By the time I ended up wandering the aisles of Walgreens
this evening, I was done. Done from a
crazy exhausting week and really just done from a wacky and weird
Wednesday. My morning started out with
the usual buckets of coffee, extra for the dreary weather we are having and
some bonding time with my boys. And as
usual all hell manages to break loose five minutes before I am supposed to be
leaving the house to teach. I was
gathering my many art bags together to load into the car when A.J. called and
asked if everything was o.k. I was
thinking he was referring to the multiple texts and emails I left him asking if
he needed me to make hotel reservations for this weekend when we go to
Connecticut for his grandmother’s funeral.
I just thought he hadn’t bothered to read them though there was more
urgency in his voice. He then told me
that he had received an alert for our county about police investigating a “suspicious
device” on OUR street. I run around like
a lunatic to all the windows and sure enough, nothing. No flashing lights, no sirens. Before I can finish talking to him, my cell
phone rings. A close friend who also got
the alert whose kids happen to be down the street at the same preschool Jimmy
goes to. I am silently thankful Jimmy is
only in the two day program and it is one of his days off. This friend hasn’t heard anything from the
school. Friend is also relieved to confirm that it was not anything caused by
my wild boysJ We agree to keep each other posted. I barely hang up the phone when another
friend calls who had also gotten the alert.
And all the while all I can think is how my mother-in-law is on her way here
and will surely see something and freak out.
The woman is a wonderful grandmother, but does have a bit of a “worrier”
in her. And this is the morning she
watches the boys. She arrives and tells
me that our street is blocked at the other end.
We are in an older neighborhood with houses that are more spread out and
our street makes a large u and intersects with a couple of the other main
streets in the neighborhood. As I load
my car, my mother-in-law locks the door behind me each trip I make. She asks what she should do if she sees
anything strange and I say call the police of course. As I head out of my neighborhood I pass the
police blockade, but can not get an answer as to what is going on due to the
pouring rain. I go to pick up one of the little girls in my
class who rides with me each week. While
she is getting in my car, I hear sirens from the fire station that is by her
house, the same fire station that covers my neighborhood. Make a couple more frantic calls and no one
has heard anything. Oh well, off to class
we go.
Arrive to the house I am teaching at today and decompress by
telling this entire crazy saga to the mother whose house it is. I don’t think I could sound any crazier. Class goes well and thankfully I do not
receive any more calls of panic from family or friends. After class I drop the little girl off at her
house and Bart and I head to pick up A.J.’s suits from the drycleaners. Bart is snuggled up inside his infant car
seat which has one of those fabric zip up covers over the whole thing with only
a cut out area for his head. I park his
seat down by the counter with him facing me.
Give the woman my phone number so she can retrieve our clothes. Only thing is this woman keeps peeking over
the counter. I thought she was just
trying to catch a glimpse of the baby until she asks me to put it on the
counter. Then I realize that she thinks
I am dropping clothes off and that Bart in his seat is actually a sack of
clothes. I laugh and explain that it is
the baby and that I am “picking up”. Now
if it had been Sawyer with me, I might have seriously considered leaving him to
be cleaned. Afterall he has been
nicknamed “Pigpen” by my sister.
The afternoon concludes with me and the boys and the dog
picking Josie up from school and heading to my parents. We had to drop the dog off for the weekend
since we are leaving tomorrow and we ended up staying for dinner. After dinner, mom kept the kids so I could
run to Walgreens to grab some makeup and other random items I needed. Walgreens and really any store for a mom when
she does not have any kids with her can become a really strange abyss of
information overload and way too many choices.
Normally I have at least two kids in tow and decisions on makeup or
shampoo or hair coloring are made as quickly as possible based somewhat on
price, but more often than not based on brands I am already familiar with. Decisions also are made in haste due to
whatever dangerous situations one of the kids is putting him or herself
into. There is not much room for
browsing. Tonight, however, I could
browse all by myself. I think I may have
finally gotten the correct shade of foundation, but probably won’t even use
it. And as so often happens, I get so
overwhelmed with all the choices and the list in my head of what I need and the
ongoing list in the back of my head of items that I will buy when I have the
time i.e. when no children are with me.
The fluorescent lights, the long day, the cranky mood all are not helping
me to be very productive or efficient at all.
And the cranky mood was also not helped by the random awkward guy who
kept managing to be in my way whichever aisle I went to and then stood way too
close when I was checking out. Dude, I
had all sorts of spicy Chinese food for dinner and no after dinner mints, step
back!!
Bart wailed for the half hour ride from my parents’ house
back to our house. This can not be a
good sign for our easily eight to nine hour car ride to Connecticut tomorrow
with all of us crammed in the Gray Goose. We got home and A.J. tells me that
Connecticut is supposed to be getting six to eight inches of snow on Saturday,
the day of Grandma’s funeral and graveside service. Pack the sleds and shovels, kids!
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