Smokin'

It’s not the end of May unless we skid across the finish line battered, bruised, scraped up, sick as dogs, hopped up on antibiotics, chewed up, spit out, worn out and with a few embers glowing and smoking from our asses.

This May has been no different.

Oh, what a month this has been. QUITE a month, if I do say so myself. Granted, it would be busy without all the other, um, stuff that’s been going on, but truly, we have been running with flames flying out of our asses since the beginning of the month. And while I’m glad that it’s coming to a close, a part of me knows that this is the end of a chapter as well.

So, what have we been up to? Let’s see, 4 participation days in school, 4 field trips (2 missed because of illness), 2 bike days, 4 soccer games, 4 school meetings, grade 1 registration, a garage sale, gardening, 3 days of birthday celebration, the best birthday party ever, attendance at another birthday party, 1 random fever, 14 days of illness, another fever, strep, a round of antibiotics, house guests, house guests who end up in the hospital for 3 days, 2 epic photo books and now a kindergarten graduation on the horizon.

So, let’s break it down. School is almost done and in a way, thank GOD for that. It’s the biggest source of craziness right now with last minute field trips, celebrations and preparations. But at the same time… SNIFF! School is almost done! This is Mouse’s last year at this school before she moves onto big, public grade 1 in August. We LOVE our preschool and kindergarten and all of us have friends associated with it. It’s a bit sad when summer comes and we know we won’t see our friends daily. And it’s a place of change for me too. I’ll be moving from being “just a parent” and serving on the board, which has been a big thing for me, to being a parent and a TEACHER. For which I’m not prepared at all. I’ve also been making photo books for both girls’ teachers, a job I offer to do every year and lament every year because they are a pain in the butt. But, I know they will be worth the effort. I felt the same way last year – with photo books, school ending and the like.

The sickness. Oh, the sickness. Mouse started getting sick 2 weeks ago with a cold, which then turned into something else. Then Baboo had some weird random fever that lasted a day. Then I got sick with strep and now Mouse is even sicker and we’re both on antibiotics. Last year at this time Mouse was very sick with a stomach bug and just barely made it to school on the last day. She’s already missed 5 days of school just this month!

Hubster’s folks arrived to help us celebrate Mouse’s 6th birthday last Thursday. They arrived to a somewhat sick Mouse, me on the verge of losing my voice and getting strep, bike day and birthday celebrations at school for Mouse. Then I got strep and they had to take over our spot for the community garage sale, watch Mouse’s last soccer game (best birthday ever – she got a trophy!), and then I sucked it up and took the girls to another birthday party. We went for dinner for Mouse which we think lead to Hubster’s Dad ending up in the hospital for the last 3 days with a very serious case of gastroenteritis… but more on that later.

Sunday, after a few doses of antibiotics, I was supposedly no longer contagious and could move on to the big honkin’ birthday party for Mouse. It was fun… and over the top as I’m wont to do because geez, they only get 1 birthday a year – let’s make it MEMORABLE! I made the cake, planned the “great rescue of Queen Rainbow Flower’s treasure” and generally entertained 12 little girls for 2 hours with the help of Hubster's parents and the parents who stayed, croaking like a frog the whole time. However, it was very cool and Mouse loved every minute.

Monday Hubster rushed his Dad to the emergency room and after a few days of worry and not really knowing anything definitive – with discussions of exploratory surgery and the like, he finally seems to be improving.

Yesterday Mouse woke up in tears and it took me 1.5 hours to figure out that she was actually feverish and I suspected strep. Turns out it’s not strep but some secondary infection due to being sick so long and now she’s sporting 103 fever and gagging on antibiotics/Tylenol every few hours. Her kindergarten graduation is Friday and I’m just praying she’s well enough to go, though I may just drag her there anyway. Today she’s missing out on a cool train ride field trip and we’re all just bummed about it.

A part of me feels responsible for all of this. Hubster said that I’m not “happy” unless I’m moving through the end of the school year at a frantic pace. Well, I wouldn’t say that I was “happy” about it. Even without the extras that have happened, May would be a crazy month. There wasn’t a whole lot I could say “no” to. It is what it is and unfortunately, none of us here respond well to be dragged around at 150 mph. Our tempers, patience, energy and immunity are all a bit worse for wear.

My motto the whole month has been “just make it to May 29”. A friend recently asked me what was happening on May 29 and I looked at her emphatically and said “Nothing, absolutely NOTHING. And that’s the point.”

I know that next year, I’m going to have to find a way to be better prepared for May, because as much as I’d like to say that it won’t be as bad, and as much as Hubster would like to just skip the whole month altogether, it’s just going to be a crazy time. My only hopes for the here and now are that: father is law is well soon, the weather is good for the pool opening this weekend and the kids will be happy with my intention to have absolutely nothing planned for next week. I know it won’t last beyond that, but I sure hope we can at least get a week to catch our collective breath.

Sears Really Does Care

So, I did realize that I had something somewhat worth noting to write about.

Just after I posted my complaint about my dying washer, I received an email from a Sears Care rep apologizing for my crappy service and asking me to contact them to discuss any options for helping to make this right. Initially, I figured it was a scam and ignored it. Then I got another email, and decided to search on the internet to see if it was real. I couldn’t find anything, so I emailed back and said “Listen, I’m not sure you’re a real person and I’m not giving you my personal information, so give me a number to call you.”

Very promptly, as in less than a day later, I get an email seemingly from a real person with a real phone number. I pondered on this again for a few days and decide to call. Strangely enough, I get a real person right away and it really is the Sears Service department.

They apologized for the crummy service and offered to refund some of my money and offered me a discount on a new machine.

Now, the old machine is still working and we’ve decided that until it dies we will just live with it. I hesitate to say that it hasn’t gotten any worse, but it’s still running and that’s ok with us.

They were quick, pleasant and I received my refund prompty and did try to work things out. I appreciate that kind of effort.

So, thank you Sears Cares.