And I'm one of them!
I have maxed out my metro card three days running (each card is charged for a maximum of three rides per day—anything after that is free...and I have certainly been taking advantage of that this week).
Yesterday Miriam and I carried big IKEA bags full of sheets and duvet inserts from the hotel to the apartment...while also dragging Phoebe along. It was...exhausting.
And then today I packed up a big IKEA bag full of towels to take to the apartment (because we sure wished we'd have thought of bringing towels to the apartment yesterday). The towels were actually far lighter and much fluffier than the sheets and duvet inserts (which were packed rather tightly), so it felt much better to be carrying that through the metro.
But then I also had on my backpack so I could do some work at the apartment (I have a proposal due tomorrow and a review due soon and homework due...all over the place). And the kids each had a backpack on. Only Phoebe didn't have a backpack—she carried her stuffed puppy Titus.
And still I wound up carrying her half the time.
We hung out at the apartment for a while—setting up water, putting sheets on beds, doing homework, and so forth—and then came back to the hotel for dinner before heading off to mutual.
It was a busy mutual night, with Miriam heading one place (to do henna), Benjamin heading to another place for a movie night (Andrew is the YM leader so he met Benjamin there after he got off work), and Alexander and Zoë meeting at another place for their first primary activity day.
Technically Benjamin, Zoë, and Alexander were all going to the same compound and Benjamin could have just dropped them off, but I didn't feel comfortable with that their first time (just in case anything went wrong). And Miriam even went to the same metro stop (but then got a ride from a leader to the second location) so could have at least helped them get that far. But I went with them just to make sure everything went smoothly.
But also...it's been an exhausting few days, physically more than anything.
*****
Benjamin has been trying to be more...aware...of my burdens recently. Andrew recently gave him a little talking to about how he's approaching manhood and needs to think of others a little bit more, and he's been trying to man up.
For example, when Miriam and I arrived at the apartment laden with heavy IKEA bags, Benjamin was standing there waiting for us (because it's a teensy bit possible that I had no idea how to get to our apartment last night). He had arrived earlier and Andrew had sent him down to meet us and show us where the apartment was, a job he was very excited about!
"It's this door here!" he said. "Come on!"
And he just bounded away.
Meanwhile, Miriam and I are lugging these ginormous bags (which we'd been carrying for a good half hour already). So I had to call him back and remind him that he—in his refreshed and youthful state—should be offering to take the burden from either an exhausted or more elderly person.
"Well, I don't know whose bag to take..." he answered.
"I don't care which!" I said. "But it's silly to be so far ahead of us waiting impatiently while we lug these bags around when you could slow down, walk with us, maybe carry something."
He ended up taking Miriam's bag, which was fine.
Anyway, he had his big backpack on and was carrying a small bag full of other things and he saw I had the big IKEA bag of towels and he was like, "I...don't know that I can carry that, too!"
So I told him that just because he's expected to step in and help out doesn't mean that he has to carry everything or that I don't have to carry anything ever. It's just that...
"Oh!" he said. "I get it! It's just, like, if you have something heavy and I have nothing then I can offer to help!"
Something like that, yes.
*****
Anyway, we got into the elevator to head to mutual. I still had my backpack on because I wanted to work on my proposal during the activity and I'm sure I looked exhausted (perhaps because that's my default look these days).
Phoebe was clinging to me (and she very often insists on being carried in the metro) so Benjamin told her, "Now, Phoebe. You're going to walk in the metro station..."
"How do you know?" she sassed.
"Because you have two functional legs..." he retorted.
"You're not a walking scientist!" she shot out.
It was...hilarious.
Also...the metro was so incredibly crowded that I ended up carrying Phoebe...again.
The downside to that is that carrying her through the metro is quite the workout.
The upside is that it's quite the workout—everyday is arm day and my biceps are poppin'!
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