As many of you tactfully predicted in the comments of THIS POST, my first Tuesday of the school year DID NOT GO AS PLANNED.
For one thing, you guys, I GOT MY PERIOD for the first time in NINE MONTHS. This means that my menopause clock (menopause is official when you have gone a whole year without a period) STARTS OVER. I also got a terrible little raging insomnia bout and had just awful PMS (maybe the p stands for PERPETUAL), so I was already a little off my game. (I got a different brand of estrogen patch when I refilled instead of the one I had been enjoying, and the adhesive didn't really work and I didn't notice right away, and I think that's what kicked off the shitstorm. I am still waiting for more follow up from my menopause care provider to see if I need to adjust meds or maybe have some imaging.) (I am also calling pharmacies trying to find my OG brand in stock-- apparently, this happens with estrogen patches; they don't all work the same for everyone). (Spent a whole day tracking a box down. Had to pay $100 since it was an early refill and my insurance wouldn't cover it. They will cover it again next week, so I will order then and stay a few patches ahead in case sourcing is an issue again. My provider also made a note that I can only have a certain brand, which sometimes encourages a pharmacy to stock that brand).
For another thing-- and this is the thing you noticed-- I am expecting to do A WHOLE LOT before I leave the house on Tuesdays. Luckily! I am tracking my time right now, so I can tell you exactly how the morning went.
I meant to get up at 5, but I BARELY SLEPT AT ALL (did not fall asleep until sometime after TWO AM), and my iPhone alarm was on silent (WHY IS THIS A FEATURE? WHO MEANS TO SET A SILENT ALARM?), sooooooo I got up at 6.
6:00: Put on a sweatshirt and exfoliating foot lotion and dorky crew socks (anytime I wear socks, I treat it like a mini foot spa situation), dorky ankle weights, and a dorky vest and walk Annabel while listening to The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus; start laundry on the way out
6:30: Wash my face and apply one million potions. Put on my under eye patches. Help Minnie get dressed in the outfit she picked out for her self-proclaimed PINK WEEK, help her brush her teeth, persuade her to wear at least some of her hair out of her face, make her requested breakfast of a peanut butter sandwich, a piece of cheese, grapes, and a Danimal (shrug). Celebrate Cooper when he came upstairs (FOURTEEN LAST TUESDAY!); switch laundry.
7:00: Supervise sibling gift opening and encourage Coop to text the grands to thank them for his gifts and cards; general kid management, although I also had time to drink coffee since Minnie needs the most hands-on help, and she is pretty much ready to go before she eats breakfast and can go straight from the table to school; pack lunches and ice packs and water bottle into bags (the actual lunches themselves get packed the night before). Decide my hair looks so cute with my face-washing headband on that I actually WEAR a headband for the day (different one); do a literal 5-minute face with a timer, and throw on my second first day of school outfit (one of my classes met for the first time!!)
7:30: Walk Minnie to school; come home to wipe down bathrooms real fast before leaving by 7:45 with Dorothy and Coper to go out to breakfast. (my work bag was packed, so all I had to do was throw my phone in there and go).Tidy breakfast (not messy since it was only Minnie and Jack), and switch laundry again as we leave).
8:00 Birthday breakfast at Hubbard and a quick trip to Kwik Trip to load up on energy drinks and garbage treats.
9:00 Drop Dorothy and Cooper at school; rush to campus (only 2 miles but SO MUCH TRAFFIC). Park, walk to my classroom.
Missing from my morning? Cardio and strength training, bed making and general tidying. I had to fit this all in (45 minutes of exercise; 20 minutes of general housework) in the afternoon, subtracting it from focused work time. WHICH IS WHY I EXPECT SO MUCH OF TUESDAY MORNINGS.
