a long long day

Try as I might, I can seldom get Quinn and Reilly up before 11:30am. I haven't decided whether this is because we homeschool, or if it's the reason we homeschool. I'm fairly casual about it because hell, I get a lot done in those quiet morning hours. But every other week I see Scott at 11:00am, and on alternating weeks it's 2:00pm. The 11 o'clock mornings are quite the scramble, no matter what time I put the little darlings to bed. In fact last night, in preparation for today's early session, I let Reilly spend the night at my mom's, so she'd already be there, and truth be told, Quinn is a bit easier to roust than his sister.

Imagine my surprise when I was awakened at 5:00am today by my smiling son, all showered and happy, and already done with his chores. He was hoping for some extra game time, to which I consented, and, since I am both a nightowl and an early bird, I got up and made a wicked to-do list. By 6:00am I had already vacuumed my car, done all the laundry, dusted the house, and mailed the New Years cards. I was really pretty pleased with myself, but dreading the day ahead, as I had appointments at 11:00 and 4:00pm, and would be marooned downtown for four hours. Ugh. I needed a calendar, so I planned to peruse the Book Bin for several hours, but was so frustrated by the selection (all kittens and outhouses [???]) that I grabbed the only suitable option (Hawaii), and fled. I was so smart, I drove v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y up Commercial to Lifesource to get a salad, but suddenly they're like $25.00/lb., so I left. Next up was Fred Meyer to buy impulse earrings and a gift for a friend, which was supposed to take at least an hour but somehow I was out of there in 12 minutes. I sauntered to my car, and got a text from a friend. Behind the wheel, I opted to relax and enjoy my text chat, hoping it would stretch out for two hours. At some point I decided that reclining my seat would make the chat oh so comfy, and uh, the next thing I knew, I was startled awake by a text from Pamela saying "I totally overslept today." I was so disoriented I just stared at it, groggily thinking maybe I had typed it myself, having just awakened from a very unexpected nap. We had casually spoken earlier of meeting for coffee, but none of that made sense to me in the moment. I just lay there, reclined, completely unaware of the fact that I was still at Fred Meyer, and had just slept there for two hours. It was as though I was a castaway, alone in the car, with no one around. Both liberating, especially since I devoured my ration of two Twix bars (shhh...), and frightening, because I was afraid that if I raised my seat, everyone in Salem would know that I was passed out in the parking lot like some hobo. Then Gab texted to remind me of my 4:00 appointment, so I bolted upright, and blasted the heat to thaw the icicles on my fingers. I still had 45 minutes, so I crept further up Commercial to get a bean burrito at Muchas Gracias. Sometimes they just give me the burrito, sometimes they give me the kids meal, sometimes it's $2.15, and sometimes it's $4.85. It's a roll of the dice, but it was life or death. Suddenly, at long last, I was actually in a hurry to make my appointment, since I always forget where it is, despite having been there yesterday. So I careened downtown, gobbling the messiest burrito in documented history, glops everywhere, curious passersby EVERYWHERE, but I made it just in time. Two hours later I was headed home to dive into disc one of Lost, season 4, which we have all been frothing over. Approximately 80 episodes in, a friend texted and wanted to meet, and I lept at the chance because I was eager to give her her misshapen, hideous gift. She was quite and gracious, though as Jacob says, I know she went home and spit it into her napkin. (It is not edible, fyi.)

I just walked in, and cleaned the living room, and got some things ready to mail, and sorted laundry, and decided to post this stream-of-consciousness crap. I am so ashamed to have napped at Fred Meyer. I may as well have curled up on one of their three-foot display beds. But it ate up two hours, so get off my back.

Believe it or not, I'm not ready for bed. There's still folding and wiping aplenty, and then perhaps I'll lie down. It feels like I've endured Chinese sleep torture, and yet my engine's still humming. It was great to have the extra two hours, and I've almost convinced myself that the nap never happened, but all the same, if my son ever wakes up at 5:00am again, I'm locking him inside one of my new ottomans...and I'm keeping the other one, along with a blanket, in my car.