Upon arrival, that mother was positive her grumpy children would lighten up when she nourished them with a big, healthy lunch. However, what that mother decided upon serving was left overs.
Fail.
Grumpy children remained grumpy.

That poor mother.

Now it was only 1 p.m.

As each child retreated to their respectable bedrooms, that mother cleaned up the kitchen and decided to follow suit. She quietly walked back into her bedroom, which was newly painted and oh so peaceful, and decided to crawl into one of her favorite places ever...her bed.
That smart mother said to herself, "Ahhhh, this is better. I think I'll stay."

And stay she did.

For the remainder of that incredibly looooooooooong day, that mother stayed in her bed swaying between reading and enjoying short bouts of slumber.

Dreary eyed, that mother glanced at the clock which flashed, "3:30."

That mother was so very thankful that each of her children found it in them to enjoy solitude themselves that day.

Of course, that lazy woman had not planned dinner for her family. In fact, she'd secretly prayed they'd raid her refrigerator, play chef and create a simple feast for all to dine on.

Again, when that mother caught sight of the clock that now read, "5 p.m.," no dinner was produced.

When that woman's hard working and hot husband walked in the door at the end of the day, she handed him a salad and said, "It's not my best, enjoy."

Together, that mother and husband ate dreadfully tasteless salads to end out the long day.

***

Or so they thought...

Thankfully, this husband and wife have superhero friends.

Like superheroes, these friends come to the rescue. Unbeknown to them, it was just what this woman needed.

 It was finally 8:45 p.m.!

The superhero friends pulled up in their mother ship. Out piled adorable children but the real bonus was two of those adorable children were of babysitting age. The superhero friends said, "Get in the van!"

Of course, that mother and husband complied.
They were gleefully swept away....swept away to uncharted territory.
Both that mother and husband were giddy to arrive at the unannounced location.

For a brief moment, the woman was frightful as the superheroes led them to rather shady location.  Their mother ship pulled into a building she'd passed several times before. A building she'd most certainly not visit by her lonesome--a liquor store. (Although it did have a drive thru. Not that she'd visit, she just wanted to inform you.)

The superheroes announced they'd arrived at their destination. Now, this mother and husband had driven by this establishment numerous times. In fact, they may have even visited it back in their earlier days when assigned the duty of filling a keg. Gasp, I know...how dare she?

Now it was evening, that mother was so happy to be rescued and was over the top excited to discover that the destination had a hidden jewel beneath it.

A hidden jewel some would call a WINE CELLAR.

This place had received rave reviews in local papers. It was small and quaint but had a large selection of beers and wines. That mother was pleasantly surprised.

What that mother really loved was the feeling it'd given her after her incredibly loooooooong day.

Beyond the wine cellar was a lounge. A very Midwestern lounge. It had no air conditioning but because it was a basement, it was nice and cool.

It reminded that mother of places in the Midwest she'd enjoyed with family---sort of a mixture of her uncle's basement/bowling alley/fish fry eatery/local tavern all wrapped up in one. Brick walls, musty basement aromas and a big ol' bowl of Chex mix on the counter.

It made for the perfect ending to a loooooong day.
That mother sure loves her superheroes.

Funny, so do I.