Changed

I can see now that my life is forever changed. Last year I had a baby to take care of while homeschooling, but believe it or not, it was way easier. Lily was a pretty good student, just needing me to give her a little push or nudge her along every once in awhile and having a baby who was immobile was a snap. Now that I have two students plus a very mobile VERY loud and shrieking one year old plus THAT puppy, I am swamped.

We have completed our fourth day of school and it's going pretty well. Evelyn has struggled with the five year old wiggles, particularly right during reading and violin practice, and I have struggled with the mid-morning attack of sleepiness. Other than that I'm surviving.

I've assembled Evelyn's newly arrived desk, unclogged a very clogged sink with the help of my sister and one and 1/4 bottle of drano, attacked tons of paperwork, made it to Walmart for a science experiment supply run in 110 degree heat, taken the kids swimming, gone to pack meeting for cub scouts, collapsed 20 boxes, whose contents I had recently emptied and organized into plastic bins, and still managed to get everything done with school.

This week's school related hands-on activities include an experiment with hard boiled eggs and vinegar, which we completed, an activity in the yard where we make it look like a nomadic village and act out a nomadic scene (the kids also want to make cave paintings) and then we transform the yard into a farming village and act it out. Then they want to have a mock archaeological dig. Tomorrow we are also going to have a "science" scavenger hunt for the kids.

So, I'm keeping busy. In other news I called the police today when I saw a car I didn't recognize parked between our two houses. It turned out the owner was there (oops) but she actually likes it when we call the police. I think it gives her some peace of mind that the house is being watched a little. She said that she was "clearing a path" in the house so a buyer could come look at it, one of those people who fix up houses to sell. That should be interesting. I saw it as a tremendous blessing!

A little while later the guy she was with came by and asked if I recognized him from when he used the Escalade to trap burglars in their truck between our two houses a year ago. I think he had some mental troubles and knowing he was an ex con made me quite nervous, but it turned out okay for now. HE insinuated that I should try to get something from Lisa (owner) who was so rich and could afford to give us stuff. I said we didn't want any stuff. I said I wanted our fence that was wrecked by those burglars repaired. Well he said, Okay, and went back and fixed our fence right then! Not quite good as new but hardly noticeable now. Yay!!!!

Really what I want to express most is what this all does to me mentally...and other ways, too. I don't have time. No time to talk to you on the phone (if I was in the habit of doing so before), no time for TV or movies, no time for reading (but I wasn't anyway) and no time for a lot of other things I feel like doing sometimes. It has made me lonely in a new way and suddenly I am needy of my husband and was hurt when he didn't call or text for a whole day, nevermind that he'd had seven admissions and he explains that it's sort of awkward to be taking a call when he's in the room during a code. He has a job where he gets NO breaks, not even meal breaks or bathroom breaks. It's true. All of his meals are taken during meetings and lectures and some days he comes home and goes to the bathroom for the first time all day. How can we compare lives or me expect to be first in his life? It's sad, I know. It makes me feel lonely when I don't have other means of coping. Thank heavens for my sister!

I also have this huge urge to read fiction. I know I just want escape, but what I need is sleep.
Time for bed. I'm out.