If you give a mom a desk

Note: this is probably the most boring story ever. I just needed something to reach my monthly quota. This is what we have done all weekend instead of me blogging.

For a long time now, I've wanted a desk. I've wanted one good, solid location to put things away rather than never quite being sure where a paper belongs. And even though Kevin had a desk, it wasn't quite what I wanted. It needed to be in the dining room, which means a bookcase would have to be moved elsewhere. And since there's been a lot of stuff which has ended up on that bookcase as Joseph's reach has increased (e.g. the scissors and pens from the so-called "childproofed" drawer of the side table), the desk would have to have similar high surfaces such as a hutch.

And while we were at it, I would like to move the side table over so we could put the trash can there so we could put a potential dishwasher where the trash currently was. But without the desk, none of this movement could begin. So we spent several weeks in an unorganized stalemate, not sure when these changes would begin.

And then on Wednesday, we went to Meijer, a sort of super-Walmart in the Midwest. We decided to look for desks just because, just like we did when we went to thrift stores. After seeing one desk that I kind of liked, I saw another in a box that was pretty much love at first sight. It had drawers. It had cupboards. And most of all, it had a hutch!!!! From there on it read like a picture book.

If you give a mom a desk, she will need a shopping cart to go with it. So you will go get another shopping cart and together carefully hoist the desk onto that cart. Then you will realize that it will take a lot of work to push two shopping carts around, especially one really really heavy one, so you will decide to leave it there, figuring no one will go to all the work to move the desk back to the stack.

Then you will continue shopping. Meanwhile, your wife will go down the cake aisle to get some spice cake, and it will take about 3 years to get through because everyone will have the same idea. When she gets out of the aisle, she will realize that your sneaky son has snatched some cookie mix off the shelf, so she will have to put it back. 2 years later, you both will have finished shopping for fabulous Thanksgiving deals, and you will go retrieve the desk and cart while your wife stands in line.

When you go to fetch the desk, you will realize that it is back on the stack and the cart will have disappeared. Then you will realize that there are no carts in the store, so you will have to go out into the biting wind to go grab a cart to put the desk on yourself. You'll do that, and then you'll go through the line after your wife and buy the desk. You will then venture out into the cold again and wonder how on earth you will fit the desk into your little Pontiac, especially with all the other groceries.

If you try to fit the desk in the trunk, you realize it will not fit unless two of the back seats are folded down. This means moving the car seat, so you will move the car seat with your son in it while your wife puts other groceries away. Then you will put the desk in and the groceries and drive home.

If you give a mom a desk, you will need the space to go with it. So she will empty the bookcase with all the textbooks and carry the books to the basement. Then together you will move the bookcase downstairs.

If you move the bookcase downstairs, it will remind you that you wanted your desk with the monitor down there instead of in the bedroom so that if you watch movies you will not wake your son. So you and your wife will carry it down from the upstairs to the basement. This will take multiple trips, including a taking down the shoebox full of cords. Your wife will remember that she wants to put those in a plastic tub she bought at Meijer that day, so she will take them from the broken shoebox into the nice tub. 

Seeing the nice plastic tub will give her an idea for where to put the picture books that do not have a shelf on the main level anymore and need a new home. Your wife will use another plastic tub and a sturdy shoebox and put them on the toy shelf.

Rearranging the toy shelf will remind her that she is excited to have a hutch on her desk, so together the two of you will venture out into the cold and bring the 114 pound desk box in from the distant parking lot. When you finally see the box on the floor, you will call it a night.

Of course, it will only be the beginning . . .