Monday, February 14, 2011

Desperately Seeking a Change in Perspective

I'm pleased to announce that I'll be going back to my usual sporadic posting schedule soon. I've accepted a new job. I'm fairly excited about it- I think the job will be a lot of fun. But that is all I am going to say on the matter, since I like to keep up the fiction that this is an anonymous blog and the details of the job are fairly specific. Also, I have a rule about blogging about work- i.e., I don't do it, except in the most general terms- and I'm not about to break the rule on this job before I even start it.

Anyway, I start work on February 28th. Now that I only have a couple of weeks of freedom left, my days seem more precious. I have a long list of things I'd like to get done before I start work (fun stuff, like scrubbing the mold off my shower curtain while wondering why I don't just buy a new one, clearing out the surfeit of bottles in our cupboards now that I'm not pumping anymore, and figuring out what the heck to do with a bunch of underwear that are a size too small for Pumpkin). But I also want to enjoy my time a bit. So today, I decided to run a couple of errands in Pacific Beach, and then head down to the beach for a walk.

Walking on the beach mid-week is a very different experience than walking on it on the weekends. There are very few people there- a few families visiting from out of town, a few local families, some retired people, and your usual smattering of free spirits (one of whom was doing a unique mix of yoga and dance on the beach today) and homeless people. And of course, the birds:



(I also saw a squadron of pelicans doing a low fly over, but I wasn't fast enough to capture that in a picture.)

I was planning to go home, eat some lunch, and then spend the afternoon knocking chores off of my to do list. Then, as I headed back to my car, my phone rang. It was day care, telling me that Petunia had a fever. So, instead of driving home, I drove to day care. Petunia didn't feel hot when I picked her up, but she was clearly not feeling like her usual playful self- she was just sitting in the middle of the floor, ignoring all the toys and looking a little mournful.

I drove home still hoping to get something useful done. It was almost time for Petunia's nap, and she generally naps well. But not today. She didn't really want to go to sleep, and once I got her asleep, she screamed at me if I moved to put her down in her crib. So I sat on the sofa and read. I finished the book on bullying (I am now seriously freaked out about when my kids start school, but still have no idea how to help Pumpkin handle a little girl who alternates between following her around asking to be her "best friend" and doing random mean things for no discernible reason). I watched an episode of Bones. After an hour and a half, Petunia woke up, nursed and fell back to sleep on the Boppy on my lap. I didn't expect her to sleep long, so I turned on another Bones episode. She slept for two hours. Not only did I not get anything done, I was scrambling to start dinner once she finally woke up.

Petunia will be home with me tomorrow, per day care rules about staying out for 24 hours after a fever. I also made a doctor's appointment for her, to get her ears and lungs checked. She and I have both still been coughing from the cold we had two weeks ago, so there is an outside chance that she's got some sort of lung infection. I suspect it is just yet another cold, though. (Here is where I fight the urge to scream WHEN WILL THIS COLD AND FLU SEASON FINALLY BE OVER??????)

I know that this shouldn't really bother me. After all, it is better to have her sick now than in two weeks. None of the items on my to do list are really urgent (although Hubby does curse every time he reaches for a wine glass and has plastic bottles fall out of the cupboard and that shower curtain is pretty gross). Some day soon, I'll miss the chance to sit on the sofa and hold a sleeping baby- already, it is unusual to get a snuggle longer than a few seconds out of Pumpkin. The weather is not even supposed to be that good tomorrow, so I'm not really missing out on prime outdoor time opportunities (and if the weather does turn out to be nice, Petunia loves to be outside). By any objective measure, spending a day with a playful toddler is more fun that scrubbing mold off of a shower curtain. So why am I so antsy about my to do list?

18 comments:

  1. Congratulations on the new job!

    (Also, I was shocked to find out you can throw shower curtains in the washing machine. Works like a charm.)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yay on the job!! I'm the same way with to-do lists: I want to get things done and feel a bit guilty when I'm just snuggling with Evan when he's asleep. I have to remind myself that this phase won't last forever!

    ReplyDelete
  3. paola2:54 AM

    Congratulations on the job. I did read about it on another blog but didn't think it was the right thing to comment on when I wasn't goign to comment on the post that was up.

    I am in a similar situation to you at the moment. I have about a week and a half off between courses and had planned a lot of fun things like the hairdresser, a doctor's visit, plus some running, when first Zoe, last week, and now Noah have come down with colds and so no kinder. My plans have gone down the gurgler. Of course having a 6 year old is a different thing to having a 4 year old home, but although I can dye my hair in relative peace, I can't take off for a run without asking my MIL to look after Noah for an hour or so.

