It is 9:20 a.m. and I am girding my loins. The day looks sunny...I'll try and remember to stop and appreciate how beautiful it is outside.
10:15 a.m.: HB has preschool graduation. Take camera...make sure she goes to the bathroom BEFORE the ceremony starts. Maybe pack an extra pair of underwear just in case.
11:00 a.m.: Babysit my friend's little girl.
11:50 a.m.: Get MC to kindergarten. Does he have a clean shirt to wear?
12:00 p.m.: Feed children lunch (remember that a poptart and chocolate milk does not count as a well-balanced meal), get ingredients for dessert and treats to take to JC's last soccer game.
1:35 p.m.: Attend JC's music performance at school. Take video camera...is it charged?
2:10 p.m.: Rush home and clean house in preparation for writing group tonight. Try to identify and remove brain stain from couch. Make cupcakes for dessert.
3:00 p.m.: Pick up kids from school. Remember to pull up to the appropriate spot BEFORE the kids open the door and try to climb in while the car is still moving. Drop off carpool.
4:30 p.m.: Get JC to soccer game. Last game of the season...don't forget to take treats or you will be scorned by a team of 8-9 year olds.
5:30 p.m.: Make dinner...clean house again. Frost cupcakes. Make sure all the pee on the bathroom floor is cleaned up. Plug in air freshener so guests tonight won't suspect that your boys are urine-disabled and don't understand that the big, white pot is for the pee and not just decoration.
6:00 p.m.: Eat dinner. (Remember that eating Cocoa Puffs more than once a week for dinner does not constitute as a well-balanced meal.)
7:00 p.m.: Writing group...my turn to host. Have I written anything in the last month? Could share that story that I wrote in college.
9:00 p.m.: Get kids to bed before 10:00 p.m. so they don't fall asleep in the middle of field day tomorrow.
I'm exhausted.
Last night as we were putting the boys to bed, Chris happened to be reading a little biography on Edgar Allan Poe. JC listened attentively as Chris read about Poe being orphaned at 3 years old, moving out of his foster home at 16 years old, marrying his 13 year old cousin, and then having a complete and total nervous breakdown in his 30's after his wife died. Now JC looked a little stunned through the whole narrative but he really perked up at the "nervous breakdown" part and in his typical manner, began his line of questioning.
What is a nervous breakdown?
What happens?
What kind of medicines do they give people who have had one?
Do you have to go to the hospital?
What kinds of strange things happen?
Do we know anyone that has ever had one?
Have you ever had one, Dad?
Etc, etc, etc.
I hadn't anticipated educating my 8-year old on nervous breakdowns but I'm ever so grateful that my husband didn't just point to me and say, "JC, your mother has them every day. Any other questions?"
Real life is just so real.
P.S. Reading the little bio on Edgar Allan Poe was accidental...just in case you think I feed my children crap all day and then finish it off with a horror story before bed. Sigh. Have I lost my chance for Mother of the Year again??
