Another Tricky day...part two...
Today started out like most of my other days in this life...trying to get two teenage boys out of bed. The younger one could sleep through the end of the world. He sets his alarm for 6am and the music is loud. I typically walk in his room around 6:15 and he is sleeping soundly with what sounds like a 95 member marching band in his room. "Get up How" I say. "Howie get up...it's 6:15"...he stirs, pulls the covers up and snores again. At this point, I am just mad. "Howard...get out of bed, put your feet on the floor and sit up!" He peels open one eye and so he can give me the "stink" eye but he doesn't budge. Then I sit on his bed until he gets up. It makes him crazy because all he wants to do is go back to sleep and this crazy woman is not leaving him alone. Finally, he gets up.
Sounds fun, huh?
That's only half of it. I then go downstairs to my oldest son's room. It is difiicult to find him in there and I am not sure where the floor is. But, I put the light on and speak his name. "Mac, do you have to get up for school?" (I ask that because seniors in high school rarely go to school anymore...they have half days, seminars, pretend test days and free periods...which all add up to no school.) This happened to be a day he should be at school for some reason. "OK, then get up" I say. He replies, "Can you come down again in 15 minutes?" When he says that, the voices in my head start to explode about how he needs to go to bed earlier, he needs to clean his room and he never goes to school...then I reply "OK" and walk upstairs and pour my coffee.
About 30 minutes into the morning, the boys show up in the kitchen. The pour giant bowls of cereal, make bagels and sit at the counter. They don't talk much because they are so tired...I guess. I try to make conversation and it's like pulling teeth...they both look at me like I am crazy. Finally after sitting at the counter, reading the cereal box and chomping down a bagel or ten, the older one will look at me with his puppy dog-tired eyes and say, "Hey Ma, will you help us with our lunch?" Here come those voices in my head again stating the obvious...."ya sleep in, you don't get up, you sit at the counter eating and chewing like a couple of piglets and you then want ME to make your lunch?" I silently get up and throw two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches together and grab cereal bars, crackers, and try to sneak a piece of fruit in and put them in grocery bags.
The boys head to the prospective bathrooms to brush their teeth (I hope) and begin to feel the sense of urgency of getting to school. They grab back packs and lunch from the counter, remove the piece of fruit that I snuck in there and say, "Bye Mom, love you" and run out to the car. You cannot understand the sense of relief when those two leave the house in one piece. It is palpable.
Then, I get 'organized" like my mother used to say, and leave the house to see patients.
Today was beautiful, like spring. The sun was shining and it was warm. I saw my patients, who I love, and finished my day. Headed to the high school to pick up the youngest for the orthodontist. He needs to have his braces tweeked one more time and for some reason, I cannot seem to get him there. Today was no exception. I pulled up in the front of the high school and the car died. Now, I was just talking to my youngest about how my car was going to make it to 300,000 miles yesterday. Shouldn't have said a word.
I found my oldest in band class and asked him to jump my car..in the front of the school when school was over. I am sure that he was totally mortified but he didn't act like it. We charged and charged the battery for what seemed like hours and all the thing would do is "click, click, click."
I called my husband, who was in a meeting at the ski area, to ask for advice. During the phone call I promptly came to the conclusion that I was going to kill him... so I hung up. My son's, both of them, headed to baseball practice and I was going to head home in my son's (our) car.
I decided to try one more time. I pulled his car up and put the jumper cables on both cars and started jiggling everything I could think to jiggle including myself. I waited a minute or two and got in the car..."Please start" I thought, and turned the key. The sucker started. It must have been all the jiggling (and let me tell you, these days, there is alot of jiggling to be had) but I was happy.
Needless to say, I headed right over to the liquior store to get a bottle of pink wine. I ran in, found the wine and realized that when I got back in the car, that I had shut it off. For a second, I panicked, and thought about how it would look sitting at the liquior store trying to find someone to jump the car...not a pretty sight.
Thankfully, the car started. I headed home, put the wine in the refrigerator, got dinner started and sat on the couch. Two hours later, I woke up, refreshed and ready to start the night routine.
Around 7:30, the house became animated with the boys home, Jim coming home and me with a glass of pink wine in me for strength...and the night was great.
