Yesterday was quite a stressful day. We've all had them. It was the kind of day where you have to intentionally and continually remind yourself that things really aren't as bad as they seem and they could be much, MUCH worse. When days like these come around, I laugh to keep from crying. It's all a matter of perspective and we've all heard the familiar phrase, "When it rains, it pours."
The beginning of the day was pretty uneventful other than not feeling well at all. Sore throat, "achiness", sinus congestion. In fact, Sadie and I stayed in our pajamas most of the day and I even laid down with her and took a brief nap. Brief meaning 15-20 minutes, tops. That's not exactly my definition of a nap, but nonetheless I was thankful for even the slightest bit of rest.
The bad news started with a phone call from the mechanic in regards to our van. It's been in the shop since Tuesday and is still there now. We'd talked to him earlier in the week and the repair was going to be right around $100. Not the best news ever, but as I said, it could be much, much worse. Well, his call this time was to inform us that we also needed a new starter. That bumped the repair cost up to nearly $400! Now again, I'm trying to keep a positive attitude. It could be worse. Our van is paid for so in the end, this is still cheaper than a car payment every month. What really irritated me about the whole thing is that we just spent around $275 three weeks ago to have the belts changed. Ugh!
So, with money woes on my mind (and a new found disgust for our van) Sadie and I left (in our Crown Vic) to pick the boys up from school. As I pulled up, the assistant principal met me at the door and informed me that they'd had an incident involving our kindergartner, Josiah. Apparently, he got upset with his brother, Jackson, for running in the hall and not listening when Josiah told him to stop so he hit him. Then he proceeded to pitch a fit. It WAS unintentional but while pitching his fit, he stomped on Jackson's teacher's foot and while swinging his arms around, hit her in the stomach with his elbow. His punishment was to be either a paddling or suspension on Monday. Even the thought that a kindergartner could be suspended is just beyond me...particularly one of my children! I was a straight A student. I graduated with the 8th highest grade-point average of my entire class, was in National Honor's Society and Beta club. I would never dream of doing anything that could result in suspension! And I just keep thinking, he's in kindergarten. He's 5 years old, for goodness sake! I don't blame the administration. Rules are rules and they must be consistent to be effective. We opted for a paddling. I think he learned his lesson.
As if that weren't enough, Jackson's speech teacher stopped me on our way out to make me aware of an incident that Jackson had at school yesterday. Frankly, I would have rather heard about this the day that it happened. It seemed like a big enough deal that I would have received a phone call. I'll spare you the details in an effort to protect him from embarrassment (not that he cares right now, but someday he may read this. ;) and because it really isn't necessary to communicate my stress level, which is the whole point of this lengthy tale. Suffice it to say, he did something of great concern that needs to be addressed immediately to keep it from escalating. Not exactly news that a mother likes to hear ever, but particularly on a Friday.
On the drive home, I just kept thinking, "I'm gonna have to make sure I tell Justin about this when he gets home from work." I called my grandmother and chatted for a little while and then got busy cleaning the living room. It got to be about 5:15 and I kept waiting for Justin to come through the door. I decided to go ahead and vaccuum while waiting. At 5:30 he still wasn't home and I started to think something was wrong. My next thoughts (spoken out loud) went something like this, "I wonder where he could be. He should be home by now. He would have called if there was an emer....Oh, crap! I have the car! I was supposed to pick him up at 5:00! Kids! Get in the car! We have to go get your Daddy!" With Sadie in her mismatched pajamas and her shoes on the wrong feet, Jackson without ANY socks OR shoes on, and none of the three with a coat we raced out the door. I grabbed the phone so I could try to call him on the way to let him know we were coming and would be there shortly when I noticed I had 3 new voice mail messages. Two were from Justin. As if that weren't bad enough, he had left his office key at home that morning (easy to see how he forgot it when you consider that it's normally on his key ring which I now had because I had his car). The library also closes at 5:00 on Fridays so he couldn't even wait inside until we got there or wait for a phone call. Thankfully, he left me a message that he was going to the student center to get something to eat so I could find him. He did not sound happy. I can't say that I blame him. It was cold, it was dark, and he couldn't reach me. :(
It's funny to me now but this is the conversation I had with the kids on the way as I raced down the road like a mad woman. It's a very good thing that I didn't get pulled over because in our haste to leave, I'd left my purse at home along with my driver's license. Here's what I told them, "Kids, your Daddy is going to be in a very bad mood when we show up because Mommy forgot to come pick him up. So what I need you to do is be on your absolute best behavior, ok? No talking, hollering, or carrying on. No arguing, fussing, or fighting. No talking back or anything. Do you understand? Daddy's patience is going to be very thin so please do me a favor and be especially good. Got it?" Of course, they all 3 agreed.
