Today is Martin Luther King Day.

I love Martin Luther King. He's one of my favorite historical figures. Everything that came out of his mouth was basically quotable. He changed history. He forced change in a society, nay in a humanity, that loathes all things change and different. He demanded people sit up and pay attention.

And they did.

But this blog is not about Martin Luther King. Nor the incredible things he accomplished.

Oh, no. Feel free to celebrate MLK all you want. By yourselves. On other places on the internet. In churches, in book clubs, in meetings, in work places, in wherever and whenever you can.

But I'll tell you the one place we won't be celebrating this holiday. In schools.

Why??? you ask.

And are you also just a little bit nervous this blog is going to take a sharp right turn for the political??? Have no fear, faithful readers. I lead you not into the Land of Controversy. But into the Land of Motherhood.

Because MLK Day means something a little different around here. It means no school. Not even pre-school.

On a Monday.

Did you hear me??? No school on a Monday!

It means that I've just spent two very busy weekend days with all hundred four of my kidlets and instead of crawling out of bed at the crack of dawn on an unholy Monday morning and kicking their adorable little booties back to school, I kept them home with me today instead.

And y'all. (I'm not from the South, but this felt like a y'all moment. It felt right, y'all.) Y'ALL we NEED school on Mondays. We need it.

These children are wild. And this house has been turned into a violent pit of mayhem and chaos.

There are breakfast dishes still on the table. Breakfast dishes. That should give you a pretty good hint about what my kitchen looks like... My couch cushions are strewn about the house like a dog dragged them from here to there, making nests. We don't even have a dog! (And do they make nests??) There's no place to sit, unless you want to pretend we're in Aladdin and enjoy sitting on the floor. Unless you want to pretend I'm even young enough to sit on the floor and not whine about how bad my back hurts. Every. single. blanket in this house has been unfolded, crumpled into a blob and thrown someplace it does not belong. Why? What do the children have against blankets??? And the upstairs. Oh, lord. The upstairs. It's the epicenter of destruction. Star Wars Ships. Barbies. Dolls. Dress Up Clothes. Ninja Turtles. Avengers. Stuffed Animals.

My god, the stuffed animals.

They're everywhere. Every. Where.

Not an inch of my house has gone untouched. I found Nerf guns in the bathtub. There are toothbrushes on the stairs. And the hallway... I can't... I can't even talk about it.

Are we barbarians??? Who is running this house?!?!

Where are the parents???

Oh, wait. That's me.

Ahem...

There have been approximately two hours more TV than is humanly acceptable. And don't even get me started on Disney Infinity.

It's like if my children aren't playing it, aren't connected to some kind of machine, they will die. They will literally whine and scream and cry and annoy the bejeezus out of me until I relent die.

They're not even dressed!! Not a single tooth has been brushed or a single strand of hair combed.

I just fed them cheesecake for a snack. 

Cheesecake.

At 4 o'clock!!! It might as well have been dinner.

Why is there even cheesecake in my house??? Where did it come from??? How do I just have cheesecake sitting around?!?!

I'm concerned for my mental stability. I'm not sure we're going to survive the afternoon. Let alone until BEDTIME.

I hear the theme song to Jaws right now. Does anyone else here it? Is it just me???

It's just me?? Good. I can officially confirm that MLK Day has made me lose what little remained of my sanity.

The problem is, this is a house that thrives on schedules. We like to have a plan. And a goal. And a set routine for each day.

Then suddenly the devil himself school system decides to throw off our routine just willy nilly and suddenly we're half naked, running around with syrup in our hair, screaming about poop!

Or at least one of us is doing that. (He's also three. So don't judge us too harshly.)

Sunday night we went to bed with the remaining shreds of our dignity. Sunday- Even though we skipped church because it was -20 with the windchill. I love Jesus. But... Grace. And Forgiveness. And He knows about -20- we still managed to get everyone dressed. We demanded that they brush teeth and not smell and do something with their lives.

Then Monday came. And they didn't leave for school. Their brains weren't challenged. Their attitudes weren't checked by other adults. Their personalities didn't have other people to put up with them.

They stayed home. To play with each other. Again. For the third day.

And you guys. *deep breaths* We need a break from each other!!!

Mondays are meant for school. Mondays are hard enough as it is to face life and work and living without throwing a No School Day in the mix!!

I just sent them back for goodness sakes! We barely made it out of Christmas Break alive. It's only January! At least give me four Mondays in a row to get my life back in order!

My To Do List is currently laughing at me. My Word Count Goal is shaking its judgmental little head. And my husband is working.

Send help.

It's my own fault though! I was the one foolish enough to think I could still get something done today. Yesterday, as I planned my week, I thought, "The kids will be home, but I still can make my word count. I'm on a deadline. I'll be able to prioritize. They'll listen. They care about me. They love me. They don't want to stress me out."

LIES.

All of that was lies!

They haven't listened to me for their whole lives hours.

They don't care about my word counts or deadlines or stress levels.

They might still love me. I'm not sure. Maybe. And since I've banished them upstairs until I can at least walk through the hallway I'll have to confirm that at a later date.

But they shouldn't care, should they?? It's not their job to meet deadlines or publish books or do the dishes. (At least not yet! Muahahaha.)

They're kids! They're supposed to be wild and crazy and messy. I don't want them to look back at their days off and remember how orderly mom kept the house or how quiet they had to be.

I'd much rather have them remember running around the house half naked with Nerf Swords and capes on, laughing until they can't stand up. Or creating entire Barbie citadels that span the length and width of their rooms. I'd much rather have them remember learning to compromise over video games and working a system out between themselves so everyone gets a fair turn. I'd much rather have them curled up on the couch reading to me than me at my computer yelling at them to be quiet so I can work. (Of course there's been an even mixture of that.) I'd much rather them remember that one time mom let us have Cheesecake for dinner and when they made a fort out of couch cushions until their little brother dive-bombed shouting, "Naked Boy ATTACK!!!!"

I'd much rather have them making memories.

I'd much rather have a mess to clean up when they finally do go back to school so I can focus on them while they're home.

I'd much rather eat Cheesecake for dinner once than never break the rules that nobody in this house actually set.

I'd much rather have four wild savages than four perfectly behaved children that can't remember love or life or chaos.

So will I complain about MLK Day? Heck, yes. Every MLK Day and Veteran's Day and President's Day and Memorial Day and so on forever and ever amen.

But will I also treasure it? And these four little monsters that are growing up way too fast? Absolutely.

On this Manic Monday until the very last Manic Monday of my life.