Valentiney Blob Day

Last night, I went to the 5th installment of my House of Order/organizing class series I am taking. The presenter shared at the beginning of class about how she was having a "blob day". Those are the days where one thing after another goes wrong and how you just have to do your best to try to not be overtaken by it all and how even organized people have them. She talked about her having serious van troubles that almost made her miss teaching the class, how she had found a way home if the van didn't restart, how she severely messed up her son's haircut and not having time or the means to fix it before he went to school today. Well, I must have been sitting too close to the front because her blob jumped ship and found its way to me.

For some reason, I am not feeling panicked or overwhelmed but I might still be in denial or shock. I felt compelled to write now while I still feel upbeat to keep my spirits up. Things really haven't been THAT bad at all but if this blob day continues..you just never know. I haven't had the urge to yell, cuss or go back to bed (despite some sniffles and sneezes my body is producing and could use it), so that is promising.

So today is the Valentine's party at Kindergarten. Olivia and her dad made some super cute elaborately cut out Valentine's for her 25 classmates last week. We put them in a large gallon ziploc and put them away for safe keeping--kind of. They have had many "safekeeping" spots throughout the last week. Well, we lost them. I called Sam this morning to see if he knew where they were he didn't BUT I found them. I put them on her bunk and suggested she sign them. Well, she lost them. We looked for them for 1.5 hr with many tears on Olivia's part accompanied by adamant declarations that we would never find them. I, surprisingly, wasn't bugged by her dramatic and inconsolable worry. We prayed to find those buggers. We even cleaned her extremely untidy bedroom in the process. There was a library of books under the bed too--but I digress. Despite our best scouting efforts, they were never unearthed.


So with 1 hr left until school, we made new ones. It was fun. I am glad we did it. Both Olivia and Maia got into it and it was fun to create and glue our fingers together around the kitchen table. Well, making 26 valentines with 2 little girls is fun but it is not a speedy process--especially when you want to shower, do 2 heads of hair and feed them lunch.

With 7 minutes left before school started, all the girls were buckled in, 2 heads of hair done, Olivia was eating cottage cheese in her carseat, and the baby looking snuggly and adorable despite a booger encrusted nose. I started the van and then remembered I had forgotten my purse. I turned the van off, retrieved my purse, got back in the van and proceeded to start the van. Vroo..chugga, chugga, move back half a foot. I proceeded again. Nada, besides a pitiful excuse for a turn over. Again..it turned over and I gunned it. It moved back 3 ft and stalled.

And then a BLOB of bird boop fell on the windshield right--front and center on the driver's side. And then the wind started to blow, snow started to fall, the baby started to WAIL and Olivia began to say things like "Oh No! Now I'll never make it to the party!", and "I guess we'll have to walk Mom!" Can you believe that? Ok, Ok, I am exaggerating a bit. There was no bird poop or wildly blowing snow but the baby did start to wail and Olivia did say those things.

I called a friend, she didn't have her phone on her. I tried the van..sputter, sputter, stall. I called Sam to tonelessly give him the 411. I tried the van again..I thought about calling my visiting teacher but she has mono and watches other children during the day and there was no way I was going to bring her into my blob. SO I called my visiting teachee--because well..I love her and her genuine and sunny disposition repels blobs. Success! She drove in on her silver suburban horse, said some friendly words, lovingly offered to pick Olivia up, checked Olivia in late at the office for me and took her to class with her own 3 year old in tow.

So now..here I sit. Wondering what other holiday blobs will hit. Will my cold turn into the flu so I can't go out tomorrow night? Will my babysitter get the chicken pox? I am thinking I will pull a Scarlett O'Hara and think about it tomorrow. Sam thinks the van just needs a tune up so I will leave that concern on his shoulders. For now, I will hope that the blob will just dissipate because I will not feed it with my anxiety. But I do think a handful of grain sweetened chocolate chips and almonds are in order. I think folding some towels while watching a Jane Austen movie has the power to incapacitate blobs too. The good thing is that blobs usually only last a day--I am counting on that.