Note to Self: STAY HOME IN THE MORNINGS

Birthday cake for the Feast of Our Lady's Nativity

After this third week of the academic year, I have a little reminder to self: Do not schedule any medical or other appointments during morning hours unless the kid has AN EMERGENCY. Preferably, schedule no appointments from September through May. Keep the schedule wide open until 2:00 daily: self, have I been clear enough?! 

MONDAY

I thought we could take a federal holiday off from homeschooling. I thought a homeschool could occasionally take a break. 

So foolish, so naïve, eleven years of homeschooling experience ignored. 

I hosted afternoon tea on Monday. In the early years, I frequently hosted afternoon tea as a way to gather us together, use nice dishes, eat something home-baked, while I read aloud. Nowadays, afternoon "tea" looks like Mama spontaneously making popcorn, which I serve on paper plates, and grabbing something random to read aloud (today, a saint story, not a classic novel that takes us all month) . . . but the love is still there!

TUESDAY

Unable to teach elementary homeschool grades because I had to take a child to what ended up being a two-hour medical appointment in the morning. 

I did what I could at home, then hauled the boys with me to do schooling while we waited outside a sibling’s piano lesson. 

Rushed home just in time to pick up son and drive him to work. 

Made dinner, evening routine, I think I put in an extra neighborhood walk. 

WEDNESDAY

Up at 5:30 . . . Out with dogs by 6:00

Computer work, serve breakfast, teach elementary homeschool for about one measly hour.

Pack up lunches and oversee backpacks being packed. Notice that every room looks like a bomb has gone off. Instead of choosing to see creativity and a life well lived, I chose to storm around yelling about how nobody appreciates their belongings.

11:00 Drop off child for Algebra class

Pick up class supplies at Harris Teeter (and witness a shoplifting take-down).

Take five other children to a park because it would take too long to drive home and drive back.

12:00 Drop off three children at babysitter's home.

12:15 Arrive at co-op with two kids, teach my class till 1:30. Lesson planning just for my Literature class is taking 10-15 hours per week, which is entirely unsustainable. But what is the alternative? That is simply how long it takes this rattled brain of mine to show up and talk coherently for one hour. If I tell myself I can only afford 1-2 hours of lesson planning for Literature class, then I won't have anything to say to my students whose parents paid good money for them to be there.

Pick up meds at hospital pharmacy. (I was there last week, this week, and will need to go there next week.)

2:00 Pick up three kids at babysitter's home, go home, try to teach elementary homeschool but my brain is fried, make dinner instead while they rot their brains in front of a TV.

5:00 Chris picks up one child from church, leaves two there

Chris and kid eat dinner in five minutes, then leave for hockey

7:00-8:00 Mama gathers up elementary kids for homeschooling . . . two hours of work in the whole day isn't anywhere near enough, since schooling those three grades takes about six hours daily (including our lunch break). :(

7:45 Chris returns hockey kid to home, then departs for church.

8:15 Chris picks up two kids from church evening events.

After bedtime, Mama starts lesson planning for Literature at next week's co-op.

THURSDAY

Up at 5:30, etc. Served breakfast. Took dogs and kids on walk while Thomas wept as he trudged down the road: A mama has to have a heart of stone to force Physical Therapy (which our daily walk is).

Sitting to rest often on our 1/2-mile walk

Able to teach school for about one insufficient hour.

10:45 Take Thomas to doctor's appointment, drop him off at home, go to the non-hospital pharmacy and grocery store, home around 1:00

Home for one hour of "putting out fires" before departing 2:00-4:00 at a school-planning meeting.  My teaching two subjects over four classes isn't enough, so I'm also going to co-teach another class.

Home just in time for Thomas to injure his foot, which maybe is broken. Get him settled down and leave for 20 minutes to drive John to work. 

Arrive home at the same time as husband, who agrees to take Thomas to Urgent Care.

The house is trashed. Every table and surface area is a mountain of stuff because people just set stuff down. The floors are covered in detritus. Laundry is piling up because I can manage only about two loads daily when I'm this busy (and that ain't enough).

Make spaghetti and meatballs that is served an hour and a half late.

Serve birthday cakes that my 11-year-old so graciously baked (one full-sugar, one for Thomas) to celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lady.

Mary was gone at a nighttime babysitting gig. (All week, we are juggling one kid doing a pet sitting job twice daily, another kid housesitting for one neighbor, and a third kid doing housesitting for a separate neighbor.)

Chris brings Thomas home because they couldn't even have seen him till 10:00 p.m. We will go back on Friday, if necessary.

You know, Friday, when I'm teaching all morning, and there are already kids being driven (by Chris, thankfully!) to three afternoon events . . . 

8:00 p.m. bedtime routine, folding several loads of laundry, and then 10:00 p.m. lesson planning for teaching three classes of music tomorrow. Have I mentioned that I have no one formal music education and my elementary school would not let me into the choir when I auditioned due to my voice?

Weekend Plans

SO MUCH MAKE-UP SCHOOL!