Friday, August 18, 2006

T-Minus Fifty-Eight Hours

But who's counting, really?

Who really cares that school starts on Monday?

Me! Me! Me! Me!

And not even because I'm sick of my kids. Cuz I'm not, really. We've had a great summer vaca. Did the pool thing, the beach thing, the movies thing, the car wash thing, the vacation thing, the grandparents thing, we're doing the sleep-over thing tonight (what am I? Crazy!).

But it's time.

And it's time because I need to get my life back into routine, order, calmness. This week I decided our garage was too messy so I spent all day Monday cleaning it out, wiping down racks, tossing old shoes, smacking down spider webs, lining up bikes and roller blades and scooters and skateboards. It felt really good to have things in order, which lasted about, oh, a day-and-a-half before all the shit was thrown everywhere again.

It was like I was nesting like women do before they give birth. I have just felt the need to clean stuff. Get out the clutter, because the new clutter of school books, library books, homework, school supplies, backpacks, lunchboxes, pages and pages of notes and forms and assignments come flying through the door, with no place to put it all.

It overwhelms me to no end.

I still have stuff in the corner of the dining room I put there when school got out in June. I think I have to go through all of that tomorrow.

I just want the clutter to be gone.

And when school starts up again, so does the dreaded D I E T that I'm always on. With school back in session, this will mean no more impromptu trips to Cold Stone, the pizza place that has slices as big as your head and then some. The slurpee runs, the cookie store. It will mean my kids won't be eating and begging and asking for snacks all day long so it won't be around. I won't say, "Oh, let's just drive through McDonald's and grab a burger." I will be saving money and calories! I will have some free time at least four days a week to go for much-needed walks while the weather is still nice. I will have time to lie on my precious living room couch, where the sun shines through the windows and I pretend I'm a cat lounging in the quiet of my house; where I jolt myself awake when I hear the sound of the bus wheels turning onto our street. I can't wait for that.

And, as I say with each turn of schedule, each entry into the new routine, I make promises to myself: Write more. Eat less. Walk more. Sleep more normal hours. If only someone could come into my house and say, "Look this is the schedule you need to keep on a daily basis if you want to accomplish the things you want to accomplish in life. You'll have to wake and walk at 6 a.m. You'll have to do laundry. You'll have to cut down on the blogging and surfing and farting around on stupid sites that suck you in for hours at a time (not yours, of course! I love yours!). You'll have to give some thought on family meals because your family needs to eat each night, but you'll want to make them healthy if you want to lose some of that weight you've put on. You'll need to sit your ass in that chair in front of your computer and stop clicking on interesting things and just write if you want to be a writer. You do want to be a writer, don't you? You do want to be a good mother don't you? You do want to make sure you have clean clothes for your family don't you? You do want to eat healthy and exercise more so you don't turn into a fat, lazy, slob, DON'T YOU?"

Yes, I want all of these things.

And on Monday, hopefully I'll get my ass in gear.

12 comments:

Slackermommy said...

You could be writing about my life. I'm also counting down the days.

MQ said...

What is going on that all you moms have school starting already!!????!! We're not there until after Labor Day...

Drewpy Drew said...

How funny it is to be on the other side of the coin. My wife, the teacher, is dreading the start of a new school year.

Anonymous said...

I'm like this at the end of school holiday's my prob is that I have hubs home (he's the principal) and the two girls plus the boy!! I tear my hair out at times!!


LOL at the word principal doesn't it make you think old man?

B. said...

I'm ready for the first day of school too, to get back into my routine. Am I looking forward to fourteen 6 year-olds stampeding down the hall toward my room? Sort of. :)

xxxx said...

I'm cracking down on exercise, writing, etc. starting next week, too! We'll have to kick each other's asses into gear!

MaNiC MoMMy™ said...

Slackermommy--I've checked out your site and I think we are twins.

MQ--Cute shoes by the way! We usually don't start till closer to Labor Day but they changed it this year.

Drew--it's the whole routine change that makes us hate this stuff, even though we love getting them to school, we also love when it's summer time and we have no schedule.

RR--Not an old man. I bet the girls think the principal is a hottie!

B--only 14 kids--is it K or first grade?

Swish--Make me a schedule!!! PLease!!

crazymumma said...

I HATE summer ending. I despise the school schedule. One thing I will love however is working out again...amazing how 5 pounds can just lard back on....

Katie Burke said...

LOVED your comment on Stephanie's "What an Asshole" post. I'll email the poor, unsuspecting bride-to-be as well!

Anyway, found your blog through your comment to Stephanie, and from what I have read so far, I really love your writing!

Anonymous said...

Soon as you find someone like that send them over here will you? The job title could be "Slacker Adjuster". Or how about "Attitude Engineer"?

B. said...

Manic-Yes. 14 kids. First grade. Small, Christian school. Our class sizes rock!

Don said...

You might want to check out flylady (at flylady.net). Your post sounds like precisely what they give you tools to address. It's worked reasonably well for me.