Not Sure if it was Kids or A Reportable Ransacking

     I spent yesterday in Buffalo at an annual education day. I came back to my office today to enough emails that I was alerted my mailbox was too full, and more consults and patient alerts than I thought possible after one single day away from my computer.
     Between work stress and the annual "Spring Schedule" stress, I stared at my computer screen this morning and realized that the feeling of barely suppressed panic has become normal for me anymore.
    
     Before I left the house to come to work this morning, I looked around my house in amazement. I felt like there was a good possibility it had been raided and ransacked, but, I honestly didn't care enough to file a police report. There was the same possibility that my children were responsible, and I am entirely too tired to care if the kids did it, or, if there was indeed a reportable issue. I tiredly asked the kids to at least start the washer before they left for school, and pick up when they get home, but, I know darn well they were nodding their heads earnestly just to get me to stop making these unreasonable requests. I am still waiting for them to change the bathroom garbage, which was the only thing I requested of them last weekend. As I walked out the front door and tripped over a truck on the porch, I noticed that my porch wasn't looking much better than my house. Sighing tiredly I decided to just ignore it and go to work. There was enough clothing on my porch to make me think at least two people must have been running around naked at some point recently. Since no one has shown up to inquire why naked people were running around, I figured it wasn't worth worrying about.
     Go ahead. Judge me. I don't even care. I haven't been home enough to enforce anything. And when I am home, I am too tired to care.


  
     This week is busier still, because, we are celebrating Kaila's upcoming 16th Birthday in a big way! Last night, I ran home from work, changed out of scrubs and into a dress, grabbed Kaila, and we were off to Buffalo to see Wicked.
     Today, I am leaving work early, and we are headed to my cousin's in New Jersey to spend some much needed beach time for the weekend. Honestly - we have no real plans. Just, "go to my Cousin Donna's house, and figure it out as we go" type plans. Sometimes those plans are the best ones.
     Also, Kaila has been instructed to bring her Learner's Permit study manual, as, she has just over a week to learn everything in it before she heads off to the DMV to take her Driver Permit Test. When the heck did I get old enough to have a driver in the family?? I can remember my own 16th Birthday just a few days ago, and that half excited, half terrified first time behind the wheel. I find myself getting a little more intense, when I lecture my patients who refuse to wear glasses while driving, now that I have to think that my kid will be on the same roadways. I used to think the hardest thing in the world was watching my kids learn to walk down stairs. Those moments when you hold your breath, and pretend you aren't positive they are going to tip head first from the top of the staircase and into the worst case scenarios are nothing, compared to the thought of putting your child behind the wheel. Ah well. I imagine I will be a mess when they start to move out.
     Kaila has a car already. A co-worker of the Bearded Man is selling her his car. It's a Chrysler. On the way home from Wicked last night, Kaila reported that she is thinking about naming her car "Gary" (We do that in this family.) "Gary is a good name." I said "I have a friend who just bought a Kia and named it "Mia the Kia". And her mother bought a Subaru Forrester, and named it "Forrester Gump".
     'Well. I have a Chrysler, Mom. If I did that, the only alternative is to name it "Jesus". And then I would have "Jesus Chrysler!"
     And this is why we're going to hell this week.


     Since I am thinking about it now, and the resulting guilt of it is bothering me, I should mention my pride and joy: my gardens. I planted lots of bulbs last fall, to try and come even close to my front garden looking nearly as nice as the local funeral home garden. I don't think it did though. Ever optimistic though, I bought lots of flowers this year from various school fund raisers. I am trying to decide if the lack of time to properly weed my gardens, combined with the more than usual amount of flowers that I planted between hauling children all over the country side for the last week, may have taken a turn from the intended "pretty and colorful" to "Gaudy and this is why our property values are so low". (I was once accused by an old neighbor of decreasing local property values, because of all the children's toys and bikes at my house. I was advised to please move the bikes to the back yard, but, decided not to on the spot. As far as I know, I am not solely responsible for the low property values around my home.)


     Anyhow. I need to get back to work, so I can have everything finished up for the day, so I can drive to New Jersey in a few hours. Have a Great Memorial Day weekend!