Nothingness and the Garbage Bin

Current mood: content

Tonight is going to be absolutely crazy. Amanda has orchestra rehearsal at school until 5 and city orchestra from 6-9 (on a school night, how messed up is that?) and Nolan has football practice from 6:30 until 8:00. Now, that wouldn't be such a big deal except that within four hours I will have almost spanned the city with all the miles I will rack up on the truck. See, we live in the northeast, city rehearsal is on the east-side, practice is on-post (kind of east-central) and I will have to be at each place no less than twice. Holy crap, the only place I wont be going is the west-side (shut up, don't get any ideas). Guess I need to get gas.

Somehow I have to figure out how to slide dinner in there. And what should I make? Obviously it needs to be GO food we can grab and eat in the truck. I hate nights like this.

Since I knew Hell was going to fall upon me tonight, I decided today was a nothing day. I have nothing planned. I am not necessarily going anywhere. I am not forcing myself to do laundry until 10 am (like I usually do) when the water and electricity rates go up. I am not packing unless a wild hare creeps up on me. So, I am doing nothing unless I feel like doing it. When I got home from taking the kids to school I put a load in the washer, out of habit. Then I realized I didn't really have to. Oh well, I will hang it on the line when it is finished and be done with the laundry for the day.

I think I might go take a nap. Yup, a good, ole' fashioned morning nap. I haven't had one of those in forever and it is sounding mighty good at this point.

Today is trash day. Over about the last month or two, our garbage pick-up has been getting progressively earlier each day. It used to be that you could forget it was garbage day and remember somewhere around lunchtime and take the bin out and still get lucky two-thirds of the time that you would beat the truck. Now, they are coming while it is still dark. I think they were here around 5:45 this morning. Last week they were even earlier.

Knowing our bin was overflowing, it was important to me to get the dumpster out last night, so when Amanda got home from school, she took it down for me. I heard the truck about the same time my alarm went off, so I knew it was empty when we were leaving for school. I was just going to leave it for Nolan to bring up after school because asking extra chores from him in the morning is like forcing him to lay on a bed of hot coals- gonna be noisy. This morning we headed out for the truck and I had to run back in to grab my phone. When I went out the door, Nolan was bringing the trash bin up to the house. I stopped in my tracks and watched. No one asked him to do a thing. And there he was, bringing it up to the house because he knew it was empty.

I think things are changing for my baby boy. In the last week he has been a different kid. He is still mostly always on the edge of being pissed, but he is handling being mad so much better. He is doing stuff around the house without being asked and if I do have to ask him something, he is trying to get it done right the first time. He is less combative. He is, dare I say, becoming very pleasant. For lack of experience, I don't know how to act toward him. I just keep thanking him for trying so hard to get along with everyone.

He is getting a very nice surprise from Korea (thanks, Robert), but he doesn't know it. But, as soon as the package comes, the half and half jersey is his. No questions, no discussion, I am just going to give him the jersey and watch what happens. He deserves it.