things i'll miss about san diego #4

Today was one of those days that started out difficult and 12 hours later, hadn't improved much.



Today, one of our children was just as sick as she had been yesterday. But today, the novelty of having one child laying on the couch all day, not causing a disruption, was replaced by concern that she might have strep throat or something highly contagious that would sweep through the entire family. She couldn't eat, she couldn't drink, she couldn't do anything more than cry that her throat hurt so badly she couldn't even swallow. I typically hold off until the absolute last possible moment taking our children to the doctor, because I've learned, most things resolve themselves. But today, when she wasn't any better and seemed to be getting worse, I called the doctor only to find out that they had absolutely zero availability today. The only option was to take her to urgent care.

Today, Charlie took her to urgent care and shelled out the $100.00 co-pay only to have our daughter skip joyfully in to the exam room and chatter with everyone she saw. Her temperature, which had been over 100 this morning, miraculously disappeared the moment she stepped in to the doctor's office and she became the undeniable picture of excellent health. That lasted until the appointment was over and she was buckled in to her car seat. She then promptly resumed her sickness and cried the whole way home.



Today, I learned that the cost of a furnished studio apartment in Fairfax, where we will temporarily reside until we find a new home, will be approximately twice the cost of our current mortgage.

Today, I looked in to campsites in the Fairfax area because: a) we'll be there in the summer, b) there are showers at the office and although my company will be providing us with a lump sum for our relocation costs, c) I cannot pay twice our current mortgage for a two bedroom apartment. There is an invisible force stopping me.

Today, the magnitude of what we need to accomplish in the next eight days hit us square in the eyes and we just about lost our marbles. Especially when our children began to UNPACK the boxes that we painstakingly organized this past weekend.

Today, without our knowledge, our toddler went poop and then he went commando. And then he climbed all over our beige couch and his sisters' white bed spread.

Today, I gave thanks to the makers of RESOLVE and Oxy Clean.



Today, one of our children locked themselves in the bathroom because they wanted to give their stuffed kitten a bath. And while they were in there, their sibling couldn't get on the potty fast enough and went poop in their pants.

Today, our children forgot that we have TWO bathrooms.

Today, our toddler skipped his nap.

Today, I realized that it would be less painful to put my hand in to a paper shredder than spend an entire afternoon with my toddler when he's skipped a nap.



Today, my husband went to the store and bought all of the ingredients necessary for a nice dinner. A dinner, which once prepared, my children stared at as if it was the smear across a beige couch or white bedspread.

Today, after realizing that the children weren't going to touch a bite of their dinner, I speed read "Green Eggs and Ham." Then, I brushed their teeth and got them in to their pajamas. Our toddler was so over tired and confused by the fact that one minute he was at the dinner table and five minutes later he, and all of his siblings were in bed, that he fell asleep crying, "I NOT WANT BWUSH MY TEEF!"

Today, our children were put in to bed at 6:18 PM. The Good Fairy smiled upon us and they were all asleep less than 10 minutes later (with sparkly clean teef).



Today, once everyone was settled down and Daddy was sipping a beer and thanking GOD that his children were FINALLY in bed (and Honey Sugar Iced Tea, how did we SURVIVE today?!) I went for a walk around our neighborhood and I visually soaked up the magnificent Jacaranda trees. They are in full bloom right now and while I love all flowered trees: Magnolias and Dogwoods and Cherry ... I don't believe I've ever seen anything more breathtaking than a drooping Jacaranda tree covered in bright purple blossoms.



Alice Walker wrote, "If you pass by the color purple in a field and don't notice it, God gets real pissed off."

I don't know about the getting pissed off part, but I do know that tonight when I was out walking beneath canopies of purple flowers, I stared in wonder at the majesty around me. And without even trying (or having a tranquilizer administered directly in to my carotid artery), all of my worries disappeared, everything was right in the world, and my confidence about what we'll be able to accomplish over the next eight days was totally restored.

I'll really miss Jacaranda trees and must look in to getting myself a bonsai version.

It'll be like my floral version of Xanax.