i will not nap today

i will not nap today, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Sweet, sweet Ruby tried my very soul today. My mother is visiting, and I asked her to come so that I could get lots of housework done. The whole house needs cleaning. Things are piling up, wearing out, breaking off, and drifting in dust. Ella's birthday marks the beginning of the spinning towards Christmas, and I want to restore some sense of order. John is probably laughing. I know. What order? I want to get all the seashells in the seashell basket. I did get the mold off the bathroom ceiling tonight.

Ruby would not nap unless I held her. Zip. Zero. There was much weeping. She slept three minutes at midday and I held her for fifteen minutes while I was trying to make dinner. She ate heartily, had her bath, and then sobbed her head off when I put her to bed. She tried her best to dive headfirst off of my bed but finally gave in to sweet, sweet sleep.