Me And My Friend Shiba

     It's not a secret that I have a lot on my plate.  I have a husband and ten kids, five of whom are still at home.  My husbands parents live with us, as my father-in-law had a stroke several years ago and is in a wheel chair.  In addition to that, one of my older sons, his wife and two kids moved back in after a job loss.  In case you lost count that's thirteen people living in our house.  Add to that my two married daughters live within ten minutes of our house and come over frequently with their husband and three kids each.  It is not unusual for us to have dinner with between twenty to twenty-five people, give or take a kid or two.  Just the cooking and clean-up is a full time job and add in all the laundry, the cleaning, the shopping, and all the other stuff we do on a day-to-day basis and it's no wonder it is hard to find the time to do the stuff I really want to do.  Namely write.
     I have been trying to spend more time with Shiba lately and everyone actually seems jealous.  If your wondering who Shiba is, it's not a who, it's a what, I have a Toshiba laptop, that my kids nicknamed Shiba.  Now I keep hearing, "you spend more time with Shiba than you do with us." Even the hubster has joined in.  And all I have to say is yup.  Shiba is my friend, she helps me get my thoughts in order and helps me fulfill my need to create something special.
     I am sorry if after thirty-one years of marriage and motherhood not having me at your beck and call is giving you grief, but to bad, it's time for me to do something for me.  I love you all, but most of you are adults and to my credit you're self sufficient and independent.  So if you don't mind Shiba and I would like to be alone for a while.