Have the kids this weekend. They went with James to hapkido this morning while Karen and I figured out the materials list for Penny's loft. Ok. To be honest, Karen figured it out and I just asked a lot of annoying questions ("So...the little quotation marks are
inches, right?") (which, thank Christopher Guest, I happened to know because of the Stonehenge scene in Spinal Tap). I hate math and sort of dread this project. Next step is to buy the lumber and get it home (two challenges there in the lack of $$ and lack of reliable transportation -- lack of $$ is the big one). Final step is to build the danged thing, which I think Karen would just do for me if I keep Sam and Tera for a few hours so she can work uninterrupted. Karen loves this sort of thing. I'm kind of useless at it.
BUT: three loads of laundry are completely done and folded, and I just finished a load of dishes & will be watching Sam & Tera this evening so Karen & James can be out for awhile. Also? I fed everyone lunch. Not bad for someone whose self-concept is that she is completely lazy & irresponsible and unwilling to do anything that resembles work.
Tomorrow is a self-sacrificing visit to
Hell on Earth Family Fun Center. The plan is to get there the minute it opens and leave an hour later, before it gets too crowded. I can't tell you how much I really, really hate going places that are loud or have a lot of people in them. But going there is part of the Being A Better Parent intention I set at the parenting workshop I took last month. I realized that I'm pretty good at being a fun parent at home, but that I never take the kids anywhere to do something that is fun for them unless another adult initiates it. And even then I go under protest. So this Family Fun Center thing? It was my idea, and the first of a potentially large number of such outings.
Monday is the beginning of the "Living Well with Chronic Conditions" workshop series I'm doing at group health. I think I know everything about it already, but I'm trying to stay open to the possibility that I might actually learn something that will improve my quality of life. One key issue I've identified is that there are challenges unique to living with a condition that is mostly hidden and never bothers me--until it does. One of the challenges is even remembering that I have a condition and taking care of myself in a way that avoids its symptoms.