-people chattering in the background-
-piano begins to play a light melody accompanying the background chatter-
Well.
Hiya there I..
didn't expect to.. see ya'll here of all places.
Yeah, I uh.
actually come to ah.. this here uh.. coffee shop pretty often.
Come here uh..
before I start my shift and after I start my shift.
We do have uh coffee at the.. at the saloon, but it's just your uh..
standard uh pot of regular
Black Joe, and.. I like that with alittle some creamers, and sugars, and maybe some milk.
And some people seem to like it, but..
I not a miss fancy pants or anything, but I do like me an iced
macchiato, or a latte.
So I grabbed one before I go to work and when I get off from my shift,
and I definitely need it before I go in. So I can
get my uh.. energy going if you uh
understand -giggle- what I mean by that because
I try to be more of a morning person now, but.. I not uh young-in anymore, and I
need my uh morning blast of caffeine.
I'm certainly not like my kids. My kids, they don't really uh..
drink coffee yet. Except, maybe my oldest now that he's in college, but my uh
my teens, yeah, they.. loove to live off of them energy drinks. Like the Red Bull and the monster,
and when they're studying for their tests and whatnot.
Yeah, they even take those uh..
those energy shots the the 5-hour things.
Aw.. that bit Crazy, don't you think? I..
I couldn't do that. I think I tried one of those once and ugh.. it just tasted..
it just tasted terrible.
Ugh.. absolutely dreadful. Uh, I don't know how those kids could stomach any of that it just tastes nasty.
So for me, I'll just stick to uh..
classic uh good old uh..
coffee and maybe uh ..an espresso and maybe swap them if I needed extra..
Pep to my Step.
Anyway, uh.. how have you been my dear? I haven't seen you in uh few days.
Everything going alright?
Good good, that's ah.. that's good to hear. Uh
Want to have a seat with me? uh.. I don't have to uh
go home right away,
and uh yeah, I'm not on break I'm off.. the clock today.
I uh worked in earlier shifts, so I'm all good. So uh..
care to join me?
Aww..
Ohh.. What a.. what a sweetie. Oh, you're such a sweetheart bless you, my dear.
Alright darlin, so tell me.. what's been new with you?
Anyone special uh.. in your life?
Aw.. come on now. Oh, don't you start flattering me again-
It's not like I can get y'all a free drink here. I don't even work here, so..
that kind of trickery is not gonna work on me this time.
-soft giggle-
Aw sweetheart, but you are still a flatterer, calling me your uh special someone.
Honey, you know I'm married with kids. Heh..
um.. hearing that sure does make me feel young again.
Makes me feel like I'm back in my uh early twenties.
-reminiscing sigh- Those were the days..
-short sigh- So..
Oh? You want to..
hear more uh stories about..
being a mom? Well..
I guess I gotta.. gotta few.
Well as I told you, I got a.. got a preschooler and how that came about was...
Well..
after.. the first few uh kids with my husband as well as
Braden from my uh.. previous relationship.
uh.. We uh went on uh.. birth control.
Both of us actually to be safe, and I know it's not the most uh.. Christian thing to do.. to uh go on birth control.
The church says so many different things about it. Some churches are okay with that as long as you don't you know..
go and get pregnant then get a "you know what", but others say all kinds is,..
you know, "No good and sinful", and I don't really understand that. They just say, "If you don't want a baby
then uh.. don't do the Deed."
But um.. especially, because uh
we're married, and just because we're married doesn't mean we.. Always want babies right..? So..
he got a.. a vasectomy
and.. I uh.. I didn't get my tubes tied I was uh afraid to do that, but..
I got a uh.. one of those uh..
uh those implants in the arm.
Yeah, so we thought we were good to go
right now for years and years. We were doing pretty well,
and somehow by some miracle..
both of them failed.. and we wound uh up pregnant with our youngest.
A uh.. very uh happy accident.
The uh.. only unfortunate thing is that there such an age gap between..
the little one and the other kids we didn't really have much stuff left over from when..
they were little ones. We have had
sold off a whole bunch of stuff in a..
yard sales and whatnot. So we had to go buy a whole bunch of new baby stuff.
Fortunately, friends are pretty understanding, cuz.. I don't know if you know the
polite society norms, but usually you have a..
a baby shower only for.. your first, baby.
And then the only time you have another shower is if maybe you have a.. a baby that's a.. a different gender,
and you.. need things for
that kind of reason, but even then.
Most people nowadays consider more than one baby shower to be a bit uh.. Tacky so...
Usually, you just do like a little party just to..
celebrate a new baby coming, but you don't, you know, anticipate gifts or anything. It's just..
celebrating a new baby. It's not an official uh.. shower.
But because it's been so long since.. I had kids.
My uh.. friends uh threw me a.. a baby shower for the uh
the little one, and that definitely helps quite a bit, so we're able to get..
quite a lot of what we needed for him.
But.. yep, the little ones a handful.
However, the bright side to having.. kids who are way older.. who.. are..
old enough to babysit and actually have babysat other kids too, and they are..
licensed through their uh scouting program and everything. I have full confidence and faith in them,
and every other of family my daughters have babysat for have been very happy.
Yeah, they uh..
will watch uh.. the little one and they seem to do a good job between uh..
watching the little one, and doing homework, and taking care of their chores, and their responsibilities. So I'm
very proud of them, and I'm very happy that I..
instill the uh.. strong work ethic in them. If you uh
kind of.. kind of feel that.
Yeah, I firmly believe in
instilling a sense of..
duty, and respect, and a strong work ethic in my kids. So they grow up to be uh..
very responsible adults.