    Anyway enjoy these 2 weeks before getting back to the slog. And do yourself a favour and buy the shower curtain, becasue mould is really a shit to get off.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Congratulations on the job! The time where you've got a job all lined up but haven't started yet has always been my favorite. I feel like I can finally relax and enjoy myself - like being on vacation but even better because the work isn't piling up.

    I would vote to throw the shower curtain in the washing machine. I hate scrubbing mold off, and I never manage to get it clean enough.

    Good luck with getting over the colds. I totally understand how it feels to have your whole plan thrown completely out the window and not able to make a new one.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good news about the job. I hope the commute is easy, too.

    About that shower curtain. I read that you can throw a shower curtain in the washer with some towels and it will clean itself.

    When I tried it, it only worked somewhat. But somewhat is better than nothing and you can finish up the remainder by hand (or just hang it up halfway cleaned).

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dollar store: new shower curtain liner. I buy them 10 at a time and replace as needed. They're cheap so they rip about the same time they get moldy.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Congrats on the new job! I constantly struggle with enjoying the moment when I have things on my To Do list hovering (which is always), so I understand. I also understand your desire to clean the current curtain given your concern about the environment. Enjoy your two weeks of freedom.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Congratulations on your new job!! I always have to-do lists (on paper and running through my head). I can relate to the dreaded "fever" call from daycare as it seems to strike at the most inopportune times (work-wise) then I end up trying to run around the apartment attempting to cross stuff off my list while trying to take care of DS and checking my work e-mail. Hope you get some time to enjoy the last few weeks!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Congratulations on the new job! I vote for new shower curtain too!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Congrats on the job!

    And to celebrate, buy a new shower curtain! (If you want my unsolicited advice, that is.) Or, you could try my trick, which is soaking it in a bleach solution overnight then washing it out in the morning.

    I hear you on cold season. Ugh. It's kicked our collective rear in our family already, and it's only February.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Congratulations on the new job!

    I have to say, what I miss most about having a baby that now sleeps well in her cot is my daily fix of Bones and all the reading time I had...I now have a bunch of dvrd episodes of Bones to watch and I'm just not getting through them! I'm currently working on catching up on Glee - my husband claims to enjoy neither show, but he will sit with me for Glee. He walks off to do something when it is Bones. The "science" really bugs him.

    ReplyDelete
  12. @zenmoo, that's funny that the pseudo-science in Bones bugs your husband. I just let it wash over me... almost no mainstream media gets the depiction of science right. CSI is the most hilarious. Pipetting was never so cool when I was doing it....

    ReplyDelete
  13. My vote is to treat yourself to a new shower curtain. You've got a job! You can afford it! SPLURGE that $10! :)

    Seriously I don't think I have ever scrubbed a shower curtain in my life. Just not worth it.

    Congrats on the job though. It's great you got something you can be excited about, and you get a couple weeks break in there too.

    Sucks about the colds and flu though... still running through our house too. Right now we are all sick. Boo.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Congratulations on the new job! What's a Boppy? I'm intrigued....

    ReplyDelete
  15. Congratulations on the new job!

    Free time to do list - I always struggle with doing the things that are harder to do with Tate around vs doing things that will give me satisfaction to have them done. Me, I would plow through the mountain of laundry and organize my closet. Yes, I can do those things a little bit at a time with Tate around but I would feel oh so much better with all those clothes clean and in a home out of sight.

    Considering it pained you to have to buy a new table cloth, I'm thinking just buying a new shower curtain liner is not happening... :)

    I like Melba's idea that the priorities will manifest in your actions. I hope you find a sense of peace with however you choose to spend the next week.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks, everyone!

    I'm thinking I'll try washing the shower curtain and see what happens.

    @s.mckellar- a Boppy is a nursing pillow. It is shaped like a C and fits around your waist, and the baby lays on it (or on your arm resting on it) while she nurses.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Congratulations on the job! What a relief that must be! I hope you enjoy your time with the kiddo without worrying too much about the list of things to do.

    I'm so happy to find other people who watch Bones. I really enjoy that show (it's my only crime drama), although the third season was not the best, I really like the direction they are taking now.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Congrats on the job offer!!! :)

    ReplyDelete

Sorry for the CAPTCHA, folks. The spammers were stealing too much of my time.