A week without our nanny tends to throw us into chaos. We've never had to endure a week when we didn't have forewarning. We only had a few days warning before the trial started, and none of us seemed to have any idea it would take this long, except possibly the lawyer, but he didn't do a very good job sharing. My mother has been wonderful, completely bailing us out. But I've felt very guilty about taking up so much of her time, and I know she's not been feeling that well, so today, I asked my niece to come down. I gave her all the directions and instructions, everything was supposed to be settled.
This morning just got off to a bad start. I was running a few minutes late. I drive the boy from down the street who goes to the same pre-school as LT to school in the morning. I'm going there anyway, and his mother has class and can't do it herself. It is a special kind of torture having someone else's kid to deal with in the morning when you're trying to get out of the house. Today he got LT all riled up, forgot his back pack at the house and I had to turn around and go get it, smooshed a nutri-grain bar on the back seat of my car, and generally tried my patience in every way.
It was in the midst of turning around and heading back to the house that my niece called to tell me her boyfriend's car wouldn't start and she couldn't get down here this morning. I'm not quite sure how successful I was in trying not to berate the neighbor's child at this moment. I was seeing white spots. I took a deep breath, retrieved the back pack and brought the kids to school, all the while reminding myself that the kid absolutely grating every frazzled nerve was not mine and I could not beat him. Then I called my husband to see what help he could possibly offer because this is the first month at the new job and I am trying, at this point, to at least not make a bad impression when it comes to all this personal crap. He says he will go get the niece and drive her down and pick LT up from school early, since she won't have a car. This will work. I still have to leave work earlier than I was planning to drive Trouble to basketball practice and one of us has to drive her back at night, but at least I can go to work.
It's at this point I hit the construction detour. Now, I knew there would be a detour. I had hit it the day before and somehow managed to get around it, though I don't know how. And I'd printed some directions that someone in HR had emailed out. I get out the directions and immediately can't follow them, so instead I decide to follow the truck detour, because that's the only detour they seem to have marked. This takes me on a fifteen minute detour around a pond through the back woods of nowhere. I get to the T-intersection that says, "End of Detour" and haven't the foggiest idea of which way to turn. Of course, I guess wrong, and this sends me on another ten minute detour. Now, I need a drink, and it's not even ten in the morning. I have to call my boss and tell him that I got lost. Really, tremendous impression I'm making.
I get home just in time to get Trouble to basketball practice where I sit in a freezing gymnasium where the florescent lights and dozens of thumping balls and screaming kids are doing nothing for the headache I've developed. The boys, when I get home, are bouncing of the walls. After dinner, LT takes one of those go-gurt tubes, and sprays it all over his brother, the couch and the wall. That lands him in time-out where he sits wailing. Blackstone has decided to take a shower after his day in the field, only to find a deer tick, Stand-By-Me-Style, to cap off our day.
Diosa, I hope you eventually got that drink.
Blackstone, how did that get there?
Posted by: Polly Poppins | October 23, 2008 at 10:27 AM
Holy hell, Diosa. Maybe a day off isn't such a bad idea....
Posted by: Alice | October 23, 2008 at 02:13 PM
Polly - Yes, I had some yummy rum my sister brought me back from whatever island she went to. The tick just crawled it's way up there. Blackstone wasn't doing anything funny. He said he felt something crawling up his leg, but couldn't find it.
Alice - A day off would be nice. I don't see it happening. I need to save my time for my damn sinus infections, wisdom teeth that need to be pulled, caring for sick kids. Those days off don't tend to be much fun. But I have a vacation w/out the kids planned in the spring, so there's something to hold out for.
Posted by: Diosa | October 23, 2008 at 07:51 PM
I hope today is better. I have lots of valium if you need it :)
Posted by: Curls | October 24, 2008 at 01:31 PM
xanax.
Posted by: J | October 24, 2008 at 03:24 PM
Yes, the weekend was good. Got lots done. My car is cleaned, boys' clothes sorted and switched. The nanny is back and the cleaning lady starts Tuesday. I think I should be able to breathe a little easier this week.
Posted by: Diosa | October 26, 2008 at 08:41 PM