Jane Austen

Jane Austen is where I turn when I've had a particularly harrowing day/night. I either pick up one the books and read a few chapters or I put in one of the movies to watch and just relax. There is something about Jane Austen's writing and stories that seems to bring me back to center.

Last night was one of those nights. Bluto and Gimli were rampaging around the house - possibly stirred up by the rain that was in the air. Anya was screaming bloody murder and pushing away from my arms even as I held her (because she was screaming bloody murder on the floor too). Jadzia kept wandering over to see what I was doing instead of cleaning up before bed and Inara kept trying to climb in my lap as I was trying to keep Anya from flinging herself into the wall or something in her fit. I would have collapsed right then if I didn't think that I'd be assaulted by two dogs and three kids right from the start.

Already on a thin thread, Jadzia finally comes to say she's done cleaning and I immediately see she's left a half dozen toys laying the living room. Done...uh huh, RIGHT! As I'm pointing out things to clean up, my neighbor rings the doorbell thus setting off the dogs and restarting the screams of Baby Spawn. She looks as harrassed as I feel so the meeting is thankfully brief and I return to the Spawn and dogs. Jadzia picks up the rest of the stuff and we head upstairs for the bedtime routine. Inara thinks it would be AWESOME to run up and down the hall while I'm attempting to get her ready for bed and Anya thinks screaming will make it all go faster.

I finally get the older two to bed and then set about getting Anya down for the night. This would have been easier if the dogs weren't still a little wound from the door bell previously. So in addition to their hallway races, they are occasionally letting out yips and barks just to make my night extra special. Finally I get Anya asleep and down, I give Bluto some food, attention and then let him outside and fall into the couch with my copy of Pride and Prejudice firmly in hand. After about 45 minutes of reading, I feel re-centered and less likely to strangle the first living thing in sight (namely Bluto probably).

Jane Austen is the new yoga - at least for me.