Little Men of Mine
Sunday, August 06, 2006
That Time of Year Again
Yes, it's upon us. I'm referring to the "back to school" season, but not in the way you'd think. Of course we're cramming in last visits to the pool and field trips with our friends, shopping for new shoes and backpacks and, for the first time, a lunch box (my oldest baby's going to kindergarten--sob!).But the back to school season I'm referencing is the one that requires my husband to work on the weekends. As a carpenter, he does a lot of work on schools, and August is always crunch month. New schools have to be ready in time for grand opening ceremonies. Work on old schools has to be completed so teachers can set up their rooms for the coming year. And everyone needs it done yesterday.
So it was no surprise that he had to work on Saturday, meaning six straight days of togetherness that featured me and the kids, exclusively. "That's okay," I just keep telling myself, "time and a half, time and a half." My dad was on a fishing trip, so my mom was home alone too, and we spent most of the morning with her for a little variety.
When my cell phone rang on Saturday night while I was scrapbooking with some friends, I immediately panicked. Other people's husbands call to chat or ask questions, or to put the kids on to say goodnight. Mine does not. We use the cells strictly for commuting updates ("traffic is horrible--I'm gonna be late") and food requests ("I'm at the store--what should I get for dinner?"). He NEVer calls me when I'm out with friends, so I thought something must be terribly wrong. Well, no one was in jeopardy, but the news wasn't good either. His boss wanted him to work on Sunday.
Now, it's no fun missing family time together or losing the "me" time I sneak in when there's another adult in the house to ride herd on the boys. But this time it's even worse because I'M ON DEADLINE! I cannot write during the day when I'm home with the kids. I can't even talk on the phone, which means phone interviews are out. The bulk of my writing happens in the evenings and on the weekends, and right now I'm about halfway through a 13-story assignment that's due by the end of the week. I have three completed interviews waiting to be turned into stories, and two more meetings scheduled for Monday. Several of my contacts can't seem to make the effort to return any of my calls, and I'm really starting to feel the pressure, big time. And now I've lost Sunday, too.
I just have to breathe deeply and keep telling myself, "Double time, double time."
Posted by Jennifer @ 1:35 PM