If You See That 8 Ball, Look Closely...Because I Am Directly BEHIND It!

No matter how hard I try to stay focused and on task, I ALWAYS end up behind the 8 Ball.  My sister says that is because I work better under pressure, however, I disagree...I just always seem to be there.  Although I had hoped that this week would be different, here I am finding myself behind again...as usual.

After everyone left after the Thanksgiving holiday, I thought that perhaps I could have a "normal" week (whatever THAT is...), catch up on my Christmas decorating and wash, fold and put away the ENORMOUS amount of clothes that had piled up over the week.  Well, this was not to be.  Sunday, after everyone left, we prepared to hit the road again; this time to Houston.  Houston is a 4 hour road trip (one way) from where I live.  My father-in-law needed to see a doctor there and Robby and I decided to drive he and my mother-in-law there; we left at 5 p.m.  Arriving after 9 p.m., we were pretty tired, but glad we had made the trip that evening instead of waking very early Monday morning to head that way.  After the doctor visit and a bit of shopping, we headed home...in the pouring rain.  Totally exhausted, I turned in around 9 p.m.  Monday was gone...I would have to play "catch up" for the rest of the week.

I usually work at our office here in town on Tuesdays, but this week I would adjust all of my plans a little (that's what we 8 Ball followers tend to do quite frequently).  After hitting the gym, I would come back home, finish putting all of the Christmas decorations up, get those clothes folded and NOT leave the house for ANY reason.  Well...THAT didn't work out as planned, either.  I decided to call Robby on my way home from the gym and he asked if I would like to go to Justin and Sarah's house with him.  It seems that their hot water heater was on the blink and he planned on fixing it.  Hmmm...I REALLY needed to get home, but asked him what HE wanted me to do (I KNEW he didn't want to drive there by himself).  He said we wouldn't be gone long and he would help me get those decorations done and all of the boxes put away.  It was a deal!  We hopped in the truck and headed off to Natchitoches (a 45 minute trip one way) to fix the hot water heater.  OK...honestly, the best laid plans often do not turn out the way you anticipate.  And this was one of those days.  The weather had turned very cold again and with the wind whipping at our coat tails, we (yes, I went up there too) climbed up those attic stairs.  Hey...I wanted to see what an attic looked like before one had a chance to junk it up!  Anyway, it took several HOURS before Robby thought he was about to get that water heater fixed.  As he was turning the last knob before trying it out, I remember something...an incident that happened many years ago.  Robby was working in an attic on someone's furnace and it blew back in his face, causing it to be covered in black ash...THAT required a trip to the emergency room.  As I stood there, I asked, "This thing isn't going to blow back on you...like before...is it?"  He assured me that it wasn't.  I decided to head down those attic stairs anyway...and just as I reached the bottom...KABOOM!  And then I saw Robby FLYING across the attic!  I screamed his name but he did not answer and I did not see him getting up.  Panicking, I began to race back up the stairs and at that point, I saw him get up.  "Oh MY GOSH!!!  Are you OK?  Are you OK?", I asked.  He shook his head a bit, said yes and started down the stairs, himself.  Glancing just inside the house, one could see the evidence of his "little accident", in the form of a busted in ceiling and insulation floating down like snow!  Telephone the sheet rockers, telephone the plumber...and STILL no hot water.  It was now 6 p.m.  We headed back home, stopped for dinner and FINALLY made it home...to find that the "Decoration/Laundry Fairy" had NOT come by and done all of my chores while I was out today.  Wednesday was my absolute final goal...I HAD to be finished with everything by Wednesday.  The Merry Maids were coming Thursday morning AND it was the 1st of December.  Those pumpkins on my front door steps needed to be put away!

I overslept Wednesday morning...hey, I was tired!  Today I had to stay focused...even if I had to stay up until midnight, I was going to finish EVERYTHING!  I began putting all of the empty boxes back upstairs and was down to only 2 things left to do:  put my Dicken's Village up and get that front door and stoop decorated.  The doorbell rang...it was Sarah.  She and Parker needed to wash clothes and get baths...remember, they still had no hot water.  What I didn't expect was the other 2 visitors she brought along with her...Charley and Mia...their 2 dogs.  OK, so now we had 4 dogs and a little baby..and LOTS of laundry.  I needed yoga.  And that's where I headed.  After my workout, I felt much more centered and relaxed.  Then I remembered something else...I had to get my flu shot today (ugh!...).  So, before I headed home I stopped to get my shot.  I'm not really that afraid of shots, but as I sat there waiting, I found my heart was racing and I was actually feeling a little sick to my stomach.  I suppose I was just hoping that this year, I would actually be able to move my arm after the injection.  I got the shot and it didn't even hurt this time!  Wow!  It was time to head home and finish that decorating.

Upon arriving home, I was greeted by 4 sets of barks....and of course, my sweet Parker.  I grabbed a bite to eat and then realized something...I could barely move my arm; well, GREAT!  Darn flu shot.  So, instead of getting right on with my work, I became distracted once again...you've got it...I had to blog!  And now you can see WHY I am ALWAYS behind that 8 Ball!  Life is a ride that just happens! And me?... I tend to hang on and go with it.  After all, it's just "Another Day In The Life of a Mom"!