The First Week of School Crazies

The first week of school this year brought a special level of craziness to my life. I feel like I am taking crazy pills this week.

Some of it was the schedule that we chose to adopt this week. The boys attended two of the three CYO cross county practices that were offered this week. We attended an Iron Pigs (the local minor league baseball team) game on Saturday night and one on Thursday.

My very part-time job at the community college library started up again this week after being on break for the summer. So I worked an evening work shift on Monday and a 5.5 hour day shift on Thursday during the day.

On Monday, after putting the boys on the bus, I walked with a friend. On Tuesday, I went to my weight lifting focused exercise class so that I don’t lose muscle mass now that I am in my mid-40’s. I have also been trying to get in 10,000 steps a day because my doctor said my blood pressure was a little high at my last appointment.

Also Mr. Katie’s birthday was on Tuesday and so we had a special dinner out and cake. There were some preparations on my part, not a lot, but a few.

(Additionally, Mr. Katie also had a big audit at work this week that he has been preparing for all summer. While it did not directly affect me but I tried my best to be supportive.)

I traveled to my bank which isn’t in my town, but in Allentown because I had a banking need to work on Wednesday. On Wednesday, I traveled to blood testing lab because I needed a TB test for my community college job. Then I couldn’t get the test because my doctor didn’t order it at my last appointment so I had to call my doctor’s office to reschedule for another time. My dentist’s office also called with some questions for me on Wednesday.

I spend some time working my way through an intimidating large pile of paperwork that will allow me to a volunteer with the boys’ Sunday school program at our church.

I also spent time emailing my library director to figure out a new schedule for the coming year for in-person Quizzo. I also put a lot of mental energy into thinking about this.

On Wednesday, I also used some of the garden tomatoes on my counter to make tomato sauce so I could stop feeling guilty about them sitting there, not getting used up.

On Thursday, at my community college job, I remembered that I have a tuition benefit that I have not, as of yet, ever utilized so I spent some mental time wondering if I should take some classes. (Maybe there is a certificate that I could get that I am not taking advantage of . . . should become a radiologist? Maybe I should become a notary? Am a missing out on an opportunity that is available to me? This is what was going through my brain for a least half of the time when I was sitting at the desk at my job).

There were a few times this week when I had to stop myself and remind myself to breath because I can feel myself getting worked up. My ADHD feels like it was in hyperdrive this week. Just writing the blog post is getting me keyed up. But also writing helps me put my thoughts into focus, so I am writing this mostly for me.

I’d like to slow down. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

I think some of the reason that this week felt the way it did is that I was trying to accomplish so many things that I didn’t have to do over the summer because the family was home and needed attending to.

Also some of it was just the nature of life; sports and jobs sometimes start on the school calendar. Sometimes library programs also historically have followed the school year calendar and planning needs attended to at the beginning of the year.

Also tomatoes are only in season and available in your garden for so long.

Some of it is also me. I do admittedly have a lot of anxiety about all my children being in school all day and what is to become of me now that they are both fulltime students.

I ask myself, “if I am not being a fulltime employee, what tasks have I been meaning to do since I became a mostly stay-at-home parent beginning in November of 2015?”. I remember about that small leak in the roof. I remember that one of these days we are going to need to have new windows put in.

There are a lot of tasks to accomplish at the beginning of the school year but I need to remember to slow down and live in the present. It’s hard work though.

If you are wondering how the boys are doing with school, the good news is that they are doing great. They seemed to do well this week. I am not sure that Mr. Man likes cross country, but that is a story for another day.

Mr. Katie’s audit also seemed like it went well.

Hopefully, I take things a little bit more slowly beginning right now. I am trying to remember to breath and slow down.

How did you do this week?

How to Subscribe to this blog!