I seem to have some kind of Olympian dream happening with regards to just how much I can get done in a given week. Some demon inside me keeps saying yes, or even putting my hand up when I should be quietly stepping back and working on the new website or on marketing my photography. The same demon finds every person I meet interesting and knows there is a story in them.
Questioning myself hasn't worked out.
I'm an evasive creature when it comes to serious conversations with myself. And yes, I really do know that exercise and healthy eating is vital, I just don't have time for it.
My daughter has had a cold/flu for almost a month now. One of those ones that take you by the respiratory system and throw you on the bed, slamming you with headaches, body aches and lots of gunk that insists on coming out. A flu that comes and goes at will, one that the doctor finally said 'Enough!!'to and prescribed some hard-hitting antibiotics.
Little Miss 4 has missed 4 days of kindy due to a heating system failure.
We would walk there in the morning and ... come back home.
Walk there in the morning ... and come back home.
This morning Gert phoned and voila, the heating is fixed and I am faced with a quiet day EXCEPT for the politician popping over for a photo-shoot just after midday.
And that's lovely but for the fact that I like doing photo-shoots here in the lounge. The light is grand, the background perfect, I have my step-ladder close by and all of that however ... my lounge has also been Miss 4-ed and that's less pretty than you can imagine.
I have a couple of hours of intensive cleaning ahead of me I think, just to get it somewhere close to the standard of sterile photo studio.
Today is the first day without rain in days.
Did I mention that our clothes dryer broke about 2 weeks ago. It might be fixable but Gert destroyed his back and I've been running around like a crazy thing. We need to pull the dryer out of our very small laundry room and see if it's salvageable, then decide on what to do next.
Today's sunshine means that loads of washing are spinning as I write, destined for the clothes line out on the balcony.
I processed all of the Rome run photographs and posted them to Facebook because I haven't had time to open a new flickr account for them. Crazy but true and I'm not sure the guy in Rome understands how that might be possible but the fields to fill out just drove me crazy when I tried to do it in a hurry.
Recently, I had excitedly promised my much-loved niece information for her project on France. I finished at midnight last night, running late on my self-set deadline and wished it had been as simple as turning up at her place to work with her in my sister's beautiful dining room area back home in New Zealand. I miss my nieces. They are people who make me so proud.
Yesterday was the dentist, one broken tooth to be repaired at the end of April. She cleaned and polished my teeth and later, that really hurt. I sat down for a moment in the afternoon and fell asleep.
Yesterday was 3 trips to the supermarket, dental floss pre-dental visit, post-finding out kindy was closed again. Then there was the chocolate donut visit as a reward for little Miss 4 because she was so good at the dentist and I had to buy some supplies for dinner, and then out again for orange juice for her mum at the end of the day when I went out to pick up her antibiotics but ... forgot her social security card and so had to go home and out again. 8euro with the card, 25euro without.
My desk is covered in travel books and invoices for my taxes and cds and dvds for burning photographs on and chargers for various pieces of equipment and skype headphones and books and papers and it's buried ... so completely buried.
Last night I opened the red wine at the end of what has felt like a long week while I was cooking dinner and the cork had white stuff on it, mould I think. Gert tasted it later and pronounced it 'dodgy'(his New Zealand speak is coming along nicely thank you) so that was the end of the last bottle of wine.
My life feels like many lives, often in one day. I imagine that's most peoples reality but sometimes I really really struggle with all this reality.
This post was just so you know that I travel, I have nice adventures but I lead a madly disorganised chaotic life most of the rest of the time.
I hope things are good in your world today.
It made me feel anxious just to read about all the things you're coping with at once! Hope J is feeling better, everything else is sorting itself out and that the photo shoot went well. xo
ReplyDeleteYou made me chuckle, Tara. I am so stressed that it's ridiculous and it's been building. I bought a bottle of coke on the way home but it was of minimal use however at 11.38am the lounge has been reclaimed, as has my desk. The clothes-horse hasn't blown past the window yet and I'm not quite so shaky. The sad thing is that anyone visiting would just think this is a normal state - the clean home of an adult, well, until they sit on Miss 4's chair and see the dry weetbix cereal. I need some sun to scrub them out on the balcony one day soon.
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very sorry to hear about your little one and Gert's back problems, tell him I'm right there with him, my back is still angry since my automobile accident a couple weeks ago. hey! have flat stanley give him a backrub! ;-)
ReplyDeleteOh my ... I have no idea what to say! You certainly live up to your divine name (wink, wink) coping with all this chaos and maintaining your focus on beauty. Just be sure to get another bottle or two of wine later today. Gert, Miss 4 and Jess are so lucky to have you...
ReplyDeleteBlimey - if you're so busy, where did you find the time to write a post that long?
ReplyDeleteAlso, beware of posting photos on Facebook - their terms and conditions state that they own the rights to anything you upload and can use them for other purposes.
And get well soon daughter and husband.
I'm sure he'll appreciate a Flat Stanley back rub, Van. Nice idea ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure they'd agree, Barbara. My chaos drives them crazy sometimes. I finished the photo shoot due to a phone call reminding me to pick Miss 4 up from Kindy. Terrible terrible grandma that I am.
:) That post took me 10 minutes at most, Simon. I've been in trouble for this ability to write fast twice in the past. People imagine it takes me time but I always think it shows that I write fast. I was on a break from cleaning. It took all morning and I would move the furniture, mop, let it dry and come here and sit down, move more furniture, vacuum, mop and sit down. The blogging happens when my mind is racing, as was the case today.
I've put stuff on Facebook cautiously and with my signature on it, hoping to hinder their misuse of my work ... but so many people read it that I need to have some out there but thank you for reminding me.
Hmmm what else. Oh, and I will pass on your words to them others that suffer me ;) Jessie's up, on her 3 antibiotic so fingers crossed. Gert's doing his exercises and trying to release his back and Miss 4, well she's herself.
Have a lovely weekend over there with everyone.
she has been sick THAT LONG? Holy cats, poor thing!
ReplyDeleteExactly, she gets well and we think it's gone and then it comes crashing back and it seemed to be getting worse each return. Here's to the antibiotics doing their thing.
ReplyDeleteWhen I changed to the northern hemisphere, I caught everything for a while as a teacher in Turkey. Little Miss 4 is our little petrie dish in this world, bringing home all kinds of germs of kindy.
Jessie's cooking BLT's as I write this - seems hopeful that the pills are working.
Words fail me. I'm dizzy, breathless,and slightly mad after reading this.
ReplyDeleteYou are a marvel, my crazy, spinning out of control friend.
:) Thanks for the positive spin on my madness, Ms V.
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