Occasionally (okay, pretty frequently...alright, alright, all the stinkin' time) I experience a day that has me running circles to accomplish everything on my Do-or-Die (whoops, I mean To Do) Agenda. And that's fine; it comes with the territory of being a Wife/Mother/Household Manager. Since I'm an obsessive List-Maker, I write a detailed plan, usually even in the chronological or topographical order in which each item must be checked off, to maximize my time, energy, and gas mileage. The system generally makes sense to me...except when I pause to actually read my ridiculous schedule once in a while, and have to laugh at the absurdity of my rambling life.
Take today, for example. It started off with the regular stuff: (drink coffee--it goes without saying, but nothing gets done around here until that crucial first step occurs) feed kids, load up bookbags, shuttle them (boys and backpacks) to the bus-stop. Then the real fun begins. Here are the Stations I visited on my own personal Magical Mystery Tour of June 8, 2011 (minus the psychadelics, which might have helped things along...or at least enhanced the ride):
--Giant Food (Because no matter how much I beg, cajole, threaten or bribe, they just Won't. Stop. Eating. The nerve of those darn "growing boys"!)
--the Elementary School for a two-pronged errand...distribute the last edition of the Student Newspaper, hot off the presses, and see Riley perform in the 2nd-Grade Play (in which he made a concerted--ha ha--attempt to sing the songs while hiding behind the boy next to him, to prevent me from taking pictures. Doesn't matter, I caught him on video anyway, looking grumpy, but obediently following the tune and doing the hand motions nonetheless. Now who's the Most Stubborn? Oh wait, that's not a good title to have, is it?)
--Target for yet another birthday present. And just let me point out that from May 21st to June 18th (yes, we're talking 4 weeks), the Party Invitation Total stands at Riley: 3; Derek: 3, and an extra one that included them both. What the? And that doesn't even count End-of-the-School-Year shindigs, or Soccer picnics, or 5th-Grade Graduation galas. My kids' Social Life suddenly requires not only multi-colored pens to differentiate their activities on the Master Calendar, but also sticky notes, and coordination of transportation for pickup and dropoff, and major gift purchasing. And did I mention how many fun, fabulous fiestas I'm attending this month? Zip! Zilch! Nada! (Not entirely true--I do have Events of my own...just not nearly as many!)
--the Container Store (or, as I like to call it, the "Cute Little Boxes to Hold Absolutely Everything" Store. That doesn't fit on a sign as well, so I can understand why they shortened it.) It frightens me a little (okay, a lot) how fascinating I find this particular place. I could wander around in there all day, oohing and aahing at all the clever packages...a box shaped exactly like a pack of hot dogs! Who knew you needed to treat your processed meat products so delicately? (Well, I don't, but apparently, some folks do!) Ingeniously-designed separators to keep your socks matched and under control! (I do love me some organized drawers...but I do NOT need this...walk away, you can do it...) I managed to squelch the impulse to examine every single item in the vast array of Organizational Tools, selected my sandwich-and-snack-size boxes for lunch-packing purposes, and beat a hasty retreat.
That concluded the running-around portion of my day. I then was able to leave the 90+ degree heat and humidity of the Outside World and return triumphantly to the relative calm and cool of my air-conditioned house...to check emails, make phone calls, do laundry, and...arrange Thursday's Schedule! In order to make it more motivating and rewarding, I think I'll add "Eat Ice Cream" to the bottom of tomorrow's tasks!
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