I should have known the minute I walked out of the door in my pajamas to drive carpool… the day promised adventure (if you call it that). At least I had a full tank of gas and wouldn’t be walking that embarrassing road again!

I was wearing my pajamas because I had my morning timed almost to the minute. The clothing aspect of the day had not yet made it to the docket. If I left the house by 7:33, I could get kids to both school and make it home in time to shower, dress and leave for my 9:00 Bible study. I had also (procrastinator alert!) put off printing some materials for the meeting; but I purposefully built in a little time so I wouldn’t feel rushed. It seems that every Wednesday, no matter how prepared I am, can be described as “rush” – not my favorite thing.

Just as we’re turning into the drive for one of the school drop-offs, front-seat kid moans, “I forgot my _____.” It doesn’t really matter what it was. It could have been anything… we’ve all walked this road.

“Well,” I reply, “we could go back home and get it – you’ll for sure be tardy. Or you can live the consequences of forgetting.” For this kid, three tardies = detention (and not a fun detention, mind you.)

“Let’s go home. … I really need it.” he begrudgingly replies.

Hmmmm…. I’m loving the responsible decision, but I’m super frustrated at how this is about to affect my schedule.

We go home and get ________.  Believe it or not, the kid was only five minutes late. Late is late, though. By the end of the day I had an email from the teacher. Oh, well. Might there be lessons learned.

I did get dressed, printed out my stuff and made it just in time. During my meeting, I got a phone call from my husband, who is racing around trying to get his bag packed for a trip.

“Hey. Listen, there is a swarm of bees in our yard. There has to be at least 500. I’ve called a bee guy to come get what looks like a hive on our tree.” We noticed the bees last weekend, but the amount of busy little bodies has increased exponentially.

“Ok.” Pause “Do you need me to come home and meet him? … because I kind of can’t leave. Plus, I need to race from here to Speed Police’s school for Medieval Day (a live history day where kids and moms (!) come dressed in themed garb – again, not my favorite).”

“No. I’ve talked with him. He’s on his way and I’ve arranged payment.”

“Ooookay. … How did you find him?”

“On the internet.”

GREAT! (the sarcastic thought response of a nay-sayer)

The Bee guy ended up being super nice and competent. His services were also one of a few unexpected expenditures for the day.

The little critters after meeting Bee Guy. Due to the size of the swarm, location of the cluster and potential danger, he had to kill most of them.

As I drive away from the house, Bee Guy was suiting up. I was a little disappointed to be missing out on the Discovery Channel action taking place in my back yard… but I had to get to school and fulfill my duties at Ye Old Activity Day. Looking down at the console in my car, I notice a cookie left over from lunch. I take a bite of the oversized cookie. It wasn’t even a good cookie, but I still partook… just because it was there. I wish I hadn’t.

Crunch. Hmmmm… Strange that something so hard and crunchy would be in a nut-free chocolate chip cookie. Oh – that’s not a nut. That’s one of the crowns off a tooth.

Nice.

I make a quick phone call to our dentist. “Is it normal for a crown to fall off?” Their response? “No.” Needless to say, they made room for me in the afternoon schedule. … Sound like fun? Not so much. But, after a few squirmy moments, I left the office with my crown back on the tooth – and a little more ka-ching out the door.

Next, I get a call from Clara.

“Kay?…”

“Hi Clara.”

“Kay – The dryer has stopped working. It’s no longer hot anymore.” I wanted to shake my head with a little “what else” action.

So I came home and gathered the three wet loads and headed with a crew to the laundromat. Despite the inconvenience and the dreaded cost of fixing the (or buying a new) dryer, I was actually excited about our pending adventure.

Welcome to the “Spin Cycle”… Love a clever name!

The kids had never seen so many washers and dryers.

It was so good for them to realize that having appliances is a privilege, not a right.

They all enjoyed the cool chrome folding table.

This one was in hoarding heaven. So many baskets and potential places to put things… Mmmmmm.

I might put this sign up in my house. Especially that last line!

As we waited for the drier to finish, one child might have been overheard saying to their mother, “This is boring. Not a little, not a teeny, not a smidgen… but A LOT boring!”

“Boring” isn’t always bad.

So, by the end of the day, I had my tooth repaired, hundreds of bees removed from our yard, and taught open-concept laundry 101. Its about time part of my crew knows how to operate a coin drier. (I just might have to take them over and show them how the coin washer works). I introduced the kids to a lifestyle lots of folks live. They met some nice people. And… miracle of miracles ….all socks matched.

All in all a good equipping day … but, I’m still not sure I shouldn’t have just stayed in my pajamas… and maybe home :)

Thanks for walking the road with me.

-Kay