Schedule Saga
By~Ellen Fox
Hi Belinda,
I'm with you - you know my carefully crafted schedule that took weeks (6 of them working a minimum of 1 hr. a day) - also very colourful? Well, it bleeds every day.
No-where on the schedule does it say, "Eight year old boy drops 1-litre-bottle of olive oil (brand new of course) on the floor" - Clean up time - 1 hr. and 5 min. plus a whole bolt of paper towels. Did I mention that this occurred at 7:00 a.m.? No-where does it say "six year old daughter lets neighbour's cat in house - 5 children chase cat - it hides (wouldn't you?)" - Cat exit time 25 min.
Chewing gum caught in hair - had to Google what to do with that - then tried all mentioned remedies - finally after 45 min. , I cut the rest out.
This isn't to mention - twins playing in toilet - all garbage contents, toilet paper roll, and my current book for assessment, Charlotte Bronte's "Wuthering Heights" at the bottom of toilet bowl, totally soaked. I've never seen a book look like that! Oh, did I mention - the last toilet user forgot to flush the toilet?
Clean- up included: emptying toilet (what a privilege that was!) cleaning washroom, "bathing twins - time" - 1 and 1/2 hours - and a week of emotional recovery.
Oh and then there's the daily correctional time "Mom, I will not do my Math today" That wasn't on the schedule either.
Nor was: trip to hospital (3 since Sept. 1), illness, teething babies, and Jason's overtime, over-sleeping after a late night at writer's group or talking on the phone to a friend and grocery shopping (how did I forget that?)
Well...you get the picture--the colours bled. I am not a slave to my schedule- it is my tool. I am not a slave to my schedule - it is my tool. I am not a slave to my schedule - it is my tool. That mantra - there's no grace there, didn't cut the mustard. The inventor of the schedule said, "Don't be discouraged if you have an occasional 'off' day - just get right back 'on' and carry on."
Belinda, I didn't have one - no, not one, 'on' day - in 4 weeks. My tool was not a schedule, it was a hammer. It hit me on the thumbnail day after day after day. I know now that a schedule is only a guideline, an ideal, and for someone else's house, or for mine in a few years...it was a good experience though!
Anyways - I thought I'd share that bit of humour with you.
Love, from another maker of schedules,
Ellen Fox
Hi Belinda,
I'm with you - you know my carefully crafted schedule that took weeks (6 of them working a minimum of 1 hr. a day) - also very colourful? Well, it bleeds every day.
No-where on the schedule does it say, "Eight year old boy drops 1-litre-bottle of olive oil (brand new of course) on the floor" - Clean up time - 1 hr. and 5 min. plus a whole bolt of paper towels. Did I mention that this occurred at 7:00 a.m.? No-where does it say "six year old daughter lets neighbour's cat in house - 5 children chase cat - it hides (wouldn't you?)" - Cat exit time 25 min.
Chewing gum caught in hair - had to Google what to do with that - then tried all mentioned remedies - finally after 45 min. , I cut the rest out.
This isn't to mention - twins playing in toilet - all garbage contents, toilet paper roll, and my current book for assessment, Charlotte Bronte's "Wuthering Heights" at the bottom of toilet bowl, totally soaked. I've never seen a book look like that! Oh, did I mention - the last toilet user forgot to flush the toilet?
Clean- up included: emptying toilet (what a privilege that was!) cleaning washroom, "bathing twins - time" - 1 and 1/2 hours - and a week of emotional recovery.
Oh and then there's the daily correctional time "Mom, I will not do my Math today" That wasn't on the schedule either.
Nor was: trip to hospital (3 since Sept. 1), illness, teething babies, and Jason's overtime, over-sleeping after a late night at writer's group or talking on the phone to a friend and grocery shopping (how did I forget that?)
Well...you get the picture--the colours bled. I am not a slave to my schedule- it is my tool. I am not a slave to my schedule - it is my tool. I am not a slave to my schedule - it is my tool. That mantra - there's no grace there, didn't cut the mustard. The inventor of the schedule said, "Don't be discouraged if you have an occasional 'off' day - just get right back 'on' and carry on."
Belinda, I didn't have one - no, not one, 'on' day - in 4 weeks. My tool was not a schedule, it was a hammer. It hit me on the thumbnail day after day after day. I know now that a schedule is only a guideline, an ideal, and for someone else's house, or for mine in a few years...it was a good experience though!
Anyways - I thought I'd share that bit of humour with you.
Love, from another maker of schedules,
Ellen Fox
Comments