This morning I got up and went to work. Most people would add that they got dressed in between, but the great thing about working in a school for exceptional people is that we get to do exceptional things -- like come to work in our pajamas! When your morning starts out this good, the rest of the day has to be great.
I didn't want to turn this blog into long, chatty posts about all the dreary details in my life. My intention was to show quick snapshots, giving tantalizing glimpses and leaving the rest to your imagination. Trust me, your imagination is much better than the reality.* * * * * * * * *
Tuesday, Dec. 16th: Dear Diary, I talked with Cari and she mentioned that there might be a public transit strike in New York this weekend. I don't think that it will be a problem with her coming home on Friday.
Wednesday, Dec. 17th: Dear Diary, I had trouble starting the truck again. I just paid almost $300 two weeks ago to have the clutch safety switch replaced and I'm already having the same trouble with it! I called the shop, but they couldn't give me an appointment time ("Just bring it in, and we'll work on it when we can"). I can't take off work until Friday, so I guess I'll just have to wait until then to have it fixed.
Later, Wednesday evening: Dear Diary, It's me again. I talked with Cari. It looks like the strike in New York might happen after all. I don't know what we're going to do! Cari was supposed to take the subway and train to the airport, but if there's a strike I don't know how we'll get her there. And of course the tickets are non-refundable, non-returnable.
Thursday, Dec. 18th: Dear Diary, I don't know what I was so worried about. I just emailed Charlie and Danielle and asked if Cari could spend tonight with them. She could take the subway and train tonight, and just go down to Spring Lake to see the family. Then tomorrow morning she could take the train from there to the airport. Since she'll in New Jersey, it won't matter if New York goes on strike on Friday. It's wonderful having family to lean on!
Later, Thursday: Drats. I called Cari and told her about going down to Charlie and Danielle tonight instead of tomorrow. It won't work. She has class until late tonight, and it will be too late by the time she gets out to be able to go to Jersey. We're going to have to wait until the morning. I sent Danielle an email letting her know.
Friday, Dec. 19th: Damn. It's 6 am, and the truck won't start. I was supposed to take PJ to the bus stop, but he's missed the bus and of course we have no way to get him to school. I've already called the tow truck, and they should be here by 7:30. I was already planning on taking the truck to the shop; why couldn't it have started just the one more time?
Friday, 8 am. Dear Diary, the tow truck still isn't here. I called the company, and they said that the tow truck they sent out for me was in an accident. They've had to send their other tow truck out to rescue it, and then they'll be headed my way. It will probably be about two more hours. Terrific. On a brighter note, I spoke with Cari and she found a shuttle company that will come pick her up and take her to the airport. She had scheduled them to come get her at 3 pm, but I talked her into calling them back and having them come earlier just in case there's traffic. The transit still hasn't gone on strike, but they are still threatening to walk out later today. With the shuttle coming for her, I don't have to worry that Cari won't make it to the airport today.
Friday, 11:30 am. Dear Diary, the tow truck finally came at 11 am. Would you believe the driver had me PUSH my truck so that he could pop the clutch? He didn't want to tow me all the way to Lake Worth since they're already running so late. I waited five hours, and I still had to push my truck! At least I made it to the mechanics. Of course, since I brought it in so late, they don't know whether or not they'll get to look at it today. But since I called them on Wednesday, they know what the problem is and so they should be able to fix it quickly. While waiting for the bus home, I talked with Cari again, and she was able to change the time for the shuttle. They'll be picking her up at 2 pm, which will give her plenty of time to make her flight.
Friday, 2:15 pm. Dear Diary. I just talked with Cari. The shuttle isn't there yet. I had her call the dispatchers, and they said that the driver was stuck in traffic and will be there soon. I'm glad we changed her time. I also talked with the mechanics. They still haven't had time to run the diagnostics on my truck, and they said it would probably be tomorrow before the truck is ready. That's okay. Mom is coming down this evening, so we can take her car to pick Cari up from the airport. And I don't have to work until Sunday, so if I don't get the truck until tomorrow afternoon everything will still work out fine.
Friday, 3 pm. Oh, dear. Cari called. The shuttle never showed up. She called the dispatcher, who said that the driver had written down Cari's phone number wrong. So when he called for directions and couldn't reach her, he decided to cancel the trip to get her. And now they didn't have anyone else they could send for her. She has to be at the airport in an hour! She's going to call and see if she can get a cab. It'll cost twice as much, but it will still be cheaper than buying new airplane tickets. Right?
Friday, 3:30 pm. Cari called. She found a cab, and is on her way to the airport.
Friday, 4:30 pm. Dear diary, I'm breathing again. Cari made it to the airport, and was able to check-in for her flight. I can't wait to see her!
Friday, 5:15 pm. Dear diary, Cari called again. I don't think I want to answer the phone any more today. She said her flight's been delayed an hour. At least she's coming home today.
Friday, 6:00 pm. Dear diary, I really have to stop answering the phone. Cari called back, and her flight's been delayed again. Hopefully she'll be home today.
Friday, 11:00 pm. Dear diary, Cari's home! She came down the hallway wearing a big winter coat and mittens. We greeted her in our shorts and sandals. It's wonderful to have her back home. Since we're all tired, we decided to all go to bed and save our chatting for the morning.
Saturday, Dec. 20th: Dear diary, I spoke with the mechanics. I was right. The clutch safety switch they installed two weeks ago was defective. The good news is that they aren't going to charge me anything to fix it. The bad news is that they have to special order the switch, so it will be Monday or Tuesday before the truck is finished...
The stockings are filled, and Santa has left his gifts under the tree. It's time for me to be off to bed. In just a few hours the children will be waking me up to come see what Santa's left under the tree.
Santa hasn't even made his appearance yet, and the gifts are already piled up under the tree. I'm so proud of my children -- they've really gotten the Christmas spirit. I've enjoyed watching them carefully choose gifts for everyone.
Becky is still very concerned with following all the family traditions. She made sure to leave out milk and cookies for Santa before going in to bed.
I'm tired. This morning my mom, my children, and I helped to pack and hand out over 250 bags of Share food. In the afternoon, my mom and I continued volunteering, handing out boxes of food and bags of gifts to families in need.
The proud mom (black molly) and dad (silver molly).
I had plans for this evening. In fact, I had an entire list of things I was going to get done. Instead, at 5:20 (right about the time I was starting my list) my darling daughter announces that she needs to be at the school for a band event by 6 pm. We had exactly enough time to change and get her there. I spent the evening at the school, trailing behind the band as they played for an open house, and then for a basketball game. I didn't get anything done that I had planned to.
