Thursday, May 20, 2010

A Morning

"Good morning, Samuel." Five fifty-four.  A.M.

Cuddle.  Six o'clock.

Rise, shower, dress self and three others, breakfast for five.  Pack a hasty bag for a busy morning and out the door.  Car in drive and rolling forward.  Seven thirty.

Drive across town.  Drop Sam off at one school. Concentrate very hard on not vomiting on substitute teacher's shoes.  Seven forty-five. 

Drive back across town.  Drop Jonah off at another school.  Concetrate very hard on not vomiting on the vice-principal.  Eight fifteen. 

Drive half way back across town.  Take Cate to emergency doctor's appointment to make sure that her tongue, which she bit about clear off, is not infected.  Concentrate very hard on not vomiting on the pediatrician, though I think he owes me one good vomit.  I am a one-woman, pediatrician-full-employment plan. Eight forty-five. 

Tongue is not infected.  It could use stitched but would require sedation.  Is cure worse than disease?  Yes.  Tongue will be flawed but not deformed.  No sedation/stitches ordered.  Back on the road.  Nine thirty.

Drive the rest of the way back across town.  Pick Sam up from school.  Change diaper on back of car.  Make note to self to potty train him as soon as school is out (Monday).  Toss snacks at both children in back seat of car.  Back on road.  Nine fifty.

Drive into next town to register Sam for next year's special education pre-school.  Unload stroller from car.  Load stroller with children, cups, snacks, toys, favorite shiny blanket, etc.  Push one hundred pound stroller across this new campus, stopping in two places to ask directions before arriving in a very crowded room, with the land-yacht of strollers, and two grumpy kids, to spend an hour filling out tedious paper work for people who keep forgetting, and then acting surprised, that I am, in fact, married to the father of my children.  Ten thirty.

Fill out afore mentioned, tedious paper work.  Repeat trip with stroller, except in reverse and this time Sam is trying out his tantrum skills because I won't/can't let him play on the play ground.  Head home.  Oh, blessed home.  Eleven thirty.

Arrive home.  Oh, blessed home.  Samuel screamed the whole way.  Noon.

Microwave something for lunch.  Hold them down and make them eat.  Clean them up.  Off to bed for the baby.  Twelve thirty.

Send tantrum boy outside to play.  Sit at computer and type.  Let it all out on virtual paper.  Decompress....breathe....Rub belly, gestate, glow.  One o'clock.

Okay, I made up the part about glowing.  I'm not glowing yet.  But, I'm practicing.

7 comments:

  1. A lawyer by training and a housewife by choice. :D

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  2. Oh, I remember those days well - it was always better if I got the vomiting over with early in the day. How much can you pack into one morning, Tracey? Wow. I love the part about the 'glowing' practice.

    (What is a 'special education' preschool and why is Sam going to go there? Sorry for my ignorance.)

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  3. I was forty-one when I got pregnant with my third child, but I had one less baby than you have that I had to drag around while nauseous. :)
    It all sounds so familiar.
    It's nice to be able to do these things without too much thought. We just do what we have to do. Then years later, we wonder how we did it. :)
    Hang in there!

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  4. The good news IS...you did NOT vomit on ANYONE this particular day!!!!

    I smile when I read just HOW MUCH mom's can pack into a VERY SMALL amount of time. YOU ARE SUPER WOMAN! Remind everyone in your path!! (or you will vomit on them!)

    Have a great weekend.
    ;)

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  5. Thank you everyone for the words of support. I hope I did not sound like too much of a whiner. I just had to let it out.

    And, Vince. Yes, this is the job I signed up for, but may I point out that we have an all-volunteer military, but not one of them volunteered because they always wanted to see Iraq in the summertime (even if they knew it might be part of the job). In my defense. :)

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  6. What defence, you were complicit all the way. And that Iraq analogy would only work if you could say you caused the thing also. :)

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  7. Having just read the more recent post before this one, I hope you are about over the morning sickness! You've got your hands full. But you seem so capable. And you are still writing with clarity!

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