11:48 a.m. - September 05, 2006
A Case Of The Mondays, On A Tuesday!
Oh, sweet Jesus on a stick. Do-over.
A case of the Mondays can be had on a Tuesday, if indeed Tuesday was the beginning of the work week.
Shall we begin with the rending of the garments, shaving of the hair, and the placing of ashes on the head? We shall. I just need three friends to come over and say how this is all my fault, as I have displeased God in some way.
The weekend? Pretty OK. A lot of work done Saturday. Sunday, I had Kristin, and while there was a bit of a spat, it was minor and all worked out by the time bedtime rolled around, so it felt like sunshine and blue skies. I think Liz and I are in a place that we both tend to overreact due to stresses that have happened.
Perhaps the overreaction, unwitting as it may be, could have contributed.
I spent Monday doing Smed stuff, and got home feeling pretty good. Katie, though, was a total pill and lost a lot of privileges, and so she had to forgo her early bedtime.
Liz had to be on the computer doing a lot of work for her volunteer stuff, so I cleaned up the kitchen and was listening to a new mix for a MySpace friend that I was putting together when I kept hearing Katie screaming.
Basically, she didn�t want to go to bed, and made every excuse in the world not to get into bed. So she lost more privileges today and has to go to bed early tonight. Liz was in a foul mood, but she got her work done, and I watched the ball game and fell asleep on the love seat. When she came downstairs, I decided to go to sleep, and so I did. It was like the foot was on the other hand, as she was the one who was staying up late.
This morning, she got up early to write, and I was feeling pretty good about myself. Oh sure, I had a dentist appointment, and another appointment, and a volleyball game to cover tonight. But I had a decent weekend except for a minor hiccup on Sunday, and was feeling fine.
That all changed when I got the paper.
It seems that yesterday afternoon, a couple in our Sunday school class lost everything when their house caught fire. All of their kids escaped, as well as most of their pets, (the cat who alerted people to the fire passed away, and a Madagascarian hissing cockroach is missing) but the house and clothes are all gone. They struggle as it is, with four kids at home and two jobs, and also the fact the wife is going back to school to become a nurse.
This family has had all kinds of setbacks and turmoil, and now this. There but for the grace of God.
So, then I go onto the computer to check some messages.
You know, I said that Labor Day was a good day? Well, I thought it was a good day. I thought that someone was down about something and I lifted them up. I thought I was doing what this person wanted, or needed.
It turns out that wasn�t the case. I found out on Monday, and I am flummoxed.
What this person (who does read here so I need to dance around this, yet be truthful) saw in me I can honestly say that no one has seen in me. Liz knows that I get angry, yes, but ever since I�ve been on the Zoloft I haven�t had my flashpoint of temper. Yeah, yesterday at dinner I was a little cranky with Katie, but she was dawdling and stalling like she was trying to run out the clock at the end of a football game, and it just didn�t set well with me.
But I wasn�t being angry � or in a rage � not at all. I felt the opposite of that, really.
I was being honest and truthful. I was expecting the same. But I was blindsided this morning. I am trying to patch this relationship and it�s hard, especially when you didn�t think you did anything wrong at the time and got supposed confirmation to that notion.
I try to be a good guy � I try to please � and I do care. Maybe that�s my issue.
Anyway, that situation had me in a tizzy. My head was spinning a bit, but I got to work and actually got some good stuff done.
I was making a pot of decaf as I was working. I had the water in the coffeemaker, and the decaf, and I did hear a coffee pot working.
Yet when I went out to get my cup o� unleaded Joe, my pot was empty. Nothing.
I tried everything. I unplugged the coffee pot and replugged it in. I emptied the water and refilled it.
Nothing, not a thing. Nada. Zip.
I mean it�s decaf, but it�s my morning routine! And I like it, I really really like it.
So now at lunch I have to go and get another coffee pot. Nerts.
I�m even more grumbly and frazzed as I go off to the dentist. Liz and Kristin are there. The way we work it is that Liz goes first and I take care of Kristin, then I go and get my teeth cleaned. So Kristin gives me a big smile and runs toward me with this toy ball she�s playing with. She�s got an elaborate little play thing where you can put the ball in several different holes and slides and things. She was also picking it up. For a girl that weighs about 20 pounds, she�s strong! She can pick up a lot of things like they are nothing.
So I have Kristin and Liz goes in to see the dentist. Well, Kristin did her normal thing when Liz goes away at first. She kind of blubbers and chases after her, but usually when she sees me after 30 seconds she�s fine.
Well, not today. She kept slamming the balls around all upset. I picked her up and she cried and cried. I sat her down and got on my hands and knees to play with her. She wailed and cried and tried to grab the glasses off my face. OK, I thought, she�s going to play with me.
But then she took her hand and slammed it against my nose, and one of her fingers ripped into the inside of my nostril.
OUCH!
But I picked her up, and we looked at a book, and then all was well. Kristin was laughing and having a good time. Meanwhile, my nose was hurting and it felt like I needed to extract something from it. So I got a Kleenex and�.
BLOOD!
The little bugger had bloodied my nose!
I can�t remember the last time I had a bloody nose. I think it was in 1987 or so when I collided with someone playing Ultimate Frisbee.
So, I�m trying to stop the bleeding and make sure Kristin doesn�t get into everything and plays with toys, and I�m thinking of the situation with my friend, thinking of the family that lost their house, thinking that I need to get a coffee pot AND thinking that I had better not have any cavities. So all I needed was a gaping wound!
Well, the bleeding did finally stop, and Liz came out with a clean bill of health. My trip was OK. I am a plaque accumulating machine, so it took a while to do the scrapy-scrapy, but I had no cavities, so that�s a plus. The dentist is mad, though, because two of my favorite beverages (coffee and wine) are teeth stainers. Ah, well.
So I�m back here at work. My 2:00 appointment was cancelled, and if there ever was a day I NEEDED a session, it was today. Oh, well, I�ll get over it. I can get some work done, think about how to help that family, think about how to get back together with this friend and work this out, and think about how lucky and blessed I am to have friends and family. Liz, Katie and Kristin will definitely help me get out of my morass, I am sure. A good volleyball game tonight will also help.
But geez, I wouldn�t wish this morning on ANYONE! Not even Dick Cheney, and that�s saying a lot.
