When my house is too cluttered with dishes in the sink, stuff piled up in my office in laundry in baskets to be put away, I can't concentrate. I am not sure what it is that makes me want order around me so that I can function in a harmonious fashion. There is a master plan around here somewhere that says Kyle keeps the dishes put away so that I can load dishes into the dishwasher as they get dirty; Kelli keeps the laundry done and I do other cleaning as needed. I could handle my part if there weren't always too many dishes and too much laundry. Add a new puppy to these jobs that I am not supposed to worry about and you have me on one of my writing days running around with wet hair, no make-up, a sink full of dishes because the "on" button didn't get hit last night on the full dishwasher, tripping over baskets of laundry because Kelli is doing a college project at her boyfriends house while chasing the puppy because he forgot the potty training lesson he had yesterday. I pull out the green machine only to find that the water hasn't been cleaned so when I go to suck up the mess all I get is the overwhelming stench of puppy pee. Where is the Febreeze??? I lug the green machine to the kitchen sink only to remember it is overflowing with dishes so I can't empty it in there and add clean water. I trudge back up to scrub the area by hand and spray a ton of Arm and Hammer Pet Stain and Odor Remover on the offensive spot which is actually the top two stairs. He stood in my office looked at me as he was heading down the stairs and just peed right there on the stairs. By now he had gotten some type of electronics cord and chewed the end off. Not sure what that went to, but one of the kids will be looking for it later. As I am trying to regroup and start working on cleaning my office, I remember that I am supposed to get some stuff for my French Group done today.
Oh the French Group. Only 15 students and a teacher for 3 weeks. This should be simple after some of the large 4 week groups that I have had in the past. Unfortunately nothing is simple this year. Most of my tried and true host families are either out of town or their kids have had the audacity to grow up. Damn kids, stay young and ask for exchange siblings in the summer!! Make my life easier. Wait--my own kids just grew up and have asked that this be our last year of summer kids. Okay, they actually asked that last summer. I wasn't going to do this again, but then the lure of making over $3,000 this summer on a three week group changed my mind. I want the extra money for our Brazil adventure next summer. I will find families, I always do, I just have days like today when I stress over it. The puppy just brought me a shoe. Luckily it is mine and still in one piece. I go close my bedroom door. I make sure all doors are closed and come back to the computer. Oh great, an e-mail from my exchange supervisor who has kept me sane the past couple of years when I have days like these. She is leaving me. She got a new position. I only have her for two more weeks. Wait!! I have kids traveling into the area until the end of August. How can she leave me. What if her replacement is mean and doesn't understand my roller coaster life? Shelby didn't bat and eyelash when I told her I had to move back a deadline because I had to go to Hollywood and be on a talk show. Back to the exchange students. I need flyers. Good flyers. Flyers that say something wonderful that make people want to open their homes to a student who just may bring them a new outlook on life. Damn, the puppy just got on our other dogs' last nerve. There is growling and nipping and yelping. How can I concentrate. My desk is piled with more than usual because the puppy keeps bringing me things that I thought were safe on lower shelves. I need to be working on a couple of chapters of the novel. Oh yeah, the novel that I want to finish this year. I am still rewriting the first 11 chapters that were already written once a few years back. I am supposed to devote a few hours each Tuesday and Thursday to that. Who has time? I can't find my homework from last weeks' Meditation class either. It must be somewhere. The meditation class that is supposed to teach me to frickin' relax. How can I relax when there is homework and I can't find it and who has time to meditate. The puppy just ate a cardboard box. I need to go finish my hair and make-up for the day. My husband is taking me on a date tonight to try to get me to relax. Oh, there is that relax thing again. Who says I'm not relaxed? I have three dogs at my feet while I am typing, my dishwasher is taking forever to finish. I need those dishes out of the sink before I can design a flyer. I need those clothes put away so I can concentrate on Exchange stuff and be ready for my weekly check-in tomorrow. Have I accomplished anything on the group this week. It doesn't seem like it. Maybe I have. I might or might not have some nifty flyers that the language teachers at the high school are waiting for. It isn't even noon yet. Is the puppy ready for a nap? I am . Whose puppy is this? Whose dishes are those? Are there any clean towels for showers tomorrow? Where is the puppy? It is too quiet. I better go see what he has destroyed now. Maybe my sanity .........
No comments:
Post a Comment