You Are Not the Only One

I got into blogging, and was truly inspired by my former college roommate, Jessica.  Jessica is a rock-star mom, OT, is working on her PhD, and now is selling toxin-free household and kid products.  And let me clarify that rock-star mom thing.  She has FIVE boys, all ages four and under (a four year old, two year old triplets and a newborn).  And she cooks and cleans and gardens and does all this super-cool stuff.  I wish she didn't live all the way in Michigan so that we could see each other (and drink wine together).  Anyway, yesterday, she was having this kind of day.

We've all been there.  And if you say you haven't, you're lying.

So, today, it was my turn to have that kind of day.  Today was my only day this week that I had "off."  It's summer vacation, so no mom is truly "off."  We're entertaining and refereeing and shuttling and picking up.  I'm actually working two jobs this summer (summer school and in an outpatient clinic).  This week they collided so that I had two days where I went from on to the other, which makes my day 9 am-7 pm.  Sophia is at camp 9 am-noon this week, so there is the shuttling her to and from there.  Jake is not in camp, so there is the providing care for him.  One day he came to work with me.  One day I had to get a sitter.  One day I had to drop him off at my dad's work. My parents have been pitching in, picking the kids up, or staying with them while I'm at the second job.  It's just been a crazy week.

So, today was my day "off."  Here was my day:  Cats very loud 4 am-5:30 am, when they both decided to sleep on my chest.  Oversleep.  Have to run through the shower so that Pat can get in the shower in order to get to work.  Get an e-mail from a local radio person who had expressed interest in the book, but now no longer has time to read it.  Kids fighting, I lose my schmidt and scream, all before breakfast.  Run Sophia to camp.  Bring Jake with me to Post Office to mail out review copies.  Get into Post Office, grab envelopes and fill them out, and then realize that window is not open.  But since I've already written on the envelopes, Jake and I must sit there for 15 minutes waiting for window to open.  Successfully mail the books, but now filled with anxiety that the reviewers will pan the book.

Home for about 30 minutes.  Get a little writing done, but despair that my book is not selling better.  Also despair because I cannot get through current Candy Crush level. Go pick up Sophia early from camp to go to ENT appointment.  Kids are again fighting on way out of camp, causing me to offer to sell one of them to the guy behind the desk.  Drive 25 minutes to ENT.  Sophia does indeed have an ear infection (her ear has been draining for 5 days).  Sophia freaks out when the PA vacuums her ear out, causing her to be that kid in the office.  Yep, and I'm that mom with her.  She continues to freak out as the PA prescribes ear drops.

I begged my dad to leave work in Clifton Park early to meet me down in Albany so that I could attend my mandatory inservice for my per diem job (the TWO HOUR inservice on core values and mission statement, that I must attend or will be fired.  Oh yeah, I was supposed to do it by July 1.).  We successfully meet up and I even find a parking spot.  I get into the building only to be told that there was not a 12:30 inservice.  There was one yesterday.  I have the complete and total wrong day. I totally missed the one I was supposed to go to.  There was an inservice at 1 pm, but they said it was too full, so I have to reschedule for next week.

Decide to get my oil changed and my car inspected.  My check engine light keeps coming on, so hope that they can tell me about that.  It turns out, they cannot inspect my car with the light on, as it would fail inspection.  The guy "looks" at it, and tells me the light is out, but it's not.  It's still on.  Also, they didn't reset my oil-o-meter, so my car still thinks it needs an oil change.

I come home, and diligently return to writing (people are asking for more of my work).  That lasts for 20 minutes before my dad returns with my kids.  I decide to be proactive for dinner.  I take pork chops out of the freezer, and fill the sink with water to defrost.  An hour later, I realize that the stopper was not all the way in, and the water promptly drained out, and the pork chops are still mostly frozen.  I have a wake to go to, and I'm getting ancy.  Pat is not scheduled to be home until at least 5:30, and the wake only goes until 7.  As it is a priest and former teacher, I expect there to be quite the crowd, and want to get there earlier.  My mom tells me to bring the kids over to her office.  She'll be leaving about 15 minutes after I drop them off, so they can hang with her until then.  I load up the kids, and head over to her office.  I then fight rush-hour traffic, going from the airport to Clifton Park at 5 pm.  I get to the wake, find my brother, say goodbye to Father Turnbull and am outta there in 20 minutes.  On the way home, the car in front of me kicks up a stone, which cracks my windshield.  Since I was not able to get the car inspected today, I will now need to get that fixed before the end of July so my car can pass inspection.

I get home, and realize that I forgot to pick up Sophia's prescription.  I plead with Pat to go pick it up while I'm cooking dinner.  He must realize that I've had one of those days and goes to CVS.  But then he calls me on the cell.  Never a good sign.  The ENT office called in a prescription for antibiotic ear drops that is not in our insurance plan formulary.  They are $146.  You wouldn't mind, but Sophia had an ear infection (the other ear) 6 weeks ago, and also used antibiotic ear drops.  They were $10 and worked just fine.  Anyway, we have to refuse the prescription, and now I have to figure this out in the morning.  The ENT did the same thing when Sophia had her tubes in two years ago.  They must like the brand name stuff.  But that means Sophia is one more day without the antibiotics.

I almost lost it.  Pat tried to comfort me.  I told him that I totally failed today.  His response was, "Everybody fails sometime."  He's right.  Yesterday was Jessica's day.  Today was mine.  Tomorrow (hopefully) will belong to someone else.

The kids have finally calmed down.  I'm about to crack open a beer.  And I'm posting these pictures of Jessica and I, from times when we were young, not truly sleep-deprived, and without a care in the world.  (Oh yeah, and we were hot).



So Jess, when you get the boys put down, take a fun walk down memory lane with these pictures, know that you're not the only one who has those kind of days, and raise your glass because I'm toasting you all the way from NY.

Comments

  1. Oh, man, EVERY mom has those! Btw, one of my kids set a mattress on fire on Tuesday.

    ReplyDelete

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