Busy

I was just reading over the post I wrote last week and was pleased to see that I actually did several of the things on my horrible long to-do list. I managed to get Kid A's Halloween party into shape, sent the stressful emails, set up the Google doc, and got several volunteers signed up to help. I managed, with just a couple of late nights, to get through the week of teaching. I also did two things on the long-term, never-gets-done part of the list: took the boys for haircuts and wrote a letter to the editor about the upcoming election.

We've had a busy weekend so far, and it's only Saturday afternoon. The kids started a new round of swimming lessons this morning, Kid B and I went to the library, and both kids are currently at a friend's birthday party (Rocket Boy took them). Of course I just wrote a tentative to-do list for the rest of the weekend, and it has 12 more things on it. Several of the things are related to Halloween, so they're fun-ish, but on some level a task is a task. Just something to get done, get through.

On the Halloween part of the to-do list we have 6 things: (1) write & mail Halloween cards, (2) visit a pumpkin patch with the twins and get our pumpkins, (3) clean the living room, (4) decorate the living room (can't do that without cleaning first), (5) cut up a whole bunch of construction paper in preparation for next Friday's party, and (6) make one last decision about Kid A's class party--and then implement it.

On the non-Halloween part of the list we also have 6 things: (1) laundry, (2) clean the cat box, (3) pay bills, (4) return our videos to the Video Station and get more, (5) finish the book for the book group on Monday, and (6) decide what I'm going to make for Thursday, when I've signed up to bring food to the school to feed the teachers during conferences. There are really a lot of other things that could be on the list, but I don't think I need to write them down. Or maybe I just don't want to, because it's depressing.

It wouldn't be so bad if we could all work together on getting tasks done, but we don't. Rocket Boy and I work along pretty companionably, but the kids just scream and fight. When he's home without his brother, Kid A will help (Kid B rarely will, under the same circumstances), but when they're home together it's as though they have territory to defend. Either they watch TV or they fight and scream. Or both. Earlier today it was terrible, with Kid B just screeching like a banshee. I was in the kitchen, trying to wolf down my lunch before getting involved again, and I noticed that Rocket Boy, with his back to me, was sort of shaking and moving jerkily, as though he were having a seizure. Concerned, I said "Are you OK?" and after a moment he said yes, he was just trying to control his rage at the kids. You have to understand, Rocket Boy is a very mild-mannered person, not prone to rages. I had an idea then -- when I finished eating, I got out my phone and started filming Kid B. That's what one of the therapists told me to do at one point, so she could see how we experience him. Because he's an angel around most people. Anyway, we don't see that therapist anymore, but I thought maybe a future therapist (we're on the hunt) would want to see the video. When Kid B noticed me filming, he threw a small pillow at me as hard as he could and it hit me in the face. Then he jumped up and started attacking me. At least I got it on film.

I think it's bad when you get up in the morning and think, "Only 16 hours until bedtime."

I'm not sure what the point of this blog post was. I should get back to work. I'm so tired.