Sunday, April 19, 2009

Spring Break 2009

Jet-lagged and hung over from the return flight from Cancuun. Sunburned in precarious places after starring in "Mom's Gone Wild" videos.

Eh, maybe not. Spring Break, as should have been perfectly expected, began serene and productive, then raced by and leaves me on this final day feeling the anxiety caused by reoccuring mental lists of all that did not get done.

We let out of school at 1:00 on Good Friday. Jason had duty so I went for lunch (& drinks) with co-worker friends. One had a horrid day that made my school/work drama of the day seem a little less significant. I tried sangria for the first time... and second... and it was glorious. I came home at 4-ish. Opened both bedroom windows to a very mild and breezy day and slept (perhaps, even passed out... just a bit.) I stayed in bed the rest of the evening and through most of Saturday.

In retrospect, I should have gotten out of bed at 2-ish Saturday so I could have richly indulged in sleeping in but not have felt the tinge of cabin fever later in the evening. But, stay in bed I did... with the windows still open and the layers of green pollen on the dressers thickening. I watched a few spots of television and did some reading for my Masters class, but mostly I slept on & off. About 11 Saturday night I watched "Seven Pounds." Justin fell asleep early in the movie. I, of course, had no issues staying awake. Gut-wrenching is probably the best adjective I could use to describe the movie. That is how it left me feeling, a bit twisted inside... with a heaviness.

The big goal of Sunday was gutting out Justin's room. I had slated this chore for Spring Break a while ago because I wanted the image of what I though was a clean bedroom and what Justin thought was a clean bedroom to be congruous and I saw this as possible only with a fresh starting point. I had also planned for a while to paint his bedroom and bought a new bed-in-a-bag set for him (since his comforter had a pre-schooler train cartoon theme).

Monday I got the room painted. I walked away from it throughout the day, mostly to read for my class. The book, Ormond, was absolutely horrid to get into, but then the plot became interesting although the writing style would occasionally revert back to painful. I had forgotten how much difference a coat of paint could make. Even the process of painting could be stress-relieving... if I let it. Monday evening, of course, is also when I figured out the taxes.

Tuesday was basically an extension of Monday's activities. Everything was moved back into Justin's bedroom and I finished reading the novel for class. I was scheduled to have a mammogram at 3:30- my first- but I cancelled it for the sake of getting things done. As I went to post about my reading, the server was down... which means I could have just went to the mamogram and finished the book on the road, but oh well. Tuesday night I had class.

Wednesday we were supposed to go to Norfolk to get new IDs. Next month will be one year since Jason adopted the boys and I had yet changed their names on birth certificates, social security cards or military IDs. I had a lot of paperwork at home to do though- always so much damn paperwork- TAXES, bills, and something I needed to send Key Clubbers. So, I nixed the idea of going to Norfolk, which was really only a bad thing because Allie (Justin's girlfriend) was supposed to come with us and couldn't go the next day. The taxes were completed, but bills are still lingering and I fould an alternative- the trusty and teen-appropriate mode of communication...texting- to contact Key Clubbers about the upcoming project. Wednesday I layed around mostly, didn't accomplish much.

Thursday, the boys and I went to Norfolk and they got their new IDs. I met with Jason for lunch at the Mall. Then, he took the boys home and I spent some time alone at the mall. I lounged in Barnes and Noble for a while, mainly looking through the new health & diet book by Bethenny Frankel. I went to see "Sunshine Cleaners," which I had heard nothing about but looked the closest to a chick flick on the marque. Mistake. It was a disturbing movie about two sisters that start a business cleaning up crime scenes. A few too many gooey blood scenes made it easy not to finish my popcorn. I picked up Justin a couple of shirts. And, I went into a few shops in which I would never fit in the clothes. It was interesting to step outside of myself and look at how I handled being in those stores. If the clerk didn't speak to me, I figured they realized I would never fit into the clothes and thought I was wasting their time. If a clerk did speak to me, I questioned why they bothered since I would never fit into anything in the store.

On Friday, the boys, Allie and I went to Busch Gardens. I painfully was not up for the adventure. The traffic on the way there and waiting for the ferry on the way back turned a 3 hour trip into a 6 hour one. Not to mention the lines, and lines, and lines. Justin and Allie went off on their own. Cameron and I layed on the rocking swing and we ate and sat around and did nothing. Cameron is now too chicken to do rides and I didn't feel too bad about punishing him by making him waste the day with me. It was hard not to notice how sloooow I moved about throughout the day.

On Saturday, The K-Club kids went to the local animal habitat/zoo to volunteer 10-2. The day turned out much better than I would have imagined. I think the kids had fun and many were even inspired to help out more. Afterwards. We had lunch at Mexican (while Justin slept in the car) and then I came home and napped. After getting up, I started cleaning.

Today, is Sunday- anxiety in overrdrive. Jason, thankfully, has been gone all day with the boys fishing while I spin circles overwhelmed by all that I have to do and didn't do that I don't know where to to start or what to do.