I was hoping Justin would be waiting for us outside the library although, I admit, I was not in any hurry to get the chastisement that I deserved. Of course, he wasn't. So, our motley crew with mismatched pajamas (a Thanksgiving top with Christmas bottoms), shoes on the wrong feet, no shoes at all, and no coats traipsed across Harding's campus to the student center. Justin was just about to sit down as we came through the door. He was up.set. At first he didn't say much of anything. I think the food did him some good. Have you heard of HALT before? It's an acronym for when not to fight...when you're hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. HALT has probably saved our marriage at least a few times. lol
Anyway, needless to say, I was altogether ready to put this horrible, no-good, very bad day to rest. This was not at all how I expected my Friday night to go. I had looked forward to having Justin come home to a tidy living room where we would all happily decorate our small, fiber-optic Christmas tree (This is what happens when you leave ALL of your Christmas decorations 583 miles away. Ok, you can stop laughing now.) while listening to Christmas music. I'd pop some popcorn and see if we had any hot cocoa. It was going to be a magical time. So much for that idea!
Oh, well. Life happens. Just another wild and crazy day in the Lillard household! I guess I should be used to it by now. But today, I say that it's all the van's fault. That makes perfect sense, right? ;)
The beginning of the day was pretty uneventful other than not feeling well at all. Sore throat, "achiness", sinus congestion. In fact, Sadie and I stayed in our pajamas most of the day and I even laid down with her and took a brief nap. Brief meaning 15-20 minutes, tops. That's not exactly my definition of a nap, but nonetheless I was thankful for even the slightest bit of rest.
The bad news started with a phone call from the mechanic in regards to our van. It's been in the shop since Tuesday and is still there now. We'd talked to him earlier in the week and the repair was going to be right around $100. Not the best news ever, but as I said, it could be much, much worse. Well, his call this time was to inform us that we also needed a new starter. That bumped the repair cost up to nearly $400! Now again, I'm trying to keep a positive attitude. It could be worse. Our van is paid for so in the end, this is still cheaper than a car payment every month. What really irritated me about the whole thing is that we just spent around $275 three weeks ago to have the belts changed. Ugh!
So, with money woes on my mind (and a new found disgust for our van) Sadie and I left (in our Crown Vic) to pick the boys up from school. As I pulled up, the assistant principal met me at the door and informed me that they'd had an incident involving our kindergartner, Josiah. Apparently, he got upset with his brother, Jackson, for running in the hall and not listening when Josiah told him to stop so he hit him. Then he proceeded to pitch a fit. It WAS unintentional but while pitching his fit, he stomped on Jackson's teacher's foot and while swinging his arms around, hit her in the stomach with his elbow. His punishment was to be either a paddling or suspension on Monday. Even the thought that a kindergartner could be suspended is just beyond me...particularly one of my children! I was a straight A student. I graduated with the 8th highest grade-point average of my entire class, was in National Honor's Society and Beta club. I would never dream of doing anything that could result in suspension! And I just keep thinking, he's in kindergarten. He's 5 years old, for goodness sake! I don't blame the administration. Rules are rules and they must be consistent to be effective. We opted for a paddling. I think he learned his lesson.
