Day #1 - The New Reality

It's almost 8 a.m. and another morning is slipping out of my hands. Is this my new reality??

I thought that the return of school would do something positive for my organizational skills. Instead, it just managed to throw the routines that were finally falling into place all out of whack.

I have been ready, willing and able to start my bookkeeping tasks at 8 a.m. for four out of the past six mornings. Yesterday? Not.

8:00 a.m. - I remembered that I had forgotten to make a lunch for My Youngest. Of course I was out of the routine, so none of my little shortcuts were in place. It took at least twice as long as it should have taken. Ten minutes ... lost.

8:10 a.m. - The phone rang. My first day back in daycare mode and I thought "Oh no! It's starting already". But I was wrong. It was my bookkeeping boss calling for my hours. We talked 'work' until my daycare charge arrived at ...

8:20 a.m. - My one and only daycare responsibility arrived. I haven't seen him or his mom since June, so we had lots of details to exchange and talk about.

8:40 a.m. - I walked the boys to school. With each of them loaded down with a full and heavy back pack plus a plastic bag full of the excess, I thought they could use some assistance. Plus, this is why I'm working from home. To be able to do these 'little things'.

9:00 a.m. - I had to come home and 'blog a bit' about my morning's musings.

9:20 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. - I worked. I was concentrating, accomplishing the task set out before me and moving right along. It was going to be a very good day.

11:45 a.m. - My stomach had been rumbling for at least a half hour. It was time to toast a bagel. To work while I ate? Or to take a 15 minute break? That was the question.

11:45 - 12:15 p.m. - A half hour break won. I had budgeting ideas floating in my head and I took the time to scribble them down and see if they made as much sense on paper, as they did in my head.

12:18 p.m. - A call from my typing job. Could I come in at 1:00? Sure.

12:19 p.m. - Second Son comes home bearing coffee and lunch for us. The coffee looked wonderful and I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd already eaten. So I ate a second lunch. We visited until I had to leave for my typing job.

1:00 - 3:10 p.m. - I worked at my second job. I messed something up right as it was time to leave and I had to stay and fix it.

3:15 p.m. - I raced home to arrive moments before My Son, my daycare charge and two of my son's friends came home from school. My Youngest was the happiest and most animated that he has been since the last day of school. He didn't want to return to school ... but it was the best thing for him.

3:45 - 5:45 p.m. - Back to my bookkeeping. Finally!!!

5:45 - 6:35 p.m. - Supper break. I took out hamburger and Second Son spiced it up, formed the patties and BBQ'd it. I put fries in the oven. Voila! A meal.

6:35 - 7:25 p.m. - Back to the books. See how much I can do before ....

7:25 p.m. - I ran over to My Oldest's home to drive him to the place where he just bought a car. Filled my car up with extra tires that went with the car deal, back home again and we took time to admire My Oldest's shiny new black Cadillac.

8:30 - 11:45 p.m. - Back to the books. Again. The house was finally quiet. The phone didn't ring. I didn't have to stop for nourishment. No one asked anything else of me. I worked. Until one portion of a labor intensive task was complete.

12:30 a.m. - I closed my eyes.

5:45 a.m. - I opened my eyes.

I've been flitting from one task to the next all morning. It is now 8:30 a.m. and I'm back to where I was this time yesterday.

It's a new day. I don't need to help the kids with excessive school supplies this morning. I have a new bookkeeping task to tend. I don't expect a call from my typing job. I should be able to work at a steady pace and finish my work before supper.

That is the plan. But we'll see what this second day of my new reality brings ...