The Day That Stank from Beginning to End

Did you know the last Monday in January is touted by some British researchers to be the most depressing day of the year?

The sparkle of Christmas has faded. Holiday bills are rolling in. Days are dull and gray and cold. All those New Year’s resolutions are blown.

And if you’re a Vikings fan, you probably thought about suicide and/or becoming a Packers fan, which is roughly the same thing.

Thankfully, my Monday wasn’t that bad, especially when compared with my Sunday, which was the Day That Stank from Beginning to End.

I mean that both figuratively and literally. Connor and Teyla are now suffering from the stomach virus that kept Natalie home from her field trip last week, so I was up to my elbows in poop all day.

It began with Teyla walking into my completely dark bedroom at 6:30 in the morning with a pained expression on her face and a plaintive cry of “Ouch Mommy! Poo-poo!” And before it was over, Connor had gone through every pair of clean underwear in his drawer AND he had to be removed from the tub mid-bath because of toxic waste in the water.

Even Natalie, who was trying her best to help her pregnant Mommy survive the day, ended up spilling a big glass of milk on the couch, where it promptly ran down cracks in every cushion and soaked Connor’s missing Leapster game cartridges.

Corey was also traveling this past weekend, which added to the sense of malaise. It was raining outside, which meant we were trapped indoors. I had nothing fun planned. The only thing we had to look forward to was clean underwear and the Vikings-Saints game.

And when that ended with heart-breaking failure, well, the day was officially crowned a stinker.

Natalie ran sobbing up the stairs. “I’m going to go take a shower,” she wailed. Connor, who watched the last few minutes of the game dressed only in a bath towel, raged at the TV. “I hate you! I hate you!” And Teyla continued her rampage of the house – I had already quarantined every kitchen chair by putting them on high surfaces and confiscated a box of pasta, a container of chocolate-covered raisins, the dish soap and every Chapstick we own – by tearing into a brand new box of graham crackers, also known as The Crumbliest Food since Sand.

I have never been more satisfied to see a day end.

Thankfully, Monday was much better. Corey came home. (It was his only day home this week, but still. It was better than nothing.) I managed to clean up the disaster the Vikings game had left in its wake. I made Pioneer Woman’s lasagna for dinner, and this time, I didn’t cook it until the cheese was the color of burnt caramel.

And the NFL refs announced they made a ton of bad calls in Sunday’s game and decided the Vikings are going to the Super Bowl after all.

Didn't they?

Oh well. At least we're past the most depressing Monday of the year.

Although for a Vikings fan, Super Bowl Sunday is going to rank a close second.