Another tricky day...the usual and the not usual...but we made it. In the scheme of things...not a big deal. At the time, this afternoon, I felt like it was the end of the world with a broken car. But, as my mother always said...tomorrow is another day...and it is. We'll see in the morning if the car starts...
We'll tawk tomorrow,
I love you all,
Terry
Sounds fun, huh?
That's only half of it. I then go downstairs to my oldest son's room. It is difiicult to find him in there and I am not sure where the floor is. But, I put the light on and speak his name. "Mac, do you have to get up for school?" (I ask that because seniors in high school rarely go to school anymore...they have half days, seminars, pretend test days and free periods...which all add up to no school.) This happened to be a day he should be at school for some reason. "OK, then get up" I say. He replies, "Can you come down again in 15 minutes?" When he says that, the voices in my head start to explode about how he needs to go to bed earlier, he needs to clean his room and he never goes to school...then I reply "OK" and walk upstairs and pour my coffee.
About 30 minutes into the morning, the boys show up in the kitchen. The pour giant bowls of cereal, make bagels and sit at the counter. They don't talk much because they are so tired...I guess. I try to make conversation and it's like pulling teeth...they both look at me like I am crazy. Finally after sitting at the counter, reading the cereal box and chomping down a bagel or ten, the older one will look at me with his puppy dog-tired eyes and say, "Hey Ma, will you help us with our lunch?" Here come those voices in my head again stating the obvious...."ya sleep in, you don't get up, you sit at the counter eating and chewing like a couple of piglets and you then want ME to make your lunch?" I silently get up and throw two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches together and grab cereal bars, crackers, and try to sneak a piece of fruit in and put them in grocery bags.
The boys head to the prospective bathrooms to brush their teeth (I hope) and begin to feel the sense of urgency of getting to school. They grab back packs and lunch from the counter, remove the piece of fruit that I snuck in there and say, "Bye Mom, love you" and run out to the car. You cannot understand the sense of relief when those two leave the house in one piece. It is palpable.
Then, I get 'organized" like my mother used to say, and leave the house to see patients.
Today was beautiful, like spring. The sun was shining and it was warm. I saw my patients, who I love, and finished my day. Headed to the high school to pick up the youngest for the orthodontist. He needs to have his braces tweeked one more time and for some reason, I cannot seem to get him there. Today was no exception. I pulled up in the front of the high school and the car died. Now, I was just talking to my youngest about how my car was going to make it to 300,000 miles yesterday. Shouldn't have said a word.
I found my oldest in band class and asked him to jump my car..in the front of the school when school was over. I am sure that he was totally mortified but he didn't act like it. We charged and charged the battery for what seemed like hours and all the thing would do is "click, click, click."
I called my husband, who was in a meeting at the ski area, to ask for advice. During the phone call I promptly came to the conclusion that I was going to kill him... so I hung up. My son's, both of them, headed to baseball practice and I was going to head home in my son's (our) car.
I decided to try one more time. I pulled his car up and put the jumper cables on both cars and started jiggling everything I could think to jiggle including myself. I waited a minute or two and got in the car..."Please start" I thought, and turned the key. The sucker started. It must have been all the jiggling (and let me tell you, these days, there is alot of jiggling to be had) but I was happy.
Needless to say, I headed right over to the liquior store to get a bottle of pink wine. I ran in, found the wine and realized that when I got back in the car, that I had shut it off. For a second, I panicked, and thought about how it would look sitting at the liquior store trying to find someone to jump the car...not a pretty sight.
Thankfully, the car started. I headed home, put the wine in the refrigerator, got dinner started and sat on the couch. Two hours later, I woke up, refreshed and ready to start the night routine.
Around 7:30, the house became animated with the boys home, Jim coming home and me with a glass of pink wine in me for strength...and the night was great.
Another tricky day...the usual and the not usual...but we made it. In the scheme of things...not a big deal. At the time, this afternoon, I felt like it was the end of the world with a broken car. But, as my mother always said...tomorrow is another day...and it is. We'll see in the morning if the car starts...
We'll tawk tomorrow,
I love you all,
Terry
Comments
But you did it! As Owen would say. "Did it!" he says when he pulls his own shirt on over his head. "Did it!" he says when he successfully jumps from one log to another.
Pat yourself on the back.
You have done it and you will do it again.