The Hardest Thing

Is admiting that on some level it makes me really really angry when I can only get a fraction of the things done that I need to get done. I've blogged about it before.

Today started out with an emergency dentist visit for my son, who had a crumbling and loose baby tooth. He ended up having it pulled, and it came out in four pieces. The dentist said it was cracked due to some sort of trauma, but that the tooth had also been in the process of dissolving. Or course for me, this conjures us creepy images of the Senator dissolving, on the first X-Men movie. Eeeeew. E was brave though, and I bought him a deck of Pokemon cards to reward him for his bravery whilst getting the shot.

Buying a kid who has painful dental work done a present is a family tradition that goes back to when I was a kid, and my mom did the same for me. I remember one particularly charming rubber ball, patterned in red, yellow, blue and white. It was bouncy and cute and going to the toy store after my dentist visit was a treat that helped me cope better.

When we got home, I came in to find a broken thermostat. One of the girls had been doing high kicks (just to see if she could!) and of course had whacked the thing right off the wall. It was broken clean in two. But thank God for small mercies, the part with the big wad of mercury in it was still intact, so no mercury spill today.

So I bagged up the broken parts, and went to Lowe's to try and find another one just like it, so I could just screw the front part on without having to mess with WIRING!

I made my purchase, bought furnace filters at Walmart, and then headed home, only to discover that no, the thermostat only is identical from the OUTSIDE, (where it counts???). Internally, very much different. So, with much fear and trepidation, I took the back plate off the wall, detached the wires, and installed the new one. I even glanced at the pictures in the directions, which is saying something.

I'm happy to report that I got the thing installed though, and now that the house has cooled down sufficiently for the furnace to kick on again, it has. So at least I know I got it on there correctly. Woo Hoo! First time for that sort of thing.

But all that made me tired. So I sat down to try and type up the kid's assignments, and after an hour of that, realized that I just. don't. have. the. energy. I'm going to make them get their assignments from the big teacher manuals, and be done with writing it all our. Their completed schoolwork is proof enough here in KY that the work's been done. The fact that their assignments are divvied up into 180 lessons is proof enough that we got the school work done and accomplished the requisite number of days for the state's purposes. Not that anyone is ever checking...

And it's hard to admit that I can't do everything. And it makes me MAD sometimes.

There, I said it.

Comments

Joyful Days said…
I realize with fibro you have the issues of energy & pain to deal with on top of everything. But, I think, as women (and this is not man bashing) we tend to put a lot of pressure on ourselves to finish everything today!!

I struggle with just not enough hours in the day and it is really frustrating and depressing. I know my husband has a long list of "to dos" both for me and the project at work, but he seems to keep it external easier than I do.

You have quite a lot of stuff going on & then to top it with life's "surprises"...well...I think you are doing great.
Has said…
I know what you mean. And everything we do seems necessary, so it's impossible to know what to let slide. All the unimportant stuff has already gone from my day, and I still fall into bed exhausted, in a messy house. Oh well.
Liz in Seattle said…
We too do the "painful dental toy" thing. Also, stitches and pneumonia get a toy...the more trauma, the bigger the toy. Oh, and if you have to get a shot, you get to stop for a Slurpee...flavor of your choice.

Oh, and I promise I'll let you know when _I_ get organized. Don't hold your breath ;-)
Judy Olson said…
I am so impressed with your handling of the thermostat replacement! Next time something like that happens to me I'm going to just go ahead and fix it like you did. In my dreams!
Anonymous said…
Dang, I think it's super impressive that you changed out the thermostat! You are The Cool Competent Woman! I wouldn't have touched it.

Glad E is pretty much okay.

*Super* cute little bears there...have you heard of the site www.etsy.com? A place to sell handmade stuff?
Martha said…
Being a teacher is hard, but rewarding...keep it up! Your children will thank you. Lately, I've been struggling with our homeschooling, too.

You can add me to your "blogroll" too. Can I add you to mine?