The pack is back in school.
We had a rather smooth run for the first day, considering the rain, and the fact that Four's van went to pick him up at our old house. He is bused to a private school, and despite the fact that I've called my district every year for the past three years to tell them we've moved, every September the bus goes to the wrong house. When I'm done smiling in the silence, I'm going to call them again and wait on the line, listening as they type the new address into their records.
I am always excited at the start of the new school year. I imagine all the projects I will complete in the six hours I am alone each day. I devise new operating systems, which will miraculously correct all the mistakes we had running the family during the previous year. These usually focus on getting everyone to do their homework without me screaming. I peruse new cookbooks, and plan the crock pot meals I will make while the kiddies are busy learning. I debate whether I should get on the elliptical before or after I write.
I am hopeful.
Usually, by the end of the week I'm exhausted, the house is in complete disarray, the tables are buried under a mound of forms, and I'm already negotiating with two of the kids to get them back to school the next week.
Just for today, though, I am ignoring reality. I'm drinking my coffee and avoiding the messy kitchen, because when I finish this post, I'm going to hit the Documents button on my laptop, and go back to the book. Julie's daily draw card said Believe in yourself, for you have the ability to materialize your dreams! I took it as a sign, helping me prioritize. I am the only person who can finish the manuscript. My remaining projects can be completed with help from others, but not the book. So, that's what I'm going to focus on this week.
I am hopeful.
And it's not because I hate the elliptical.
Are you working on something? Do you wish you were?
Good plan. I can't wait to see the finished product (in a bookstore).
ReplyDeleteOkay, third try at commenting...your blog is hating on my google id right now...
ReplyDeleteWhat Delia said! Work on that book!
If my husband can learn to stack mail and use lysol wipes on the counter, I'm sure your pack of kiddos can be persuaded to pitch in occasionally so Author Megan can have a ten minute break from being She Who Puts Things In Order (a demanding and somehwat impossible job).
I love the beginning of each semester. New office supplies, new class roster, new topics. So much for which to hope! No whiners, no instructor errors (snort), no technical difficulties. I get to be hopeful twice a year. :)
ReplyDeleteHappy to hear you'll be able to write again! I remember those hectic days. Now I bitch about doing laundry for one - me.
ReplyDeleteWhy does it startle me when my name shows up on other people's blogs?! Lol, so glad the card reached out to you... we are ALL waiting for this book to get done (and published).
ReplyDeleteHope!!! It's what I live for!
Julie
The absolute joy of sitting down yesterday morning for my first QUIET, UNINTERRUPTED cup of coffee in two and and half months!!!! I love school.
ReplyDeleteMegan, you and I must have some subconscious connection with the projects we'll get done, the elliptical that will be used, the cluttered corners that will be cleaned. Yes! This year I can do it! Of course, since I'm going on about 4 hours of sleep today, maybe I'll start tomorrow. . .
p.s. This makes me think of Hyperbole and a Half - CLEAN ALL THE THINGS! of which I got a t-shirt.
ReplyDelete@KarenB:Yes, my enthusiasm is waning after two nights of limited sleep. My body is strangely resistant to rising before 6 AM!
ReplyDelete@Julie: now that I'm so night-time busy, I get to read your blog before (if) I write mine! Keep the hope alive!
@Judy, Judy, Judy: Well, I just added whipped cream to my coffee in order to prop my eyes open long enough to write something of consequence. I think that sentence just used up my reserves.
@Carrie: I remember loving school supplies as a child. Now, surrounded by 18 three-ring binders, 750 sheets of loose-leaf paper, 16 pencil pouches, and 60 unsharpened Ticonderoga pencils, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed.
@Lora: My computer was very slow and uncooperative yesterday. Retrograde again? Thanks for being persistent. Yes, part of my grand plan is to make those children ever more independent!
@Delia: I may force you to read it before it hits the bookstore, oh wise one. Thanks for believing I will defy the odds, and end up there! Well, I am a great writer...
The gold standard of office supplies are Sharpies and Post-Its. Maybe you just need more of those. ;)
ReplyDeleteAs KarenB said, this sounds like a variation on Clean All the Things. Every time I would go back to school, I'd get in the same mode, and it would last just as long. Wee! BUT from all those big plans there's usually one or two realistic things that survive, such as your writing. :-)
ReplyDeleteOMG, Pretty please?! I don't know about this "wise" business, but I'd love to read it if you ever feel so inclined.
ReplyDelete