Occasionally, I have times in my life when I'm certain that Igor has handed over the Abby Normal brain to Gene Wilder to install in my cranium.
This is one of those times.
I have a confession to make. I forgot that my parents were coming this weekend. I forgot to tell my husband that my parents were coming this weekend. In the land of married couples and in-laws, I have broken Ape Law.
Granted, we've been so preoccupied lately that I'm surprised I remember to wipe, much less anything else. I keep four (yes, count'em... FOUR) calendars updated so I can find out where I'm supposed to be at any given time. But sometimes, things slip through the cracks.
This was a mighty big crack. (insert lame joke here)
Top 3 Good Things:
1. My parents are staying in a hotel this time. Yes, I love having them stay at the house and I hate having them incur the additional expense, but sometimes space is a good thing.
2. My house will get clean before they come. In fact, with my mother, it will probably be even more clean when they leave.
3. The kids will get time with their grandparents.
Top 3 Bad Things:
1. I have to find time this week to clean my house.
2. My garage clutter is embarrassing.
3. I haven't even taken down my Christmas decorations yet.
So... I'm off to make my oh-my-god-my-parents-will-be-here-in-2-days to-do list. If I'm not back in a week, send a search party.
Showing posts with label Stress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stress. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Monday, November 19, 2007
What a Monday
This past weekend was a productive one in the Nerd Clan household. It was our daughter's 11th birthday. My parents came 'round to redecorate her room into one a little more "mature". The bubblegum pink walls were covered in a muted green. Grown-up, floor-length curtains covered the windows. All of the little girl toys went to one of three places: keepsake storage, giveaway box, or the garbage.
Sunday was spent finishing up a few odds and ends, but it was mostly restful and quiet.
Monday started relatively well. The brand-new 11-year-old was staying home with a cold, and Avindair was going to stay home with her.
"We'll snuggle on the couch and watch movies," he said. "It'll be a nice father-daughter day."
In my rush to get ready for work, Avindair offered to let me take his car. The one with the heated front seats.
"It'll be a treat. I'll even run out and get it warmed up for you."
Minutes later he came back in... an edge to his voice."Someone smashed our passenger side window."
Crap.
I threw on my shoes and ran out to the car. It was smashed in, all right. With a blank space on the windshield where our 2-month old portable GPS used to be. Nothing else was touched.
Our insurance company, Geico, was fantastic. One phone call and they made an appointment for a glass company to come out today and fix it in our driveway.
The police came to make a report. It was a little bit of a relief to find out that we weren't alone. Four home in our neighborhood got hit that they knew of so far. No one suspected until this morning. The NerdHound didn't even wake up. Of course, we're so used to the sounds of teenagers roaming the streets at all hours of the night (even though our suburb has a curfew), that I suppose we've become accustomed to a certain level of noise. At least we could take some comfort in the fact that we weren't singled out.
What now? Tony's father-daughter sick day has turned into "fix things and make the house secure" day.
1. An electrician is coming out today to install motion-detection lighting on the garage. We had our lights on, but according to the police, the motion-detection lights are a great deterrent for any future problems.
2. 1-800 Got Junk is coming out to haul away our remodeling refuse so that the cars can go back in the garage.
3. The auto glass place is coming to fix the car window.
One good thing, we were able to provide the police with the serial number for the GPS. If the thieves try to sell it at a pawn shop, we might be able to piss on their day just a little bit, too.
Now all we need to do is put signs around the house reading, "TRESPASSERS WILL BE SHOT". You think the neighbors will object?
Sunday was spent finishing up a few odds and ends, but it was mostly restful and quiet.
Monday started relatively well. The brand-new 11-year-old was staying home with a cold, and Avindair was going to stay home with her.
"We'll snuggle on the couch and watch movies," he said. "It'll be a nice father-daughter day."
In my rush to get ready for work, Avindair offered to let me take his car. The one with the heated front seats.
"It'll be a treat. I'll even run out and get it warmed up for you."
Minutes later he came back in... an edge to his voice."Someone smashed our passenger side window."
Crap.
I threw on my shoes and ran out to the car. It was smashed in, all right. With a blank space on the windshield where our 2-month old portable GPS used to be. Nothing else was touched.
Our insurance company, Geico, was fantastic. One phone call and they made an appointment for a glass company to come out today and fix it in our driveway.
The police came to make a report. It was a little bit of a relief to find out that we weren't alone. Four home in our neighborhood got hit that they knew of so far. No one suspected until this morning. The NerdHound didn't even wake up. Of course, we're so used to the sounds of teenagers roaming the streets at all hours of the night (even though our suburb has a curfew), that I suppose we've become accustomed to a certain level of noise. At least we could take some comfort in the fact that we weren't singled out.
What now? Tony's father-daughter sick day has turned into "fix things and make the house secure" day.
1. An electrician is coming out today to install motion-detection lighting on the garage. We had our lights on, but according to the police, the motion-detection lights are a great deterrent for any future problems.
2. 1-800 Got Junk is coming out to haul away our remodeling refuse so that the cars can go back in the garage.
3. The auto glass place is coming to fix the car window.
One good thing, we were able to provide the police with the serial number for the GPS. If the thieves try to sell it at a pawn shop, we might be able to piss on their day just a little bit, too.
Now all we need to do is put signs around the house reading, "TRESPASSERS WILL BE SHOT". You think the neighbors will object?
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Summer Stressing
Ideally, summer is that time of year that we all get to relax. Kids are out of school. The weather is beautiful. Life is good.
For someone like me that works from home, summer comes with mixed blessings.
