This was my week! A week that will probably never happen again. Want to know more? I got a legit week off from my role as a homeschool mom. My daughter is learning driving skills at driver’s ed all week. My son is gaining valuable life skills by working with his dad all week. The weather is cold, and I was going to be Mrs. PRODUCTIVE. Last week, I even made a list of all the neglected jobs I was going to tackle:
Get our filing cabinet cleaned out and up to date, get my husband’s business files organized and boxed, change the decor in our home from winter to “almost spring”, because although it is still winter, January has seemed like its been 742 days, and I’m just ready for a different look around the house. What else? Long-term school planning – deciding to change a couple of big courses mid-year does require some planning and tweaking. I was also going to get some of the unused school things ready to be put on eBay, clean out the freezer, have a winter inventory sale on my Usborne books, work on researching a new curriculum for an upcoming review, and clean out my purse.
It sounds like a busy week, but remember, I am free all week. Yes, even homeschool moms enjoy a break now and then! I went to bed Sunday night focused on getting the to-do’s done. I had visions of sitting quietly at the table doing what I love, and tackling my list line by line. I was going to listen to podcasts, catch up on reading, looking forward to only having to tend to and enjoy the company of my dog. My normal “dead to the world” heavy sleeping was interrupted by tossing and turning with night sweats like I only remember having after giving birth. The sweats turned into chills, that turned into a radiating heat on my body that my husband couldn’t come close to me as we were lying in bed.
I was sick.
Monday morning I was feeling lousy, but up early to take my daughter to her first driver’s ed class. When I came back, the chills had me wrapped in a blanket, and I took a nap before The Price Is Right even came on. When I awoke, I had some soup, put on another layer, and cleaned out the freezer. Driving school ended an hour and a half early, because it’s just a very small class of homeschoolers. Happy to pick her up and find out how she did on “the outside”, I get typical teen-aged one-word answers to my many questions. The only full sentence I got was, “She’s nice and cusses a lot” with a giggle. I was not really shocked, as I had heard about her potty-mouth. She doesn’t cuss at the students, that’s just the way she talks. Oh well, as long as my daughter didn’t come home talking like a the teacher. I made a simple dinner, and snoozed on and off – still cold, the rest of the evening.
Tuesday arrived way to soon, and even though I felt like I had been run over, I did manage to get a week’s worth of science lessons planned for one kid. I also did one load of laundry. Big win. As the day progressed, I felt a tenderness in my neck, and my throat felt like I had partially swallowed a gum ball. The prickly kind, and it was stuck between my tonsils. At least I wasn’t thinking about being cold anymore. I got a text from my daughter that class was over early…again. I was reminded of that one year when both kids were in preschool three days a week. Do you have any idea how fast those three hours went by? Well, I was feeling about the same with this driving school.
By Wednesday, the chills were gone, but this gum ball in my throat had more quills than a porcupine. Yogurt and applesauce were about the only thing that did not hurt. Even drinking my beloved cup of coffee made me miserable. I did nothing productive. Of course, pick up time was -you guessed it – early. At this point, I’m now jealous of their efficiency.
I picked her up, and was looking forward to making a yummy pot of spaghetti with the homemade sauce I discovered when I cleaned out the freezer Monday. When we returned, I got the pot to heat up the sauce, and there was a kidney bean sticking out of the partially thawed CHILI! Great, just great. I decided the only other option was to have breakfast for dinner. I put the grits on the stove, got the eggs and sausage cooking, and put the bacon in the microwave. Then, the lights in the kitchen went out. This has happened before, so I went to the garage to flip the breaker. After stepping back over the dozens of obstacles, I went back inside to continue cooking. Two minutes later, it blows again. I got around the obstacle course of junk in the garage to flip the switch a second time. Just before I had everything ready, the breaker blew again. By this point, I was probably using the same colorful language as the driver’s ed teacher, or at least I felt like it.
It’s now Thursday, my last full day of being kid-free. The house is a mess, this gumball in my throat is now nine months pregnant, and my to-do list continues to go uncrossed. Except for the freezer clean out on Monday. I decided to clean and sanitize the house, then I had the worst pizza ever for lunch, and declared, “I’m done”. So I spent my measly two hours left and wrote this blog post. That is, until I had to leave again. Yep, you guessed it. class was over early.
Friday morning, I broke down and went to urgent care, after I dropped off my daughter for her last day of driver’s ed. This time, I knew class would be over by lunch. I was at urgent care for three hours waiting……which I guess is the norm at these places. I didn’t even bring a book to read. Who can read when you are looking around the waiting room, wondering what everyone else is there for? After I was finally examined, prescribed some relief, it was time to get my daughter. It was good to see the proud smile on her face that let me know she passed.
I may never have time off like this ever again. Those things I didn’t get to will still be on the list for another day. I did learn something this week. My days are much better (and productive) when both my kids are with me. I love being a homeschool mama!
