Rainy Days and Saturdays

Greetings from the deep end of the Stress Pool! Ahh, Saturday, at last! Not sure if I ever told you the story of the day DH and I were making the bed, and sighing, I said, "Well, another day closer to Saturday."

He came home from work that day and said, "Everyone thought what you said this morning was funny!"

"What did I say?"

Laughing, he answered, "Another day closer to seventy!"

I laughed, then said, "I said 'Saturday', not 'seventy'!"

We still laugh about that. And here I sit, on my second cup of coffee, looking forward to the next, on a rainy Saturday morning, thinking of what needs to be done, and what I have the energy to do. In a nutshell: lots of things to do, zero energy. 

Why am I swimming in the deep end of the pool? Well, we're three weeks from the moving date, and only half the studio is packed. This is birthday month - Ms. Business celebrated hers last week, and Moink's is this week. At least birthdays are highlights! School - well, that's usually a post in and of itself, isn't it? 

This week's fun came with one class: the homeroom teacher brought them in and told me one of the students had been sent to the restroom, because he came back from lunch wearing his socks on his ears! This, of course, meant he had to have done that in the cafeteria. Then, in the same class, two special needs students, who sometimes come without a paraeducator (and, I'm sorry, but if a child is in a life skills class, wouldn't it just make sense to have someone else with them?!), had a small issue. We're painting, and one of them thought it would be okay if he threw a container of water onto the other one! Clean-up in aisle six...  Children who haven't used paint in at least two years who had no clue of how to use it, even after my demonstrating. They say patience is a virtue, and I find myself feeling around the bottom of the patience bag a lot these days, as are many of my colleagues!

Saturday. Not thinking of the stack of paintings I need to look through for assessments...sixth graders whose social skills are more advanced than what they are mentally ready to understand (thanks, in part, to social media platforms)...packing to move to the new house...window treatments...where to put furniture...the list goes on. Another sip of coffee.

DH looked at me recently and asked if I'd considered something about the new house. I don't remember about what, it was something simple, like where to put the dishes. I just looked at him. "You are retired. While you keep busy during the day, you have the luxury of thinking about whatever you want, when you want. I'm grading artwork, loading and unloading the kiln, pulling out supplies for future projects...no, I think it's safe to say there are a lot of things I haven't considered!" I suppose I can now add making sure students don't throw water at each other, or wear their socks on their ears.

Saturday. Floating in the pool instead of treading water. Things I have considered: the Christmas cards have arrived, so I'll be able to prepare them in the next few weeks, ready to send out early so friends and family have the new address. Even the annual Christmas letter is written, ready to be printed out! I know where the furniture for the studio is going, and I've given a lot of thought to how to place furniture in other rooms - but DH will have a lot to say about that, anyway. He's had way more time to think about that than I. The painting is done, but the crown moulding still isn't up - windows have been washed. I need some curtain rods - maybe a trip this week to get those - and get them up before we move the furniture. We're having the bedroom closet enlarged, and electrical work will be done just before we move in. A bathroom remodel is starting in January. It's been busy.

Saturday. Coffee. Our friend Tommy is in town - flew in from Canada just ahead of the storms the other day- and we are so looking forward to catching up with him! It has been almost two years since we've seen him, between Covid and borders closing and all.

Saturday. I hope you are enjoying the weekend, and didn't mind me rambling too much! But, when your arms are tired from swimming and treading...well, you know. Many of you are out there, swimming right along side. So, grab a floatie, a cup of coffee (or tea, or hot chocolate), and let's compare notes from the week. See you all again soon, and keep your head above water!