Venting

What a roller coaster of a day.

Woke up and the Scientist was complaining about a sore throat. No temp, no redness or swelling. I had doubts that it was real. He tends to get a bad case of the Mondays. I made him drink a bunch of water, gave him his vitamin and sent him off to class with a cough drop I knew he would spit out in less than one minute. I worried all day that I would get that call from the nurse and end up as that horrible mother that didn't believe her child was ill and sent him in to infect the whole class.

I did get a call, but not for his cough. Instead it was the mandatory call that's made when your child gets 2 warnings in class. His was for talking, and although it verified that his throat was completely fine, I had to talk to him on the phone while his teacher hovered, most likely in a silent room where my every word was heard. I pulled the: "You better straighten up from here on out and listen to your teacher. We will talk about this more at home" card. I followed through, and also talked with his teacher after school. They are a lot more strict this year and give out "warnings" at the drop of a hat, but I guess the "kindergarten mentality" has to end sometime. He'll adjust. He was sent home with a questionnaire for me to fill out and bring in during his beginning of the year assessment conference. On a day like today, I took it too literally and started stressing over my answers.
Q: What would you like us to know about your child?
I wanted to put "More than I could ever fit on this page."
Instead, I wrote that he learns best with visuals and "hands on", along with other more relevant things than his entire life's story which is what I wanted to write. lol

Around 7pm he started losing his voice.

Ms. Thang is in another state visiting with her father's grandmother. She's elderly and extremely ill. She is dying. MT went with her dad so they could basically say their goodbyes. It's been very difficult for her and I hate having to hear her so upset and not being able to hug her or see her during this hard time. I was worrying for her through most of the day as well. I was wishing she didn't have to stay and witness that, wondering if it really was a good idea after all, especially after a phone call that was basically one uninterpretable sob. I guess we all have to deal with death at some point. Still, I want her home. I'm eager to comfort her and in doing so comfort myself when I see her healing and dealing.

She was scheduled to come home on Wed. , missing 3 days of school, and I had a great time this morning going up there to explain her absence and fend the janitors off of Cutecumber. I couldn't tell if they were "a bit slow" or "a bit child-molesty" with their constant high-fiving and going on about how adorable she is. I smiled and gave her a reassuring nod, but inside I was wanting to kick them in the nuts just to be on the safe side.(Add another layer of stress knowing Ms. Thang is around these guys 5 days a week.) However, her grandmother's condition has taken a turn for the worse and the idea that MT could stay away all week, in case of a funeral on the weekend, was mentioned. Her 14th birthday party is scheduled for this Saturday and may end up being rescheduled.

Just last week she was feeling overwhelmed by the new work load at school. She's taken harder courses this year and missed an assignment that was mailed out over the summer. She had to read the most boring book in the history of mankind (Johnny Tremain) and write a paragraph about each chapter as a "journal-entry" in 3 days. No biggie, but put that on top of her regular school work (homework every night even in the class she was writing the paper for) it was a lot for her to adjust to. Great preparation for the future though. She found her stride last week, and I knew she would, but now if she ends up being a week behind, she will have to adjust all over again.

And the birthday party. I've got Ms. Thang's on Saturday (maybe) and Cutecumber's two weeks later. Ms. Thang is doing an 80s theme and our budget is tight right now. Her party is the 17th and we get paid on the 15th. I wasn't able to buy much of anything in advance. That really puts the pressure on to pull a party together for a bunch of teenage girls in just 2 days. Plus, Ms. Thang has declared it the social event of the year and has rather high expectations. I really want to make it special too, especially now that she's had such a rough week. Maybe having to push it back will be a good thing. Still, it's up in the air and that adds a layer of stress.

Cutecumber's party is the big family party. She picked Dora as her theme and I'm taking that and running with it. I've always wanted to throw a fiesta styled party and this is my chance. I've perfected my spanish rice recipe. :) All she wants is a slide. It's been slide talk 24/7 for the past 2 months. Again, I aim to please. Slides are in abundance on Craigslist! Until you want one...

Honey is working late tonight. I'm so mentally exhausted I didn't even officially make dinner. The kids had Ravioli (as in, Chef Boyardee) and I ate ...ya know I didn't even eat. Here it is 10 pm and I'm famished. I'm going to eat pb&j and watch it instantly attach to my thighs. Probably just one thigh and I'll be all muddled looking, just like my brain.

So as not to leave this on a bad note,
Thank you God, for giving me a mother and friend that helped me through today. What blessings they are.
Thank you for giving Honey a few extra hours tonight when we needed the money, and thank you for a great marriage that is strong enough to keep us together even when we must spend extra time apart.
Thank you for being with Ms. Thang when I can not, and thank you that these troubles are so very minor. <3