Yesterday I went through my long list of errands and crossed them off one by one. Dental appointment for me (it’s been two years since my last cleaning). Flu shot appointments for the boys. Set up new e-mail account with new college (this turned out to be a twelve step process). Called the benefits office. RSVPed to two parties. Parking pass for new college. Haircut appointment for myself. Sent flight info to in-laws. Got tomorrow’s flight added on to the frequent flier miles. And so on. I really hate doing boring errands, so I horde them all up for one painful day. Yesterday was a Day O’ Pain.
I’m still figuring out the childcare situation for next semester. I thought that my older son was going to the after-school program at his school. Turns out there’s a wait list. There’s also a waitlist for Fridays at my younger son’s daycare, so I found a babysitter on Fridays, but she won’t be able to get to his pre-school until 11:40 and he gets out at 11:30. I still have to sign him up for one activity on Fridays, so he’s not stuck in the house for a whole afternoon with Theresa.
And then there’s next year.
Ian is aging out of his special education pre-school, which he gets for free through the public schools. It’s not entirely clear if he’s going to be ready for Kindergarten on time. His academic stuff is fine. More than fine. His speech is catching up, though we’re not quite there yet. He can use sentences to ask for things or talk about his books, but the sentences have to be short and he has to be calm. If it’s a complicated thought, his words come out like a telegram. “Mom. Ball. Hole. Basement. Come with me. Get it.” Translation — “Mom, I put my ball down the hole in the kitchen floor. It fell into the basement. I want you to stop making coffee and come with me to get it. Isn’t this a fun game? Let’s do it a hundred more times.” He also has trouble with transitions. He likes to play with other kids, but he doesn’t have the speech skills to chat. He has weak muscle tone in his hands. Ian would probably need an aide to help him out in a regular Kindergarten.
What’s the school going to do with him? Well, it’s all a big poker game. Nobody is showing their cards. It will be cheaper for the school to ship him out to a special school rather than keeping in a mainstream setting. This, of course, would be a really bad thing for Ian. I’m not sure what their plans are, because they don’t tell you anything until the last minute. However, I have some suspicions. After two years of this, I’ve learned to not explode when I sense foul play, which is hard when your kid is involved. “Smile and wave, boys. Smile and wave.” I just have to come up with alternative plans. Very expensive alternative plans. Plans that are going to involve not getting a new kitchen next year. There’s no way that the SD knows about this blog, but it’s probably best to shut my mouth right now.
Anyhow, the special education poker game sucked up a lot of time yesterday.
As much as I hate doing errands, I kind of enjoy reading other people talk about the stuff that sucks up time in their lives. Geeky Mom has been printing out all of her academic papers, because it’s easier to read hard copies. Ianqui says to consider the trees. I’ve moved towards keeping .pdf files of academic research and newspaper clippings. In the past, these papers and clippings took up vast amounts of space. My dissertation research is in three cardboard boxes in the attic. Now, everything is on my harddrive. Pros — space, searchable. Cons — easily lost, hard to make notes, hard to read.
As the holidays approach, the errands will increase, as will my grouchiness. Make me feel better. Tell me what’s on your chore list.
Apt. 11d 
My chore list is all cooking-related, aside from “Print out the midterms students have due at 5pm today.” Clean the kitchen, go shopping at as many stores as I have to, stop by Liquorama to get a bottle of Armagnac for the goose, get Special K on track for getting the living room and dining room habitable (his contribution to the holiday festivities).
And laundry. There’s always laundry.
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Last-minute laundry I forgot to do last night.
Putting out the trash.
Packing.
Picking up my son’s and my meds. I swear, I live in CVS. Between the two of us, we have 5 prescriptions.
Contacting the prospective college student (of my alma mater) I’m supposed to interview as part of the alumni network.
Calling Bank of America to see why they reinstated the fraudulent charges when I sent them an affadavit explaining that they were fraudulent. Hello, I was in Cape Cod that week. I did not buy tickets to India.
Write one more syllabus for Tuesday’s class.
I’ve done most of these already, but it’s been hell.
Have a great Thanksgiving!
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1. Finish the article review that is a month overdue.
2. Finish the article review that is a week overdue.
3. Write letter of recommendation that is ten days overdue.
4. Write letter of recommendation that is two days overdue.
5. Read draft thesis of mid-year student who needs comments by Monday. (At least that’s not overdue –yet.)
6. Grade papers submitted today. (Also not yet overdue!)
7. Go to the liquor store. (Move this to No. 1)
8. Go to the grocery store.
9. Answer all that unanswered email. Just kidding. Some things simply are not possible.
10. Wish all 11D readers a Happy Thanksgiving!
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“There’s no way that the SD knows about this blog, but it’s probably best to shut my mouth right now.”
Do you use an alias here or with the school district?
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Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
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My looming to-do’s are taking the kids photo for the Xmas card and then getting it to Shutterfly. Then fixing it. Then printing more. Then finding addresses. And mailing them.
And my husband really wants a good surprise from me for Christmas this year. Ugh. I hate trying to do that.
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Good grief, what’s NOT on my list? Paint a bedroom. Drain a sump pump. Buy some quarter-round to finish the new kitchen floor. Install a new doorknob on aforementioned bedroom’s door. Replace a hideous chandelier. Put back together the shelves that have been in storage for six months. Replace some bad piping exposed by the new tile put down in the bedroom. Buy drapes. Haul away an ungodly amount of trash. Move.
Not that I’m unhappy–far from it. All this work is going to be part of our best Thanksgiving ever.
Happy Thanksgiving Laura, and everyone!
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“Set up new e-mail account with new college (this turned out to be a twelve-step process)”
In which the first step is admitting that you want a new e-mail account?
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Hi, I’m Laura. And I need a new e-mail account. One day at a time. I’m finally admitting that AOL is stupid and I’m just clinging to the past. sob.
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Hi, I’m Doug. And I’m still using a domain from an ISP that hasn’t existed since the end of the twentieth century. It reminds me of my lost youth, startups I never joined, paper gains I never lost, hangovers that weren’t as bad as they are now, and at least one woman I didn’t marry. Some you win, some you lose.
What kind of bandwidth does the higher power have?
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