Sunday, January 4, 2009

Is it really worth it to take a day off?

I took a day off last month. A real, honest to goodness day off. I'm telling you...what a waste. I spent the day driving here, there and everywhere or sitting in doctors' offices. Here's how it all went down:

I allowed myself the luxury of sleeping in until 6:30. I then spent the next hour and a half frantically showering, dressing (myself and all three kids), feeding everyone, packing lunches and snacks, brushing hair, packing backpacks and cleaning up from breakfast, so in hindsight maybe sleeping in wasn't the very best of ideas. The two big kids got on the bus and Katie and I were out the door by twenty past eight. I dropped Kate off at my Mom's and headed over to the doctor's office. While waiting for the doctor I got to read People. I actually got to read a magazine, uninterrupted by little people. I cannot even remember the last time that's happened. And then I read Time, aaaaannnnd then Newsweek aaaaaannnnnd then Parents before I finally got called in to see the doctor. The doctor was so very thorough and spent quite a bit of time talking with me about my questions and my prescriptions. The most bizarre conversation happening around the time he was doing my Pap smear. He casually asked me about my Thanksgiving and the conversation turned to what my favorite Thanksgiving foods are, all this while he's got his hand up my heehaw. Honestly, how does one decide between stuffing or butternut squash when someone is palpitating your ovaries?

My doctor's attention to detail meant I didn't get out of the doctor's office until 10:30. So I hightailed it back to my town and the kids' school. I had volunteered to chaperon a field trip with Teresa's classroom. We were headed to Shaw's supermarket. A supermarket is probably not the best place to take 22 hungry first graders and their equally hungry chaperons a mere 45 minutes before lunch. We barely heard the poor woman assigned to our group as she attempted to engage the kids in a hunt for items from the food pyramid. We were all too busy trying to figure out how to break into the deli case while she wasn't looking. The bus got back to school just before 1:00 and I headed home.

I inhaled my lunch and then decided I should tackle the 18 bazillion loads of laundry that needed to be folded and put away. After finally putting all the teetering piles of clothing in their proper places I glanced at the clock and realized it was nearly 2:30. Time to head back to school to pick up Sam and Teresa. I arrive and sit in the cafeteria to wait. And I wait, wait, wait, wait. Finally Teresa strolls in and we wait, wait, wait some more for Sam. As the steady stream of children turns to a trickle and then stops I realize something's not right. So I ask the teacher in charge of dismissals if there might be somewhere else he'd have gone for dismissal. She calls down to the office and then sends me in that direction. Where I'm informed that he has already boarded his bus and is at that moment winding through the streets of town. Great. I spent 20 minutes waiting for him, because I need to pick him up to get him to a doctor's appointment and now I have to go home and wait for the school bus anyways!

Teresa and I head home and wait for the bus to come. Sam gets off the bus in tears because he didn't get to be a dismissal and I ever so lovingly hustled him into his seat and buckled him up. We're out the driveway before the bus has even pulled away. I fly at warp speed back to my parent's house to drop off Teresa and the dog, wave hello to Katie and am back in the van to rush to the doctor's office. All that adrenaline pumping through my veins and I now have to sit and wait once again. Sam's appointment was at 3:30 and, because the pediatrician is so attentive we didn't get out of there until 5:00. I drive back to my parent's house and collapse in exhaustion and suck down a bottle, I mean glass, of wine. As I guzzle my wine I ponder this...why am I so exhausted from a day where I really did very little? Except drive and wait.
But now, thanks to the wine, my head can't handle such imponderables.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

OMG you have me LMBFAO!!!! Stuffing would be my choice. And now, as I read about your day of doing nothing I know why I am so spent as soon as the sun sets. If only my stomach was up to guzzling some wine. Cheers!