Pausing to Take a Breath

I am alive, if overwhelmed. We have been super busy and I haven't had the energy to do much more than read blogs. I haven't even been able to comment as I would like.

Next week is the kiddo's last week of school and his last week of t-ball. Friday, assuming all goes according to plan, we will be heading up to North Carolina for Memorial Day weekend to visit Sam and finally meet his family. (Oh yes, there is much trepidation on my part.) While there, I'll be getting started on looking at rental properties and getting a feel for the general cost of living. So, yes, still planning to move this summer. I'll be providing more details soon as well as posting about books and other things I want to give away.

Speaking of the kiddo, his final assessment scores for occupational therapy came back this week and they were astounding. He is now considered average for his age range in terms of fine and gross motor skills whereas back in November he was well below average. I'm not sure I can convey how huge this is, but I do know he's worked hard and it shows. His therapist still reccomends another year of Occupational Therapy to maintain his skills, but it looks like next year may be the last year he'll need the OT. Speech will, of course, be needed for a few more years, I think, though there is hope that he will be phased out of there before all is said and done.

I've been in a funk for a few months, I know, but now that there's a light at the end of the tunnel, and I know I can get out of here, I'm starting to feel better. Getting up to visit Sam next weekend will be a nice shot in the arm, and knowing school is out is putting a good sort of pressure on me to get off my duff and get to work.

I'll probably be quiet for another week as next week will be complete murder. We have things to do every single day next week, and even with the kiddo only going to school Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for half a day, I'm still going to be running myself ragged. There's a doctor's appointment for Mom in Augusta (standard stuff, nothing serious), vet appointments for both dogs (again, nothing serious), and the kiddo's awards ceremony at school. Oh, and two more t-ball games, one of which I'm providing snacks and drinks for after the game. Thursday will be a parent-teacher end-of-year conference, plus errands to pay bills, handling banking stuff, and the kiddo's final t-ball game. And then, of course, Friday is when we'll be driving up to North Carolina after dropping Sasha off at the boarders since Mom can only handle Penny (Sasha can jump Mom's fence while Penny is calm and loves spending time with Mom). Somewhere in all of that I'll be squeezing in household chores and packing for the trip.

Oh man, I feel exhausted just typing all that. And now I go to bed so I can be up before the post office closes tomorrow to pick up a package. Fun.

Weekend Lyrics

Going on a Depeche Mode kick again. Woo.

"A Pain That I'm Used To"
Depeche Mode

I'm not sure what I'm looking for anymore
I just know that I'm harder to console
I don't see who I'm trying to be instead of me
But the key is a question of control

Can you say what you're trying to play anyway
I just pay while you're breaking all the rules
All the signs that I find have been underlined
Devils thrive on the drive that is fueled

All this running around, well it's getting me down
Just give me a pain that I'm used to
I don't need to believe all the dreams you conceive
You just need to achieve something that rings true

There's a hole in your soul like an animal
With no conscience, repentance unknown
Close your eyes, pay the price for your paradise
Devils feed on the seeds that are sown

I can't conceal what I feel, what I know is real
No mistaking the faking, I care
With a prayer in the air I will leave it there
On a note full of hope not despair

All this running around, well it's getting me down
Just give me a pain that I'm used to
I don't need to believe all the dreams you conceive
You just need to achieve something that rings true

All this running around, well it's getting me down
Just give me a pain that I'm used to
I don't need to believe all the dreams you concieve
You just need to achieve something that rings true

I knew I hadn't seen Murphy in a while.

So, there I was driving home from picking the kiddo up at Mom's when suddenly my truck shuts off in the middle of the highway and I'm left coasting to the side of the road. Hmmm, I think, this could be a very bad sign.

And it is.

The truck will be towed tonight to the mechanic of my choice, but I won't be able to find out anything until maybe Monday morning or afternoon. I'm hoping it's the battery or some other simple fix, but so long as it's not anything on the level of replacing the entire engine, I ought to be able to handle it. Ideally, I want to drive that truck until the frame falls off; it's got sentimental value in that it was Dad's truck. It's only eight years old, so I think it can still last me a while.

The bad news is that this might put a kink in my holiday plans. It will at least make getting the kiddo to school and t-ball that much more difficult. If the truck can't be fixed by Tuesday morning, then I'll have to try and get the dogs to the vet another day since they're way too big for Mom's car.

Tomorrow evening, Mom is bringing her car over here and then I'll drive her home so I can use her car to get the kiddo to school. After the kiddo gets out of school Monday morning at 11:00, she'll drive us back home and then head off to her doctor's appointment. I get to sit around and wait and see if the mechanic can get to my car and what he can tell me. Beyond that, I don't know what my week will be like now. I do know that if I can't make it to North Carolina on Friday as planned, then I will be going up the following weekend.

Just when things were looking up, this happens. And the thing is, it wouldn't bother me so much if the truck had showed any outward sign of breaking down. Apart from the a/c having the rare fit and not wanting to run (for, like, one day), it's been driving beautifully. I did know the front brakes need to be replaced eventually, but it wasn't like they were in danger of failing on me, and this wasn't the brakes today. It was the engine just shutting off and then being unable to idle when it was restarted. I'm just lucky I was in a place with little traffic and that I could pull over onto the side of the road without risking an accident, and I suppose I'll just be thankful that it happened now and not when I was, say, in the middle of nowhere in North Carolina.

Living in a rural area several miles from the nearest store of any kind really sucks when your only mode of transportation goes kaput. If not for Mom, I'd be so screwed for school transportation. At least I've got a pantry and refrigerator full of food.