Today I decided to take a nope day. A day when I don't do anything on my list. No apocalypse prep, no buying bottles, no babysitting, and no cleaning.
I had earned it. I cleaned the whole house yesterday and saved up milk in the fridge and I had bought groceries for us with money as well as for the storage downstairs. I was a proud owner of water jugs, emergency supplies, and canned food.
So today was my nope day.
I woke up and like clockwork the nightly respawn had happened, but I was not phased. The sink had some dishes, nope.
The couch had kids clothing and toys. I say nope.
The shoes were making their way down the hallway and only one made it to the closet. I say no way. Not cleaning them up today.
I began my day making breakfast.
I put my kids in the high chair and poured them some cereal.
Anwan fiddled with her plastic spoon unhappy. "Mom…."
"What?" I asked as I ate my own bowl out of a paper bowl.
"Why are we having cereal? I want bacon."
I smiled, "today is my nope day. No working for me today and I demonstrated by finishing my cereal and throwing the bowl away.
I looked at her happily like I'd found the system shortcut and closed the trash can lid, ignoring my problems.
Kat sucked on her bottle watching the scene and gave a "Shri-ah!" Hoping that she too could have some bacon but today was my nope day. I opened a jar of turkey baby food and spooned it into her mouth, unseasoned.
"Shri!" She protested, blowing fire from her mouth and melting the jar on my clean table. But I put it out with a fire extinguisher and got her down, giving her a bag of beef jerky.
She smiled at the other kids and walked away with the bag because today was my nope day.
"I will clean that up tomorrow." I said.
Rory and Timothy were four now and I opened the door to take them to daycare when on my porch Sigyn had showed up to my home with her boys for a play date and so we settled on the couch instead, moving the various bath toys and the drawer with the missing cushion, I just scooted it under the couch so she wouldn't see it because nope. I wasn't going to go pull the cushion out of Rory's fort. Nope.
"Hey so how are you doing?" Sigyn replied seeing my defiance of the system and Kat eating her own bag of beef jerky when she was only nearly two.
"Today I am taking a day off. No apocalypse prep, no cleaning, paper dishes, and I'm ignoring respawns because I cleaned it all yesterday so it should be ok. Vali dumped out the toy bin and my eye twitched.
"Well good for you, you deserve it!" She replied happily. "So what are you going to do today then with your free time?"
"I suppose I will do my nails", I listed off, "watch a movie, I mean, we could have a day out and a night in."
She looked at me excitedly "I would love that! Let's go to the zoo!"
I pictured her five year old Narfi getting himself hurt and my boys spilling sticky stuff on themselves, resulting in Kat lighting the playground's wood chips on fire. Anwan finding her friends or a boyfriend to run off with or texting the whole time and I hesitated.
"Um… maybe Kat won't like seeing animals locked up." I said.
Kat wouldn't mind but I was not showering all of my kids and cleaning out the car so I said nope.
"Ok then. Well let's start with the movie and then we can go out to lunch." Sigyn offered. "And since it's your day off I'll pay for it!"
I smiled, "yes! Let's do that!"
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Throughout the nope day, I noticed that I began to go a bit crazy.
I could say the counter officially got mad at me. It had in no time accumulated egg shells, two pans, the wrapper of cheese and empty juice, a cake, applesauce packet, bread, a knife and cutting board Michael used to cut the bread??
An apple from under the couch, that was Rory's finding. A full sink of dishes, including the blender, a baseball bat, toy plate, cake stand, unopened packet of toothbrushes, hojas to make tamales, the electric drill, a bag of various toothpaste....ahhh(this is me breathing) and candy wrappers.
The kitchen table had a chicken toy that launches balls into a nest, then the ball goes in his butt and back out his mouth….dont ask but someone had shoved cake into its mouth.
It was Rory's and Timothy's favorite toy so naturally they had given him some cake, no?
A pumpkin from 6 months ago that was still good. Salt for the ice outside, a package of diapers, onions, movies, an ice pack for lunchboxes, and a koala that when you squeeze it his stomach pops out.
I couldn't move on to what was on the couch. My eye was twitching, and also my hunger for cleaning was…. Building? But I don't like it, why am I becoming obsessed with it!
Gaaaa!!!!!!
Yet the recycling pile of two garbage bags full from last week, it tainted me with its MP points!
The cats food looked at me saying refill me and I got goosebumps!
I thought I had hyperactive attention disorder is this what hyper focusing is like? My superpower? Is...cleaning????
Even without the system????
"Noooooo!!!!!" I exclaimed, my thoughts running wild.
"Mom?" Anwan interrupted my thoughts. "What else do you want to do today?"
I sighed. "Not…..clean….." I mustered. But nope, I had looked at the couch. The Christmas tree was still up in January! 500hp the system taunted me.
The blanket from my bed was under the tree like a present left there by Rory just for me!
Hahahahaha!
…..pillows on the couch….noooo! 100 points each! What a good deal!
A book in a language I didn't even know.
"I want to clean!" I yelled. "I want to clean!"