In my mind's eye

Well, we all officially survived the first full week of school. Aaron has decided that he doesn’t like 8th grade so much. I have a feeling it got off to a bad start when he missed suiting out for the first day of football practice because I forgot to get his paperwork notarized. Then, his allergies kicked in on the first day of school as well. I teased that maybe he really is allergic to school! Alisa is still hanging in there although her work load is quite a bit heavier than it has been in the past. I think she is afraid to complain much since she wanted so desperately to go to a new school. I have decided that I think this is going to be a great semester, partly because maternal child health is an area of interest to me and partly because my instructor is a woman after my own heart—no nonsense. I haven’t been able to get in the groove of things which sucks for me because it’s not like we have a lot of time for putzing around.
My “fairy book” rendition of the way things in a perfect world would go has been blown to smithereens this week. I envisioned myself maximizing the use of my time on campus and spending time in the library after class to study uninterrupted. After clinicals on Tuesday when we were dismissed early to get cracking on online assignments I should have headed straight to the library for the remaining two hours my family thought I would be in class anyway, but no, I stopped by the store and headed home and fixed them dinner and stayed up late with children doing their homework. Thursday, I awoke thinking, “This will be a super-productive day!” I’ll drop kids off at school. Mike will be gone to work. I can get a lot done. Only I was so exhausted that around 11 a.m. I just had to lie down for a nap and didn’t get up until almost 2 o’clock in the afternoon. By then, it was almost time to pick up Alisa and get on with the evening duties, like dinner, dishes & kids’ homework. I still deem my family to be my first priority, crazy as it may sound.
In my mind’s eye, this is the way my days would go:
Monday: Get kids to school, wash up breakfast dishes, pack a lunch and then get to school myself by 9:45. (On the course description, class is to begin at 10:10, but Mrs. Blue calls roll at 10:00 and is already into her lecture by 10:10). After class ends at 12:00, I eat my lunch and head to the library or computer lab to study and review lecture notes. By 2:15 I am headed home to be there in time to pick up Alisa from school at 3:15 (and maybe catch a 30 minute nap if I’m lucky). Alisa has from 4 to 5:30 to work on homework and ask for assistance. Football practice is over for Aaron at 5:30, so I pick him up and prepare dinner while he showers and takes a “break” before eating dinner and hitting his books. Dinner (which is preplanned on a monthly calendar and for which groceries were purchased over the weekend--I said in my mind's eye!) is served between 6:30 and 7:00, so we’re all done by 7:30 at the latest. I then help Aaron with his homework (if needed) between 7:30 and 9:00. At 9:00 I read a chapter to Alisa form her current library selection. By 9:30 Aaron’s headed to bed. I could theoretically be in bed by 10 or 10:30 p.m., which would be especially helpful since I have to be up by 5:15 on Tuesday for a 6:20 a.m. start at the hospital.
Tuesday: I would be up at 5:15 to shower, dress in uniform, eat breakfast & pack a lunch and snacks for the hospital with an estimated departure time of 6 a.m. Mrs. Blue does not do “late.” After my 9 hours at the hospital (Mrs. Blue says she dismisses a bit early so we have ample time to do online assignments), I’d head to the library to take advantage of an hour or so of uninterrupted study time before heading home to see a hubby and kids who have made dinner, eaten, saved me a plate, and washed up the dishes. I could then field any homework questions, read to my bunny and get to bed by 10 or 10:30 p.m. (or earlier if possible-that 5 a.m. wake-up and no chance of a nap is a beast!)
Wednesday would most likely be similar to Monday. Only I could use a couple hours in the evening to study, read or review online exercises since I do not have class on Thursday morning. I could have 10:00-11:30 p.m. to study myself before turning in.
Unfortunately, my week went nothing like any of the above. Aaron & Alisa were both up well past 10 o’clock themselves a couple of nights which pushed my “study time” past 11:30 one night. I was so exhausted I didn’t get much done. Wednesday I had to hurry home to meet Mr. Ray, the pool repair man who was to arrive "in the afternoon" (i.e., no specific time given). I already recounted the events of Thursday, and this morning after dropping kids off at school I had to head to the dealership to get my inspection sticker renewed (I did get in a good hour’s worth of reading there). I just did have time to get home, grab a bite to eat for lunch and head back out to pick up Alisa (her new school dismisses is early on Fridays). I baked cupcakes for Aaron’s Fine Arts picnic this evening. I did manage to get about an hour and a half nap. I cannot understand the exhaustion I feel. I can’t help but wonder if it’s hormonal or something because I feel tired all of the time. Wednesday, I took 2 naps! If I do manage to get in bed at a “reasonable hour” (i.e., before the crack of dawn or midnight-ish), I find Mike laying in wait and thinking it’s all for him, so my actual “get to go to sleep” time is just as late as any other night.
I must be the world’s worse time manager because there never seem to be enough hours in a day to finish what I need to do. You notice there’s no mention of laundry or other housework outside of cooking and washing dishes referenced above! I feel like I’m in constant motion (which is the name of my future autobiography, by the way: In Constant Motion: a Story of the life of Eastlyn White) but never productive enough to feel a sense of accomplishment. Just once I would like to be like one of my classmates who manages to go to bed by 10 o’clock (or earlier) every night and still gets all assignments done on time, stays caught up with the reading and assignments and shows up to class refreshed and ready to learn. I feel like a newborn who has her days and nights mixed up. If I could get to bed at a reasonable hour maybe, just maybe I could function without the daily naps. But how do I turn it all around when I have to be up until the crack of dawn helping young people with their studies? Please pray for a more balanced schedule as the semester goes on. I need all the help and prayers I can get. Good night. Until next time…