Saturday

I'm writing to avoid showering. I have nothing against showering, in fact, 'tis one of my verymost favorite things . BUT, today, showering means the official start of another insane day.
Yesterday I woke early to make sure I was ready to go to Nolan's school when Travis returned from PT. We had a complaint to make. While getting ready, the blow-dryer crapped out on me. No prob, grab the teen's. Hers crapped out on me too. Luckily enough I was close enough to finish that it wasn't that big an issue. (add to the agenda a trip out for a blow-dryer) Travis got home, showered, changed and we were off to elementaryville. We brought a written statement signed by the boy and myself. The principal read it and she's pretty hard to read, but I think she was totally disgusted. After much conversation, it was apparent she was behind us all the way. She called in the counselor, with whom Nolan has been working regularly, and she advised us of whom we needed to speak with at the district level and in the UTEP College of Education. Then she asked if we wanted to talk to Mr. Fodfriguez. Initially I said no, then I changed my mind. She brought him in and I let him have it. I really did. I don't even remember everything I said, but I know it was a quality ass-chewing. And, it felt so good. At one point, I paused to breathe and regain what little composure I had and he began to speak. What pleased me most of all was when he did. I don't think he had three syllables out when I looked him dead in the eye and said, "NO, do not speak. You do not get to speak. This time, you are not in control." He stopped, took a second to process what I had said and then started to look like a scolded puppy. Hope it sucked to be you, you fecal remnant (thank you, Mr. Randy, for that phrase which I reserve only for the truly fecalest of all remnants). Once I was done, Travis had his very short but very effective turn on him. Then he began to speak. In the three fractured sentences he spoke he gave three different accounts. That is when Travis displayed one of the things I love most about him. He said, "Nah, you're done. I gotta stick by my kid here. His story hasn't changed from the first time it came out of his mouth and you can't even get the first part of your story right every time. You're done. He's a kid. You're supposed to be a teacher. You screwed up and you're done." He didn't have to get pretty with his words, he just said it. I highly recommend letting someone who REALLY deserves it have it at least once in your life- theraputic, cathartic, healing. Ahh, feels good.

Left the school and headed to WalMart for a blow-dryer, had the onset of a migraine (hmm, could that have been the stress talking?) by the time I got there, so I turned around and went home. I slept for a while, then slowly got up and started to tidy up the house a bit. I started dinner, got the boy from school, came home and got ready for the night. Amanda came home, she changed and we were out the door. Nolan had weigh-ins for today's wrestling tourney (thanks to Travis for handling the weigh-in), Amanda had El Paso Youth Symphony rehearsal at the same time, and then she had a dance. So, while rehearsal was underway I ran to the mall (hell) for some Christmas shopping. I came back and had a quick meeting with Maestro about PR (my new job), got the girl, fed her, took her to Hanks High for the dance, left and went to WalMart for healthy energy-boosting low-fat foods for the boy at the tourney (forgot the blow-dryer) and then returned to the school where I prepared to wait over an hour for it to end (because the school is 35 minutes from the house). Lucky for me, after ten minutes she called and said the dance was over. Ah, the angels sang.

At midnight I made a wowie lunch and packed it in the new spiffy cooler I got at WalMart, while forgetting to get a blow-dryer, complete with water, paper plates, napkins, snacks and hand sanitizer (nasty flesh eating diseases are communicable under certain circumstances). I did laundry all night. Yes, all night. I napped between swapping out loads. I maybe got 2.5 hours of sleep total. I have a house to get ready for my cookie exchange tomorrow and every little bit counts.

I rose from the recliner at 5:50 and finished off my last load of laundry. I made breakfast for the boy, I cleaned the kitchen. I got the boys out the door so Nolan could get stretched with the team and I watched an episode of Rachael Ray. I am supposed to be at the Coliseum in half an hour. I don't think it is goin' to happen qhite that quickly. I'll get there, at some point. But, then I have to leave, come back out here to the house, pick up Amanda, take her to EPYSO rehearsal again, go back to the tourney, go back to the rehearsal to pick her up, go home and wait for her babysitting job to pick her up. Then I get to clean for the cookie exchange. I still have some more baking to do too.

I am tired.

And worse yet, I have no blow-dryer.