First, when the sky is blue and the sun is shining, it makes concentrating on work much harder. You might think its the same for everyone that works. Not quite. I don't have a manager breathing down my neck or a finite number of vacation days, true. On the other hand, I have to maintain the discipline to stay at my desk instead of, say, planting flowers or jetting out for a bike ride.
Second, the kids are home. I love them being home, but it also means frequent interruptions. Just as much as I need to concentrate on work, I also want them to enjoy their summer. Some days it's incredibly easy. I get up early and get a lot of work done before they wake up. Then they are off and running with one friend or another. Then there are the days of, "No, I don't have time to take you to a friend's house." or "I said, no computers." or "What are you doing inside? Go out in the yard!"
Days like today stress me out. Up early, prepared for a conference call. Did the hour-long conference call. Had one hour to work before the kids got up. My son had made plans the night before to see Superman Returns with friends. My daughter got a call from a friend who wanted to come over and play (but would need ME to do the driving since her dad was working - hey! me too!). On the work side, I have a month's-worth of articles to finish for my big client by Friday, potential clients to call, current clients to follow up with, plus a huge business networking event to prepare for to be at by 5pm.
Still with me?
Since my son wouldn't be home from the movie until 6pm, I had to have him nix those plans due to the business event. He handled the news very well, but I could tell he was disappointed. Since I have my work to do, I can't run around picking up playmates for my daughter. I'm having to tell her no today - so she's feeling a little put out. (No matter how you explain it, a 9-year-old just doesn't fully comprehend why Mom can't take time away from the computer sometimes.) Now I'm trying to prioritize the rest of my to-do's.
Did I mention that my daughter is also supposed to have soccer practice tonight?
This is one of the tough days.
When I reach the point where I think I'm just about to explode into a million little super balls - I sit back, do some lamaze breathing (it really works wonders - and not just in the delivery room), and try to remember the good things:
1. Even with the constant need for self-discipline, I am thankful for every day that I remain on my own in business. I get to make my own hours, make my own dress code and be my own boss. That's worth its weight in gold.
2. I get more time with my kids now than I ever did when I did the corporate 8-5. There was some days I saw my kids a total of 2 hours. That's shameful. Even at its worst, I still cherish every moment with them.
3. I have a fantastic husband that supports everything I do. And if I just remember to ask him to help instead of trying to carry the weight on my own shoulders all the time, he'll do anything for me in a heartbeat.
4. Cut out everything that isn't absolutely necessary. Sure, the laundry needs to be done, we need lightbulbs and milk, I'd love to get a quick manicure for the big event, etc. But can it wait? Can I get by without doing those things? Yeah. I can. The list of "would like to-do" is often far, FAR longer than "absolutely need to-do".
*breathe in* *breathe out* *breathe in* *breathe out*
Yeah. I'll make it.
For someone like me that works from home, summer comes with mixed blessings.
First, when the sky is blue and the sun is shining, it makes concentrating on work much harder. You might think its the same for everyone that works. Not quite. I don't have a manager breathing down my neck or a finite number of vacation days, true. On the other hand, I have to maintain the discipline to stay at my desk instead of, say, planting flowers or jetting out for a bike ride.
Second, the kids are home. I love them being home, but it also means frequent interruptions. Just as much as I need to concentrate on work, I also want them to enjoy their summer. Some days it's incredibly easy. I get up early and get a lot of work done before they wake up. Then they are off and running with one friend or another. Then there are the days of, "No, I don't have time to take you to a friend's house." or "I said, no computers." or "What are you doing inside? Go out in the yard!"
Days like today stress me out. Up early, prepared for a conference call. Did the hour-long conference call. Had one hour to work before the kids got up. My son had made plans the night before to see Superman Returns with friends. My daughter got a call from a friend who wanted to come over and play (but would need ME to do the driving since her dad was working - hey! me too!). On the work side, I have a month's-worth of articles to finish for my big client by Friday, potential clients to call, current clients to follow up with, plus a huge business networking event to prepare for to be at by 5pm.
Still with me?
Since my son wouldn't be home from the movie until 6pm, I had to have him nix those plans due to the business event. He handled the news very well, but I could tell he was disappointed. Since I have my work to do, I can't run around picking up playmates for my daughter. I'm having to tell her no today - so she's feeling a little put out. (No matter how you explain it, a 9-year-old just doesn't fully comprehend why Mom can't take time away from the computer sometimes.) Now I'm trying to prioritize the rest of my to-do's.
Did I mention that my daughter is also supposed to have soccer practice tonight?
This is one of the tough days.
When I reach the point where I think I'm just about to explode into a million little super balls - I sit back, do some lamaze breathing (it really works wonders - and not just in the delivery room), and try to remember the good things:
1. Even with the constant need for self-discipline, I am thankful for every day that I remain on my own in business. I get to make my own hours, make my own dress code and be my own boss. That's worth its weight in gold.
2. I get more time with my kids now than I ever did when I did the corporate 8-5. There was some days I saw my kids a total of 2 hours. That's shameful. Even at its worst, I still cherish every moment with them.
3. I have a fantastic husband that supports everything I do. And if I just remember to ask him to help instead of trying to carry the weight on my own shoulders all the time, he'll do anything for me in a heartbeat.
4. Cut out everything that isn't absolutely necessary. Sure, the laundry needs to be done, we need lightbulbs and milk, I'd love to get a quick manicure for the big event, etc. But can it wait? Can I get by without doing those things? Yeah. I can. The list of "would like to-do" is often far, FAR longer than "absolutely need to-do".
*breathe in* *breathe out* *breathe in* *breathe out*
Yeah. I'll make it.
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