Weekend

 Yikes!

Yesterday was rough. It was one of those days where it felt like the universe was conspiring against me. From the moment I woke up I was putting out fires and quell anxieties. I certainly hope that today is better because I don't think I can tolerate another day like yesterday. Today will be better because it has to be better!

Robby has his enrichment classes today, so the majority of my morning will be spent playing chauffeur to our resident teen. I'm so relieved that it is Friday. I have been so busy this week that I now feel like my house is closing in on me. I need to spend several hours decluttering and organizing. School has been in session for a month but I still feel like I am treading water. 

In addition to organizing and cleaning, I will spend Sunday (weather permitting) listing to Robby's band rock out at our local amphitheater. Unfortunately the meteorologists are calling for heavy downpours on Sunday so I am not confident that he will actually take the stage. Fingers crossed because I know he is really looking forward to it.

Muddy

In a year full of lasts, yesterday Scott was able to tick another milestone off of his list. He participated in his final Back-to-School Night as a teacher. Staying at the school until 8 pm makes for a very long day and I know that he will not miss this mandatory event. Although he was tired when he came home, he was also smiling with the knowledge that he would never have to do it again.

With Scott busy at school all day and evening I held down the fort at home. Timmy is doing beautifully in school. Although he offers an obligatory complaint each morning before logging in, he is smiling and engaged throughout the day. Robby is clicking his way through his assignments, eagerly anticipating the end of his Senior year. 

After a week of strong afternoon thunderstorms with heavy downpours, today we are supposed to remain clear and dry. I'm really hoping that the reprieve will help to dry up our yard because it resembles more of a mud pit right now. Little Friend comes in from his walks and his little feet and tummy are covered with icky muck. He is not amused!

Not only is the mud miserable to look at and clean-up after, it is a slipping hazard. Between the mud, the wet leaves and the nuts, I am tiptoeing through a slip and fall minefield each time I go outside. Every year I seem to slip and fall on either the leaves or the nuts. I would like to avoid this painful tradition.

Hectic

Every year since Robby was born we have honored 9/11 by delivering cookies to our local fire station. Our simple gesture has become our tradition. It is my way to connect the boys to an event that feels very personal to their dad and me. It is hard to fathom that 25% of people in this country were born before 9/11. 

Now I feel very old.

Mondays are going to be hectic, and that I need to better prepare for the beginning of the week. Yesterday was chaotic, frustrating and exhausting. I was either driving or working from the moment I woke up until I finally went to bed at 10. I don't mind the time in the car with Robby, but that is time that I am away from work which needs to be made up at another time. I spent most of yesterday in a perpetual loop of catch-up.  This weekend I am going to do a better job of setting myself up for success on Mondays. I don't want another one like yesterday!

While yesterday was crazy busy, today will be normal and relatively laid back. I don't have to drive anywhere, so I will be able to focus on work and tasks around the house. I have no fear of running out of things to do and becoming bored. 

 

9/11

 Unlike other years, this semester Robby will be going to his enrichment school twice a week. While he is ecstatic, I am less than enthusiastic with the extra driving. I know that I will come to cherish our time together in the car, but that doesn't mean that it isn't difficult to juggle in the present. This is the first week with our new schedule and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it is manageable. 

This past weekend was miserable! We had a wicked storm roll through the area on Friday, dropping nearly 5 inches of rain within 2 hours. We lost a small tree but were spared the widespread damage experienced by so many of our neighbors. Our power was knocked out but it was restored before cell phone batteries died so a crisis was averted.

Saturday we had another round of strong storms sweep through, dropping another 3 inches of rain. All totaled we had over 8 inches of rain throughout the weekend. Our yard has been transformed into a leaf-littered mud pit. Even Friend doesn't want to go outside right now.

Yesterday the boys and I baked cookies for our traditional 9/11 firehouse visit. As I was pulling the last tray out of the oven it occurred to me that this may be the last year that Robby goes to the firehouse with me. Next year he may be in college or working and he may not be around. That realization brought tears to my eyes but I quickly did my best to swallow them back down. This is going to be a difficult year if I cry every time another milestone or tradition passes.