Plans schmans

I am a creature of habit, of organization. I like schedules, agendas, to do lists and action items. I have even been known to plan for spontaneity. Some may find my need for structure to be rigid and confining; it is comforting and somewhat liberating for me, because it allows me to get everything I need to get done at a measured pace, without drama or haphazardness. And it allows me to budget my time so I can do things just for me.

My well-planned agenda was blown to hell this week. It all started last Thursday night...well, to be truthful, it started last spring, when we pulled the leaking garden tub out of the master bath. Once the tub was out and we saw all the room it freed, we decided to completely renovate the bathroom, which we have been doing for the past year as time and budget allowed. We are now at a point where James cannot do the plumbing work and has the good sense to call in professionals. After struggling to find plumbers who would actually a) return calls or b) show up to bid on the job, we found a company and scheduled them for yesterday, 11 February. Fine, although it meant that I needed to change my regular volunteer morning with Aidan's class from Wednesday to Thursday, but that was no problem.

Then last Thursday night, the furnace for the downstairs went out. I came down on Friday morning to 55 degrees on the first floor - just a tad bit chilly. We have kept up the warranty since buying this house just for the furnaces and a/c units; they are old and will eventually give up the ghost, and we want to have some financial protection in place. I placed the service call and was advised by the contracted company that the earliest they could come would be Monday midday.

Fine. My monthly mystery book group meeting was Monday at 11 am. Grrr, especially since we read one of my favorite books, Maisie Dobbs,and I was looking forward to discussing it. I sent a message to the organizer and told her I would not be there.

Then on Sunday, Aidan began complaining of a sore throat and he ran a low fever. Oh, dear...and a "first thing" trip to the pediatrician on Monday confirmed that he had strep. Again. Fine. And now that he cannot take amoxycillin, he was prescribed cefprozil. which was not available at our pharmacy nor at many other pharmacies. Our Walgreens pharmacist was wonderful and called around to try and locate the medicine, finally locating it for us. We got the medicine and returned home to wait for the repair service, who arrived around 4 pm (I know, not exactly midday) and quickly fixed the furnace.

Since strep is stlll contagious for 24-36 hours after starting antibiotics, Aidan was not going back to school on Tuesday. Fine. I usually grocery shop and run errands on Tuesdays, but that was not going to happen; Aidan needed to rest and not be out spreading germs. And since the plumbers were scheduled to arrive at 8 am on Wednesday, I couldn't reschedule my errands for a day later. After a quick dinner on Tuesday night, I went out to the grocery shopping but I could not take care of the bank errand nor going to the post office to mail Grandma's valentine present.

Aidan went back to school yesterday and the plumbers arrived on schedule. I made my list of errands to run today, a list that had grown to eight line items. During the afternoon, the plumbers told me that they would not be able to finish the job in one day and would need to come back today. Fine. I called Aidan's teacher to tell her that I would not be in, then looked at the list of errands that STILL have not been dispatched and sighed.

So now it is Thursday and Grandma's valentine package is still in the car and the library books are still waiting to be returned. Minor annoyances, to be sure, but I hate when my careful planning is thrown out the window.

Fine. Just fine.

Not discontent, just the blahs

"Where does discontent start? You are warm enough, but you shiver. You are fed, yet hunger gnaws you. You have been loved, but your yearning wanders in new fields. And to prod all these there's time, the Bastard Time."
- John Steinbeck

Isn't that quote delightfully morose? It all started several days ago when a friend stated on Facebook her discontent with winter...and a lively exchange of comments followed, as the source of the quote was debated and located.

I have never cared much for Steinbeck but I do like that quote - it seems to truly capture the nature of discontent. Despite having all the basics, a person can still get the gnawing feeling that everything they have is not enough.

Winter will do that to a being. And while I do not have a feeling of discontent, I certainly have a case of the blahs. We have a house renovation project underway that disrupts normal life...we have other vital household repairs that need to be made...the weather is up and down, causing our sinuses to go haywire...every other child at Aidan's school is sick and I worry/wonder about him getting sick, too...the news about our economy is still bad...we worry about the stability of James' employer...yada yada yada.

But the sun shines, the birds sing and one or two daffodils are daring to bloom. I hold fast to the knowledge that February will be over soon enough. And that is about as philosophical as I get.