Almost ready! {AKA Today was a DAY!}

Today was a DAY! And I was realizing in the middle, when I felt like I had hit ALL THE WALLS, that I haven’t had a day like this in a long time. I guess I really am getting some rest this summer. Hooray!

Today I was up at 7am to check in for tomorrow’s flight. I was already up, because when I’m stressed, and know I have a lot to do, I wake up really early and can’t fall back asleep. That was this morning, despite the fact that I couldn’t fall asleep until 1am last night. Boo!

I had to leave around 9am, which gave me a little under 2 hours to get stuff done, and I used that time wisely. I did a big clean on one of the cat boxes, cleaned up and vacuumed my son’s floor, started a load of towels, and washed some dishes. I left right on time, and was down at my parents’ house to pick up my son’s stuff by 9:30am. I hung out with them for about 30 minutes, and then headed to the sleep away camp to pick up the girls.

Camp pick up went fine. The girls were clearly exhausted. They each shared some highs and lows. They talked a little about the week. After about 20 minutes they got quiet and closed their eyes. They were clearly worn out.

Everyone was home by 1:15pm, and I immediately got my daughter’s clothes in the washing machine. I packed my own stuff into the Cotopaxi bag that she brought to camp. I also packed my son’s clothes (my mom had washed them for me!) My daughter tried on her new shoes (she loves them!) and checked her phone. By 2:15pm I was back on the road, this time to get my son from camp at my school.

I dropped off the piece of furniture in my classroom and took all the busted Chromebooks out of my cart for tech to look at. Then my son and I headed home.

When I got home (again!) my daughter’s clothes were done, so we repacked her for a FOURTH time this summer. Luckily she has been wearing the same set of clothing for each trip, so we can easily see if something is missing.

I did more work around the house, putting batteries in the automatic cat feeders and putting together everyone’s carry-ons. At some point in the late afternoon I realized I lost my sunglasses. I had put them on top of the car yesterday and I don’t remember moving them so I must have pulled out and they fell into the street. I’m so annoyed at myself because I knew I shouldn’t leave the case up there, but I did it anyway. I didn’t even like my sunglasses, and barely wore them, but it still sucked to know I lost them. This is when I really hit several walls in quick succession.

I was about to lose it.

I did pull it together, and by the time my husband got home I had both kids packed and was feeling a little better about everything.

Our flight is at 7am tomorrow, so we’re planning to be out the door at 5:15am. I want EVERYTHING ready to go (except our phones) before we fall asleep. I even want socks on shoes in the stairwell. We’re going to get up, brush our teeth, put on our clothes, and go. There will not even be coffee! (It will have to wait for the airport). It’s going to be rough, but I think we can do it.

I really wish our flight wasn’t pushed up like this. Both kids are grumpy and stressed about tomorrow morning, and I can’t blame them. I know we booked this flight on a Saturday because it was cheaper and because we wanted more time in Hawaii, but I hope that next year I remember how rushed this all feels. I’m pretty sure we bought our flights before I signed my daughter up for sleep away camp, and this was the only week that worked for her friends, so maybe it’s impossible to maintain the margins people need when so many aspects of scheduling are out of our control.

I keep reminding myself that on the other side of all this we’ll be in Hawaii with friends. It’s absolutely worth it. And so far it seems like no one is sick (I just knocked on wood), though I know my daughter just got back and might have something brewing inside her. But we’ll already be there by the time we know, and won’t have to worry about whether or not we should go. You may recall that the day before our first trip to Hawaii, my daughter and I spent 1.5 hours in a car with someone who tested positive for Covid that evening, so we had to decide if we should even go, then the whole family had to stay sequestered in an isolated area of the house for five days. Last year one of the cats was having severe intestinal distress (read: literally shitting all over the house), so I had to stay home for two days while my family went without me. This is the first year that it looks like we can all go together, without issue. Let’s hope that remains the case!

I will try to update again once we get to Maui. I hope you’re all having fabulous final days of July!