I'm kind of flipping out because I don't know how I'm going to accomplish getting everyone where they need to go tomorrow. I'm wondering where my very real needs are going to fit into all of this. I'm still suffering from this headache that has been going on for at least 5 whole days now. It goes away. That's the good part. I've taken prescription medication (Maxalt) three times during this period, which is more than I feel comfortable taking in the course of a whole month, and it has worked each time. But it only removes the symptoms, as it says on the bottle. I get relief, my life goes on just fine, and I haven't even gotten too directly sick from it (normally it leaves me wanting to barf). The trouble is, the next day, the thing is back again. I started taking Excedrin Migraine, and that also helps a little, if it doesn't wig me out completely. And then I have taken some ibuprofen, usually only once a day. Yesterday I woke up with a weird pain on the right side of my abdomen, which is the scary side (appendix, gallbladder, liver, etc.) And today I was just in bad, bad shape. I can't tell what's the migraine (my head didn't hurt at all this morning) and what's the medicine and what's whatever is behind the whole thing (weather, food, hormones). At any rate, it has to stop. I can't deal with this every day. I spent today trying not to take anything else because everything I was taking was potentially causing me problems. But by 6:00, I couldn't take it any more, and I broke down and took Goody's Powder, an old standby that sometimes takes the edge off. It worked. I still feel a hint of pain, but nothing like what I had before. And I was finally able to eat. Of course, I might never sleep again from all that caffeine so late, but hey....

Tomorrow is scaring the living hell out of me. I had made an appointment for our wasting-away-dog late last week, and that's at 9:45, which is right after preschool dropoff. No problem. Then I added in a doctor's appointment for myself when I called at 4:30 today--11 a.m. A little bit of a problem, since if they're running behind I'm a little late for preschool pickup. But it's doable. I just might have a dog in my car for it. Then there is piano at 1:30, art at 2:30, art pickup at 3:30, and a double shot of can't-be-in-two-places-at-once at 4:00 with dance and Latin. I figured I'd drop off at dance early, then rush to Latin and sweat a lot.

Then, uh-oh, at 6:20, I get a call saying that Frances needs to be at a rehearsal downtown tomorrow from 11-3. I don't know if I can swing that! There's no way to get all the way down there and back for my 11 a.m. appointment. I think I'll have to cancel that, which I hate to do since I've been really miserable with this headache and would like something to make it go away. I could cancel on the dog, but I hate to do that because he looks like he is going to die. I could drop art, but I hate to do it to Walter, who wants to be there and already missed one of his classes for this session. And I probably will call to cancel Latin, since that's the one thing too many, though I suppose in some ways we'll be done by then.

What I see is a whole day of not just rushing and being in the car, but that kind of heart-stopping late to everywhere with everyone mad at you at every single turn. The vet runs late and I'm screwed for the rehearsal; the drop-off there takes more than 5 minutes and I'm late to the doctor. The doctor is late and I'm late to preschool. Any delay in picking up Frances, and the not-quite-enough-minutes I have while Walter is in art makes me late to pick him up. And it goes on and on! I want to just vanish and leave town before it can happen!

And then, when I thought that all I needed to do was take Frances to a TV interview on Wed. morning and another at noon, and she'd miss her acting class. But now it looks like I might have to hold Rutledge out of preschool on Wednesday and have the boys skip their math class so that I can be out at a rehearsal that I hadn't planned on because for the past four weeks we had been scheduled to rehearse all day Friday. Now I'm not sure what it all means. And it's book club day for Walter's selection, and I have no idea how he is going to be there. Sigh.... I knew that this week would be hard, but we had our schedule, it had been confirmed last week, and I had made plans for how to handle it. Now these late minute changes are really throwing me for a loop!

Of course, all of it comes on the heels of the snow week, where lots of things were canceled. Now we're missing things left and right again!

Today we were home almost all day, except for the part where Kerry was resentfully having to drive. I didn't teach this morning because I wasn't feeling well. Then Latin got rescheduled. But the boys had a birthday party to attend, and I was able to get them there, but then I had two hours to kill while I wasn't feeling great and had two kids in tow in the rain. I went to Ukrop's to get them a rotisserie chicken for lunch and to pick up some chips and cookies to take to Walter at the party (he can't eat pizza and cake). Brought him his food. Went to Costco to pick up a pork loin to make for dinner and to get some yogurt and other things we needed. Then was heading to the library when Kerry called and said he could go get them, but I had to meet him in the middle to pass off the flute and trumpet. He dropped them at flute and trumpet. I watched the writing video portion on writing critiques so I could teach the boys. Then I went to pick them both up. Came back and finished up dinner while Kerry picked up Frances from ballet. It is very important to me right now that we start to eat at the table like a normal family. It isn't going to happen every day of the week, but it should happen often enough that it feels like this is our typical dinner, not a special occasion. Afterwards, we had the Mardi Gras king cake with the sugar baby in it. And Walter and I had ice cream bars, since we can't eat it. Played a game of chess with Ollie, who quickly beat me. Played a few games of Ticket to Ride. Went through everyone's schoolwork with them, except for writing, which I wanted to do and couldn't fit in. We finished "The Secret Garden" and I will have them write about it at some point tomorrow (in our copious free time!). And we started "Om-Kas-Toe of the Blackfeet," which is going very quickly. The Secret Garden was such a total delight that anything is going to seem like less for a while. I was thinking that our next read should be Little Women, but now I'm thinking that Anne of Green Gables might be the better choice. Frances needs something she can really relate to, and this just might be it.

I have this nagging feeling that I should be watching more of the Olympics, and not just after 11 p.m. Actually, I have a nagging feeling that I shouldn't be up past 11 a.m., since maybe this is behind my headaches. But I do feel like I get enough sleep--it's just more in the 12:30-8:30 or 9:00 range most days, not in the 10-6, which is probably preferable but which I've never pulled off in all my life. I don't know whether it is possible or desirable to change what seems to be your lifelong pattern, or whether there really is something physically superior about early to bed and early to rise. I think a lot of Americans end up with the late to bed, early to rise, and at least I don't tend to do that. But I swear, I'd do anything to have fewer headaches these days!