This & That

August has been kind of a blur which is a little surprising as I had thought it would be slower. Just goes to show that life is busy regardless of what you do or don't do!

I have been working a lot! It is nice to have a bigger paycheck for a little while, but I have found the longer hours onerous. My back has not been too thrilled with the extra days and hours of work, and so I now wear a back brace at work. The back issues have even affected my comfort level while doing mundane tasks like grocery shopping, walking, and browsing the library. However, I did manage to grocery shop today without the pain and an intense desire to drape myself over the cart. I am not so comfortable now though...

The longer work days have had me starting my days early, early...far too early! By nature I am not a morning person, although I can function well enough at such ungodly hours. The most difficult aspect of early mornings for me is getting to sleep at a decent time. It just doesn't work!

August ushered in my return to working Saturdays, and I have carried more responsibility for those August Saturdays as a manager is off on sabbatical. I both love it and hate it...the extra responsibility and working Saturdays. Saturdays are crazy busy and potentially full of pitfalls, but I do enjoy working with the younger staff and escaping the workplace politics that come with the weekday full-timers. I can handle the responsibility easily enough, although I am careful not to get sucked into the management trap.

This past Saturday was a trial to be sure. It began when I arrived at 5:30am to the ringing of the phone; my 6am worker was calling in sick. We did just fine until more staff arrived at 7am, but then chaos arrived. We were busy, and most of the staff just did not have the experience or ability necessary to make it through the next 4 or 5 hours gracefully. I found myself alternating between the need to rip out my hair and the urge to knock my head against the wall. It wasn't a bad day, but it could have been smoother with only one worker with more confidence and experience.

Kane and I celebrated 16 years of marriage last Friday, even if we actually celebrated last night instead of Friday night. Those 5am wake-ups for work are a pain in the neck! Roses are adorning my living room, and we had an enjoyable dinner out last night.

I did some rearranging today in my little computer area. It was a task that I actually began over a week ago; however, progress was stalled because of work and the need to sleep. I think I like the end result, although I am waiting for Kane to get home to move one piece of furniture out of the room. I've eliminated the need for the printer desk by moving a book shelf and purging/reorganizing said shelves. It looks cleaner, neater, more functional. Kane and the boys did some cleaning and purging in the storage room beneath the stairs this morning. That little room is notorious for becoming the catch-all dumping grounds, so this was a much needed course of action. Little by little, we're making progress on decluttering and organizing which makes me happy.

Sam baked a pizza last night while Kane and I went out for dinner. It wasn't until this morning that we realized that he baked it on my wooden cutting board which is now cracked in multiple places and ruined. Silly boy. I guess he assumed that he could use it in the oven just like the stones...

Kane and the boys are golfing right now...in the rain...with Kane's brother Brent. It's good that they are golfing, but I have no warm feelings for Brent, his attitudes or his behaviour. Enough about that or I will start down a bitter road.

I've been a little moody for the past few weeks. Anger, frustration, resignation, lethargy, and an almost uncontrollable need to cry. I don't know why, or maybe I don't want to know why. I haven't really spent time, let alone talked, with my friends for most of the summer. I am working far more than my body can handle. I feel unappreciated, maybe taken for granted. It sucks. I know that I am stronger than all this, and yet I find myself so unmotivated to rise above.

I am looking forward to the fall, a return to routine and order, and the changes that will be taking place. Sam is not playing hockey which means our weekends will be free! But, we will have a kid in high school now and taking a school bus. Casey is on his own in middle school and struggling to find his way through the shark-infested waters of adolescence. Abby is eager for another school year, while I can't believe that my baby is in grade 5!

Mostly, I am just looking forward to sleeping until at least 7am six days of the week and returning to my more reasonable and manageable work hours. Okay, and I am really hopeful about attending the Canucks and Maple Leafs game in November! Wouldn't that be sweet?!