FlashBack Friday: Is It Monday Yet?

I know what you're thinking: Don't rush the weekend! I get it, I do. But now that my two oldest children have grown and left the nest, and my youngest spends every other weekend with his dad, some weekends can be a little too quiet, and it almost makes me miss the days of when I wrote this blog post back on May 6, 2011 ...  Almost.
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May 6, 2011

Is It Monday Yet?

I know most people will wake up this morning and say TGIF. But more and more, I find myself counting the hours until it's Monday again. As the weekend approaches, I look to my calendar and am faced with a familiar dilemma: how in the world will I get my kids to all of their activities and events, manage to get the grocery shopping done, do the laundry, get the house presentable enough for our company, and have a relaxing weekend?

My calendar looks something like this:

Saturday:

-Child#1 has a Bat Mitzvah to attend – needs to be there by 9:30am

-Child #1 needs to be picked up at 11:30am

-Child #2 has dance from noon to 1:00pm

-Child #3 is a tag-a-long

Sounds easy enough right? However, my Saturday, will most likely end up something like this:

I drop #1 off at 9:30. I come home, jump in the shower, make a shopping list, wake #2 up, get child #3 dressed, straighten up the house a little and generally feel calm that I have everything under control.

I take #2 with me at 11:15 to pick up #1. I figure I can drop #2 at dance on my way back, and I feel a sense of accomplishment that I can pick up/drop off on one trip. I plan on going to the grocery store in between drop off and pick up from dance. Child #1 will just have to come with me. I mentally prepare myself for teenage attitude.

Halfway into the drive, #1 texts me to say the Bat Mitzvah service is running late and can I come in twenty minutes instead? (Of course he uses all abbreviations and I have to pull over and spend the next five minutes deciphering his text.) I drop #2 off at dance and head over to the synagogue to wait and strategize as to when I can go grocery shopping for my company, who should be arriving at my house soon.

I wait in the parking lot of the synagogue another fifteen minutes before #1 comes out. There is definitely no time to shop, nor is their time to go home. We drive over to dance where we wait another 10 minutes for #2 to come out. It is now 1:00.

After successfully gathering #1 and #2, I race to the grocery store with three hungry children in tow and manage to get everything on my list while fighting off several attempts at “can we get this?”

We head home. My company (aka my parents who live out of state and just drove 3.5 hours) have arrived. They look hungry. I quickly unload the groceries and throw together some lunch. Nothing fancy, but food none the less.

By the time we finish eating and cleaning up, it is nearly 3:30. Normally, #1 and #2 would have asked if they could go over someone’s house or get a ride to the park or the mall by now, but because Nana and Papa are here, I know that my car and I can get a little break. But not for long.

At 5 o’clock, I need to drive #2 over to her friend’s house for a birthday party/sleepover. At 6 o’clock I need to drive #1 and some other kids over to the party from the morning Bat Mitzvah. The party is a half hour away. I get lost. (Luckily, one of the other children’s parents is driving everyone home.) I am grateful my parents are over, otherwise I would have had to take #3 along for all these rides.

I finally make it back home and collapse on the couch, unable to form complete sentences with my company. The next day will most likely be more of the same.

I am thankful #3 is too young to play T-ball this season and wondering exactly how I can squeeze a taxi service into our budget – oh wait, that’s me…