10:56 a.m. - June 02, 2006
Someone's Schedule Filled Up Qucikly This Summer!
Well, one way to get your mind off of stuff is to keep yourself occupied with activities.
And yes, la familia de Smed certainly is going to have its share of activities soon.
While Kristin doesn�t have anything to do yet, well, except turn one year old (and have the requisite one year old birthday party, of course, with the whole cake eating and other nonsense), the rest of us have plenty of things to do.
And for once in my life, I�m the one with the least amount of activities going on.
All I have is work (but that�s a given), some softball to play, and some writing to do. I�m seeing if they want me to cover some of our American Legion or amateur baseball games. If so, fine. If not, fine. I will still be writing some racing columns and what not.
I may be doing some traveling for work � perhaps over to Columbus (watch out Lauren!) to meet with folks at Capital, up to Chicago (which is a warning for Red The Traveler!) and maybe thanks to my participation on a board of a professional organization that is just starting, a trip down south (but that�s tentative). I�d really like to get up to Minnesota, or Michigan, too. But I can�t even fathom any flimsy excuses for that.
�Boss, I need to go to Minneapolis for work for a couple of days.�
�Why?�
�Well, uh�research!�
�What kind of research?�
(Should I tell him that said research is hanging out with my favorite rock-and-roll chick up in Minneapolis? Can I get the college to at least pay for my mileage if I drive the family up there? Hmmm�see this wouldn�t work!)
This weekend is our annual �Big Bash�, which is our reunion weekend. We�re expecting a veritable plethora of alums to descend on our campus, and I have duties both Friday and Saturday day and night. Sure, some of it is eating, drinking and networking, but I�m here to make sure they all have a good time.
And tonight I have a softball game, and we actually need me to attend that game, lest we forfeit (also, since I have the equipment). And today, from 2 to 5 I have a focus group that I must attend for our software that we will convert to in 18 months. (Yeah, it�s going to be that long of a process).
So today, I have a luncheon, a focus group, a reception, a dinner, a softball game, and activities after the dinner. Yeah, I brought a couple of changes of clothes in here.
Saturday is calmer � just a lunch and a dinner. But our outgoing president will be attending the dinner I am staffing (the 25th reunion) so I need to be sharp and on my toes.
Then on Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, it�s DANCE RECITAL time.
Last year, this was the story of the recital. Now, we won�t have the impending birth of a baby in our way (which means Liz and I won�t need to have our cell phones on during the recital, since no one is going to call us to come to Beech Grove at the drop of a hat), but still it will be an event nonetheless.
But after this weekend, I�ve got a relatively quiet summer. I do have 23 mixes to do, but I can knock those out, no problem. In fact, I have three brewing now, with one of those being burned this weekend. (I�m previewing it now and it is ROCKIN!)
But I need to have a quiet summer, as the scheduling tempest is rearing its ugly head.
First off, Liz has thrown herself into helping out the community we live in. She is the newly appointed treasurer of the League of Women Voters, she is on the board of the Youth Service Bureau, she is the Publicity Team Leader of her MOPS group, and she�s going to start writing more and more.
(Yep, I�m not the only member of the Smed clan that likes to spew letters and phrases and clauses onto a computer screen. But she at least has a direction and purpose with her writing.)
Plus, she volunteered to teach Vacation Bible School this year.
So that means that most Thursdays, Liz has meetings at night for the LWV. She monitors the local school board, and has other meetings. One Monday, she�s at the YSB meeting.
Plus, during the local Strawberry Festival, she needs to man the booths for the LWV one time, and help with the YSB basketball tourney.
Then there�s Katie. No soccer until fall. After the recital, there will be no dance class until the fall either, and Montessori is out for the year as well.
So it�s a carefree time to be a four year old, right?
Well, a bored four year old is a dangerous thing. Witness the sidewalk chalk in the bedroom incident from last summer.
She�s going to be taking swimming classes in the morning.
She�s going to go to story time at the library whenever she can.
We�re going to get her reading as much as possible.
Yesterday, she painted some interesting artwork.
Our goal is to get her outside of the house sometime each day, and then make sure she�s doing something constructive. Normally, that�s Liz�s bailiwick, since I�m slaving away at the office. (Yeah, slaving, he says! Hah!)
Because when Katie doesn�t get outside, and gets restless, she tends to postpone bedtime. By postpone, she gets up every half hour or so �getting a drink�, or �going potty�, or �getting an animal�, or �getting a kitty cat into (out of) her room�.
Or she cries out saying �she wants to tell you something�, and then, well, it�s nothing.
I�m going to become the first defense for that this summer.
I always prided myself on being busy. I was always on the go, doing this and that.
Well, now it�s Liz�s turn.
I�m going to make sure that her shows never get deleted from the TiVo, her favorite wine is always available, the groceries are stocked, and dinner made on many occasions, and that she has peace and quiet for at least an hour a day.
By gum, she�ll get it.
