The Time Sink

How did the weekend plans work out? Not well at all! ...although I did manage to get a blading run in after church before the next round of crazy weather hit. Man, this series is like the later Spring storms, just all sorts of stuff hitting and clearing and then coming back again. Shelley was cross-town yesterday afternoon when I asked her how much rain she was getting, and she said she hadn't seen any yet. I was just ten miles east and had two different rain squalls hit in about twenty minutes. ...and then came the lightning and thunder!

So, what to do? I have work I really want to get going on since Saturday afternoon and evening turned into an entertainment session for some youngsters. ...and Sunday ended up being "Tax Day, Part II". I think a little regrouping is in order. ...and while I was thinking about taking some days off mid-week from the office, those plans fell apart a bit due to some senior management schedules.

Still, the back end of the week is open, and the boys are off the Monday after Easter. I need to take a look at what I can get done in the evenings (hey, no homework! ...or so we've been told <g>) and see about taking days off then. There is work to be done here!

Well, the rains held off yesterday long enough for me to get a major shopping run in and for Shelley to clean part of the garage. Now to settle in for a day or so of wetness before the weekend (which promises to be clear).

Whoo boy, did the rains come in yesterday! Wow, and the winds with them! Yep, going outside was a real adventure at times. ...and I had to go out twice (one planned and not too bad, but one in the middle of some of the worst of it). Sheesh...

...and it does appear to be time for a day off: last night after I came home I sat down on the couch to read a bit before dinner. RunTunTun settled into my lap and the next thing I knew I was watching Shelley and Brad play a board game on the kitchen table. ...and it was dark outside. Yeah, two hours out like a light with no clue that dinner had been called or served.

Okay, it's officially 'days off" for me for a few. Yeah, I'll be 'on call', but that's been part of the turf for thirty-five years now...

What I'm going for here is just a little down time like I took at Christmas, just a little time when everyone is off and we can interact outside the forced scheduling of the school year. Yeah, we'll probably all do our own thing, but if we can even spend some evening movie time together it'll be worth it.

One rule I learned a few years back about taking days off to relax is to take the first day off and relax. It sounds simple, but the tendency is to try to "do things" and then continue them into the next few days. The trap there is that you can actually get things done, but you soon find out that you never really relaxed!

So yesterday was a bit of 'think hard before you do anything' kind of day. I was still up early; heck I was out blading at 0730 with the morning traffic (and yeah, like in the 40s too!), but I came back and got a shower instead of working in the yard or 'starting something' and even had some yogurt instead of cooking breakfast...

...and then somehow I ended up with a cat in my lap and nap before noon! That wasn't on the agenda, but again, if my body wants rest that bad, I'm not going to argue too much. I managed a longish photo walk after I work up and then spent much the afternoon reading. Well, when I wasn't at the chiropractor getting my shoulder worked on or making a store run...

...and I kept the evening low key too, just some more reading and a little work here. ...and off to bed early so I can maybe catch up with the sleep thing. ...and yes, I do have lots of plans, but the first and foremost is to pull some serious detox.

Well, I/we did manage some detox yesterday, but it wasn't exactly what I'd planned for... I did get up early again and went blading before the temps hit the fifties (but also before the winds came up); but after my shower, I decided to find the packing material so I could return the small camera I carry when I can't carry the A-2:; for some reason the automatic lens cover isn't so automatic anymore! ...and I managed to find everything I needed without tearing the garage up too much. ...but then Shelley and I decided it was time to do the final bits of signature work on the taxes, and that lead to both of us doing our checkbooks and paying bills and ....

Yeah, by the time all that was done, Shelley's idea of maybe gathering everyone along as she signed up for Brad's LazerQuest party and having us play a game or two with our Christmas present tickets sounded like an okay idea. ...and that's where the afternoon went!

...but the kicker was when I talked Shelley into going in with us on the last game. Oh, yeah. You could make a case for not taking an MS patient into a foggy, darkened wargame area, but after seeing her with a laser trying to take out the other players (especially that one pesky sniper) I'd have to say she had a good time. I doubt we'll ever get her back in again, but hey, it was fun working together again, albeit something a little different from EMS work <g>!

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"Any sufficiently advanced technology is
indistinguishable from magic."
Arthur C. Clarke, "Technology and the Future"

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