3/3/08 The Late Shift

I went into work tonight, from 9pm-11pm. Sounds crazy? I got more done in two hours than I did all day. Not just because it was dead-quiet. Not just because there was no one around to ask questions of. Not just because driving there took 12 minutes with no traffic. No, because I wasn't tired. I was able to work when my mind was "on", when I could concentrate, rather than struggle all morning to stay awake and to think straight.

That's the main thing that's just not working about this current arrangement. In theory, it's great that I get to work at 8am, but in practice, I am so sleepy and draggy and have such a hard time pulling my thoughts together that it's actually painful. (And I shouldn't need to remind anyone that "go to bed earlier" just isn't in this equation; of course I'd do the obvious if it worked.)

I joke about it, but it's completely true, and really not that funny: I am a night person through and through. It's really a problem when the rest of your life isn't!

I picked Katrina up from Tonya's new house today, which I was dismayed to find is much farther than her old one. It's a 10-minute time savings, each way, as compared to driving to Melissa's, but I'm almost thinking that come August, I need to find childcare for Katrina that's 5 minutes away, not 15. I'd rather put her at Tonya's then, but as long as I'm still doing 3 separate pickups, the time driving and waiting at red lights takes a serious toll. Still, I'm not sure I can bring myself to put Katrina in a daycare center, even though (as Tonya herself volunteered) she could easily take it. Not a sensitive, delicate creature, that one, and I wouldn't worry about her adapting. But I still prefer the continuity of care that a family daycare can give, for a toddler who can't (exactly) communicate yet.

Before going back to work tonight, I did a few very important things.

First, I captured a moment of Julian kissing a tousled Katrina (very fuzzy but call it artistic license). Before she screeched and pushed him away, that is. I'm amazed how tolerant the boys are of the constant rejection.


Then I trimmed Julian's fingernails, and bonus! toenails.

Then I repaired Gabriel's beloved Bear, which had started to come apart at a seam. Few things make me feel more like a Mom than sewing back together a favorite stuffed animal.

And, after dinner, I sat on the couch and just talked to the boys. Gabriel rarely sits on the couch and makes himself a target to be talked to, but he happened to be there re-uniting with his new and improved Bear. Julian soon joined us, and we talked about the summer: making a trip back East (promising that they wouldn't miss fireworks), maybe some daycamps in July, first grade in August ("finally!").

I told them that I signed us up for a camping trip in September with some other families, which I'm so thrilled about I'm ready to get a family-sized tent and start camping now. We talked about where you sleep, how you get there, what happens if it rains (errr...), flashlights, campfires, and all sorts of things about camping. My Las Madres 2004 group did this trip last year, and it sounded like a total blast. I'm thrilled that I can start to think about doing these things again! (Other Moms will be there with babies; they're better at this than I am.)

The boys were both riveted until it was time for bed, and then time for me to sneak out and be a grownup in an office. My body might have been there, but there's no question where my heart was.

3/3/08