And.. unfortunately uh my first one
uh.. Braden he uh didn't... get the most stellar parenting from me, because he was my first and I was..
like I told you.. and I'm pretty sure I told you before he.. I was quite young when I had him, so it wasn't really quite ready yet.
So he didn't get the..
best of the best out of me, but..
You know, he's still fairly responsible. He does need help from time to time.
Apparently when he..
got to the dorms, and they had their.. laundry machines there.
He uh..
got some complaints because he didn't know how to..
do his laundry.
So he just waited until break
lugged it all the way home in a bag..
for Me to do at the house. Can you believe that? And of course the uh..
dorm administration complained because he had all this..
dirty smelly laundry.. all, you know, built up in his dorm room making it stink for everyone else,
because he didn't wanna ask how the uh
washing machines there worked, and how to do the laundry.
Yeah, so while he was home, I definitely taught him how to work a washer and dryer and how to use..
laundry detergent, and fabric softener, and dryer sheets, and all that, and to know what settings to use for what. I gave him the whole rundown so
he better not have any excuses anymore as to why he..
can't do his own laundry.
At least he's good enough to make his bed every morning, and..
and kind of cook himself some basic meals. Oh, yeah.
We gave him a uh couple of credit cards, they don't have very high spending limits, but they're for him to
get school uhh supplies as needed and
groceries, and he seems to be doing a pretty good job of
taking care of that, but we do notice on the bill. He gets a.. quite abit of takeout and delivery.
So I guess I still have a few things to uh teach him in that department.
However, my- my daughters. They're doing really well. They're.. such responsible young ladies they uh
always pick up after themselves, they keep their room, you know, nice and tidy,
and they always do their homework on time, and their projects, and..
like I said they do uh babysitting jobs, and they're talking to me about
getting their working papers. So maybe they could work in a store, or in a restaurant, or something.
So they definitely want to be responsible and..
they take good care of their uh younger siblings as well as uh help out around the house.
Yeah, they help me with the laundry and help me with the dishes
And they helped me clean around the house. They're such..
Lovely uh..
Responsible young ladies, and I'm so proud of them.
They're gonna be reeally great young adults when they uh
get out of high school, and I have full confidence when they go to college that they won't have any problems, not being able to
properly feed themselves or do basic things like laundry and cleaning unlike their uh..
older brother there.
So I guess that's a.. that's a win or something.
I reckon, uh parents uh.. learned from
Experience.
You know, I.. you learn from the first thing you try to make it up with the ones that come after.
Right now that I have a wee little one I..
hopefully can do uhh right by him and really raise him right. Even though I'm
huh.. I'm so worn out. Let me tell you uhh..
I could use a.. a helping hand at..
At home, cuz my husband I told you he uh..
It's been still traveling quite a bit for work. He just..
relocated Again for another job. This time
uhh I believe it's uh..
Shanghai.
Yup in China, Shanghai, he's gonna be there for quite a bit to do his job.
So it's uh just me and the kids at home and now that I'm
working at the.. the saloon
I could uh.. maybe once in a while use a..
an extra hand around the house.
uhh.. Are you uh any good with the.. kids or anything?
Ohh.. You uh
Y-you're not so sure, but uh you're willing to..
give it a try?
Aww.. that is mighty sweet of you. Well..
definitely do so.
Yes, I would love to uh have you over and see if you could uh..
help out a bit every so often that would definitely take a..
weight off of my shoulders for sure.
Anyway, huh..
off the topic of uh
family and kids for a minute.
Another thing I got into cuz
part of uh.. not having the husband around and..
the stress of.. having to take care of everybody by myself is.. I need to do things that are.. I reckon a..
me time and..
I discovered I like to go running in the morning that helps quite a bit. I uh, you know, put on my uh
running shoes, my track pants, and
put my earbuds in to listen to music, and..
I started light, but now I can run about a.. few miles every morning.
And then at night I go for another jog,
and uh when I have some time around the house I uh put on uh videos and I do uh..
yoga and pilates in my.. in my living room. -giggles-
Yeah they definitely uh.. definitely helps me uh
be able to have some of my Me time and..
just focus on myself and..
do something for me and plus it's exercise, which as we all know is very good for you, and I mean...
You've seen.. you've seen my body, I reckon. Yeah, you don't get a..
body like mine just uh
sitting around all the time. You get it from
eating fit and healthy, and uh lot of the hard work, and working out.
Mm-yep
That's how I uh got this level of fitness.
Yeah, lot of people don't think I uh got any kids because I'm so fit.
I don't have what they call the.. the mom bod with the mom pooch
It's because I uh..
work out now, and I've been working out a while and..
it's definitely made a difference, and it's really boosted my energy, and my confidence, and
that's why I'm able to be so open and friendly, and at work and be able to uh
talk to uh.. mighty nice people such as uh yourself.
So uh, what do you think?
Well, you.. you want to uh
come over sometime soon and help me out uh.. around the house?
Well, I mighty appreciate it.
Tell you what, uh..
send me a message over the Facebook, and I'll let you know when a.. good time is and you could come over.
Okay?
Oh golly, uh.. look at the time. uh..
I'm sorry gotta cut this short, but.. I gotta get going it's getting late and..
My kids gotta.. all go to bed. So I got to make sure everyone is
settled in for the night, but it was..
really mighty nice running into you. Especially like this outside of work
and I definitely want to see you again soon perhaps, maybe at my place.
hope you have a..
Good evening and a Good night, okay?
Mmmwah~
Catch ya later
Bye!