3.22.2011

Hey! Where Did My Vacation Day Go?

So I requested a vacation day at work so that I could run a couple of my kids to several different appointments. This was how the day was supposed to go:

     1. Wake up at the usual hour and get myself and all of the kids ready to go.

     2. Get son on bus and get daughter #2 to neighbor's house to catch her bus.

     3. Get daughter #1 and daughter #3 in car and on way to orthodontist appointment.

     4. Return library books and commence shopping: groceries and other girl-y necessities.

     5. Eat lunch out.

     6. Go to optometrist appointment and then directly to doctors for sports physical and well child appointments.

     7. Home for dinner and relaxing evening.

I know that sounds like a dream to some of you; while others are reading this saying, "What's the big deal? I do that every day." Well, for me? It is a big deal. Just the fact that I was able to choreograph all of these appointments into one day is a really big deal for me.
   
Here is how our day really went:

     1. Daughter #3 had a really bad night's sleep as she has now come down with the same crud as myself and daughter #2. Wake up late as a result of not getting much sleep.

     2. All four kids are cranky and son misses bus. I try guilting him into getting off of Facebook now and helping get daughter #3 dressed and ready.

     3. Finally able to pile all four kids into car and amazingly enough I am also able to remember the stack of library books. Drop off daughter #2 at neighbor's house to catch bus.

     4. Drive like crazy to get son to school on time. Then proceed to orthodontist appointment. Return library books.

     5. Debate the option of returning home at this point because I am running on very low energy due to lack of sleep and the fact that I am still having coughing fits. Decide that I should just buck up and get the groceries since we are out of almost everything and I would really like some comfort food when I do return home.

     6. Proceed to grocery store and put up with snooty attitude from teenage daughter #1. Load up on lots of comfort food. Top off gas tank before the prices rise again before the weekend.

     7. Arrive home for hot tea, toasted bagel with strawberry creamcheese and a nap. I was able to snooze intermittently as a lack of oxygen intake through my nostrils forced me to sporadically wake up due to gurgling noise coming from my throat.

     8. Get up and fix my hair and get daughters ready for next set of appointments. Get to optometrist on time to discover that they have moved their office. Find office and get through appointment.

     9. See that gas prices have actually dropped three cents a gallon since my fill up this morning. (typical!)

     10. Proceed to doctor's office for sports physical and well child check-up. Get two kids through 4 vaccines. (Daughter #3 was very brave.)

     11. Travel back across town to warehouse club to pick up case of spring water and prescription at the request of ailing in-laws.

     12. Drop off requested items at in-laws and chit-chat for a few minutes.

     13. Finally get home and, rather than a "relaxing" evening, I look around and see piles of everything all over everything and decide it would be more beneficial to me at this time to just get the kids to do the bare minimum so that we can function this evening and tomorrow morning. And, believe me, they do just the bare minimum, quite grudgingly.

So there it is. My vacation day in yet another nutshell. I am really looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow. My job is usually pretty reliable in the respect that I know what I will need to accomplish and that I know it will be much quieter than my own house.

And I can also start planning when I will take my next vacation day. Hmmm.... Maybe my next vacation day will be when all of the kids are in school and I can just spend some time drinking lattes and antiquing with my sister.

Sounds like a plan to me.