As if that weren't enough, Jackson's speech teacher stopped me on our way out to make me aware of an incident that Jackson had at school yesterday. Frankly, I would have rather heard about this the day that it happened. It seemed like a big enough deal that I would have received a phone call. I'll spare you the details in an effort to protect him from embarrassment (not that he cares right now, but someday he may read this. ;) and because it really isn't necessary to communicate my stress level, which is the whole point of this lengthy tale. Suffice it to say, he did something of great concern that needs to be addressed immediately to keep it from escalating. Not exactly news that a mother likes to hear ever, but particularly on a Friday.
On the drive home, I just kept thinking, "I'm gonna have to make sure I tell Justin about this when he gets home from work." I called my grandmother and chatted for a little while and then got busy cleaning the living room. It got to be about 5:15 and I kept waiting for Justin to come through the door. I decided to go ahead and vaccuum while waiting. At 5:30 he still wasn't home and I started to think something was wrong. My next thoughts (spoken out loud) went something like this, "I wonder where he could be. He should be home by now. He would have called if there was an emer....Oh, crap! I have the car! I was supposed to pick him up at 5:00! Kids! Get in the car! We have to go get your Daddy!" With Sadie in her mismatched pajamas and her shoes on the wrong feet, Jackson without ANY socks OR shoes on, and none of the three with a coat we raced out the door. I grabbed the phone so I could try to call him on the way to let him know we were coming and would be there shortly when I noticed I had 3 new voice mail messages. Two were from Justin. As if that weren't bad enough, he had left his office key at home that morning (easy to see how he forgot it when you consider that it's normally on his key ring which I now had because I had his car). The library also closes at 5:00 on Fridays so he couldn't even wait inside until we got there or wait for a phone call. Thankfully, he left me a message that he was going to the student center to get something to eat so I could find him. He did not sound happy. I can't say that I blame him. It was cold, it was dark, and he couldn't reach me. :(
It's funny to me now but this is the conversation I had with the kids on the way as I raced down the road like a mad woman. It's a very good thing that I didn't get pulled over because in our haste to leave, I'd left my purse at home along with my driver's license. Here's what I told them, "Kids, your Daddy is going to be in a very bad mood when we show up because Mommy forgot to come pick him up. So what I need you to do is be on your absolute best behavior, ok? No talking, hollering, or carrying on. No arguing, fussing, or fighting. No talking back or anything. Do you understand? Daddy's patience is going to be very thin so please do me a favor and be especially good. Got it?" Of course, they all 3 agreed.
I was hoping Justin would be waiting for us outside the library although, I admit, I was not in any hurry to get the chastisement that I deserved. Of course, he wasn't. So, our motley crew with mismatched pajamas (a Thanksgiving top with Christmas bottoms), shoes on the wrong feet, no shoes at all, and no coats traipsed across Harding's campus to the student center. Justin was just about to sit down as we came through the door. He was up.set. At first he didn't say much of anything. I think the food did him some good. Have you heard of HALT before? It's an acronym for when not to fight...when you're hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. HALT has probably saved our marriage at least a few times. lol
Anyway, needless to say, I was altogether ready to put this horrible, no-good, very bad day to rest. This was not at all how I expected my Friday night to go. I had looked forward to having Justin come home to a tidy living room where we would all happily decorate our small, fiber-optic Christmas tree (This is what happens when you leave ALL of your Christmas decorations 583 miles away. Ok, you can stop laughing now.) while listening to Christmas music. I'd pop some popcorn and see if we had any hot cocoa. It was going to be a magical time. So much for that idea!
Oh, well. Life happens. Just another wild and crazy day in the Lillard household! I guess I should be used to it by now. But today, I say that it's all the van's fault. That makes perfect sense, right? ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment