My Day

For some reason, I'm feeling really stressed today.

I recently decided to train for the half marathon in Richmond in November.  This summer has been really hard on my running.  I've spent the last three summers training for a half, and then two full marathons (although I switched to the half for the last one at the last second).  At any rate, for three summers in a row I had a purpose and a goal for my running.  Not having the time for that this summer has, well, sucked.

So, I decided to put the training on my calendar and see if I could make it work.  It's hard.  There are hundreds of other things I "should" be doing, yet I try to cram in a run whenever I can.  It's humid out.  Really, really humid.  And that is no fun to run in.  Especially by yourself.  When I was training the past three summers, it was with a group.  So, even though it was hot and sticky, it was just better when you threw in some socializing.  If I'm tired afterwards, my children don't care.  So, I have to keep going, even when I'm dying to just sit for a second.

Anyway, so I ran 4.5 miles today.  It was really yucky out.  I don't exactly get a lot of choices of times to run, and today it had to be done at 10am.  Not ideal.

After that I drank a shake, cooled down, took a shower and ran to go pick up Cooper from preschool camp.  I had to be out of the house, with Harlie by 12:30 to get her to her baha surgical follow-up appointment.  So, between the times of 12:00-12:30 I had to do the following:  pick up Cooper, make and feed Cooper his lunch, feed Rooney and take him out for a walk and make my own lunch.  My Mom came over to watch Cooper for me while I was gone.  Murphy was at Summer Blast till 2:30.  I knew I wouldn't make it to pick him up, so Tom had to go and get him and bring him home to my Mom.

In the process of making Cooper a hot dog and myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (only the best for us) I forgot to feed Rooney.  But I remembered to walk him, weird.  Anyway, I ran out with Harlie and my sandwich to rush off to our appointment.

I got there at 1:00 and signed in.  We sat there for an hour.  Not really unusual as far as appointments go.  But what kills me is what I had to do to get there by 1pm.  And for what????  I could have fed Rooney and walked him and not drove like a bat-outta-hell if I had to be there at 2. Grrrr.

Then at 2pm Harlie signs "potty."  For the second time in that hour.  We go into the restroom, which is out of the ENT's office and down the hall.  I would have told someone we were going, but no one was at the window at the time.  Anyway, someone had obviously thrown a dirty diaper in the trash in there.  So, that was a bonus.  Especially considering we spent 48 minutes in there.  FORTY-EIGHT MINUTES, FOLKS!!!

I wanted to come out of my skin.  Harlie was struggling.  And I felt bad for her - no doubt.  But honestly, I felt worse for ME!  I was so stressed.  I knew by then they had called our name and that our appointment time was long gone, filled by others.  And there was NOTHING I could do to help her.  It was awful.  I tried to distract myself by playing solitaire on my phone.  Do you know how many games you can play in 48 minutes?  Oh, and in that time do you know how many people tried the door, felt that it was locked, and STILL knocked?

I'm sorry, but yes, it is STILL occupied and I'm not happy about it, either!  One time I had to actually open the door - they knocked repeatedly and clearly weren't going away.  It was three small children.  And I had to tell them to get lost.  Okay, I was way nicer than that.  Although it was difficult to switch my attitude from completely annoyed at the knocker to nice when I found three small children, one of which was probably in the middle of potty training.  Poor kids.

Tom called while we were in there and I asked him if he gave her Miralax last night.  It's been determined that she has to have a daily dose of it.  Or this happens.  He says, no, he did not.  He thought I had switched the dose to the morning time.  Which I did a few weeks ago because of her antibiotics, but I had switched it back to nighttime again, and could have sworn I told him.  So, that means that she hasn't gotten it in a few nights.  At least.  OMG.  He also wanted to tell me about his lunch that was so good.  Some kind of really awesome salad.  From a restaurant.  Where he sat down in a chair and ate it.  Sorry, Tom, but I had a PB&J while I was driving, and I'm standing in a stinky hot bathroom, so now's not a good time to telling me about your delicious salad.

You'd think after five years we'd have stuff like this all figured out.  But, it's just not that easy.  And by the end of the night, we are both tired.  Which is why I make Tom do the night meds.  I hate doing her night meds.  With a passion.

Anyway, I'm sorry as I can be, but couldn't take it anymore.  I pulled her off the potty.  I mean, we could NOT sit in there all freaking day.  We returned to the waiting room to find a whole new set of patients waiting.  I suppose that happens in an hour's time.

I peeked through the glass in the door to see Ann, our audiologist.  I knocked on the window and when she saw me she said, "Oh, there you are! Where have you been?"  I told her I was trapped in a hot and smelly restroom, but I'm pretty sure that was obvious.  I suppose the one saving grace is that I could blame this all on my lovely, sweet daughter versus me.

They took us back within a few minutes.  And then the torture began.  It wasn't really that bad.  The doctor just had to clean the incision really good - since I clearly haven't been.  There is a really big scab on it.  And she said that the scab is covering the sutures and will slow down the healing process.  So, we need to gently try to remove it.  She covered it in some ointment and said we need to try to ease it off after soaking it in ointment for a while.

It took me bear hugging her and a nurse holding her legs and the doctor holding her head to get this accomplished.  Tom and I have been trying our best, but it's really hard for us to do this "activity" with her.

Then we left.  It was 3:20pm.  And I was hungry again.  The PB&J just didn't cut it.  And when I'm hungry, I get a little agitated.

So, I'm driving on a road that is two lanes.  Speed limit is 45.  And you know when there's a slow car in both lanes and they are spaced perfectly apart so that no one can get past either?  Yeah, so that happened.  I wished I was in a monster truck so I could run that poor woman over!  GRRRR!!!  They were both going 40.  Patience.  I have a lot of patience, right?

So, I get home.  Home sweet home.  With whining, fighting children and a TV and computer going at the same time.  So, I took Rooney for a walk.  I always get in a better mood when I take him for a walk.  It's really quite amazing.

We get about four/five houses down the block when somehow Rooney goes face first into a glob of melted gum.  Awesome.

So I had to try to get it off his face - with my bare hands.  Awesome-er.  So much for that walk!

That is at least the fourth run-in we've had with gum while walking Rooney.  The other times we just had to fish it out of his mouth.  Who knew there was so much gum laying around?  I guess that comes with living in a neighborhood full of children.

Tom called on his way home and said he is going to make a super delicious dinner for me and we are going to eat it after the kids are in bed.  And we are going to drink wine with it.  It's an impromptu in-house date night.  I already feel better.  And maybe I won't be mad at him anymore. Since our 48-minute bathroom stay was mostly his fault.  ;-)

So, that was my day.  So far.  It's only 6:30.

More later!
~Christy