Monday, August 10, 2009

Too Much



This car, which I photographed in a neighboring county, looks about like I feel. At one point in time a perfectly functioning vehicle, it now lies in a state of disrepair and neglect with unwanted hair strange things sprouting from its face.

It is Monday, and all I'm going to do today is whine, be forewarned. Exhausted physically and mentally, I have far too many irons in the fire and not enough hands to hold them.

Here's the Whine List from Chez Chesapeake Bay Woman:

1. My paying job requires me to leave home at 6:15 a.m. and be gone until after 5 each day.

2. Upon returning home from work, I am absolutely exhausted, yet there is no time to rest. Animals need feeding; grass needs cutting; laundry needs doing; dishes need cleaning; blog posts need writing; phone messages must be returned; e-mails need responding to, children need to be acknowledged as human beings and fed. Need. Need. Need.

3 Due to sheer exhaustion and lack of time, I don't exercise or eat as well as I should. This makes me feel even worse.

4. The summer is flying by. It's almost over, and I haven't done anything with my children. They'll be back in school with hectic sports schedules and there won't be time to breathe. It seems like this summer has been squandered, usurped by my work and my life.

5. I don't want to be responsible for anything, yet I am responsible for everything.

6. I need a vacation.

7. Mondays are the worst.

8. There are 42,563,000 red chili peppers and 659,762 jalapenos in my tiny garden, and I have no idea what to do with them. There are only so many hot peppers you can consume in a given day without bursting into flames, and neither of my kids likes them.

9. My son turns 14 on Thursday. 14. I am the mother of a 14-year-old. When did this happen?

(I'm going to stop at #10, I promise.)

10. Although I could go on and on, I'm done, but only because I just promised to stop.

Thanks for indulging me. This too, shall pass. Maybe I'll feel better tomorrow but I doubt it unless tomorrow brings me the winning lottery numbers, an airline ticket to Bora Bora and a staff of thirty to help around the house.

Since you endured my whining, go ahead and leave me a comment with your frustrations. Getting it off your chest is the first step. I don't know what the second step is, unless it involves eating an entire bag of chips with four gallons of homemade, garden-fresh, red-chili-pepper-infused salsa, or a pint of ice cream, or both. I think the third step involves asking for help, but that's never been my forte.

Whine on.

22 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm getting up at 5:30 tomorrow morning to drive to San Antonio with the boys. they want to go to the Alamo...I hate to tell them, but we lost that battle.

Annie said...

Um, can't bear to list them out....I would then get way too depressed, sorry, if I saw them all in print. Being in my head is bad enough.
This too will pass. Definitely.
May the good Lord Bless you , and give you a break!
Your summer has NOT been wasted...just think of the happiness your blogfest brought to so many people,that was definitely NOT a waste of time...and think of the movie and book that will be happening soon!! Cheer up, we all love you. You are a very precious and special person. And just think, you are living in the best place in the world. Please don't burst into flames.

Unknown said...

I will trade you on every account and not bat an eye.

Meg McCormick said...

Send those smiley kids of yours down to the road with a table and chairs (and a camera) and have 'em sell those chili peppers! They'll get a valuable lesson in entrepreneurship, and CBD might also get some good blog fodder. Or, you can dice 'em up and freeze 'em for use in the winter, when heat will be a very good thing.

Oh, I hear you on all of this. The summer goes by all too quickly. I'm not sure but isn't it Thanksgiving next week?

nativedevil said...

I feel your pain from five hours away. We seem to do nothing but rush around; doctor's appts, work, sports, school. The yard needs work, the house needs to be cleaned, it never ends.
I keep my sanity by just doing the best I can, and let the rest go. If that bothers anybody, they are free to come and help. As someone once said, ' if you want to come see me, you are always welcome. If you want to come see my house, make an appointment".

Caution/Lisa said...

I have a 14 year old girl. I had adjusted to that news until I realized that she will be in high school this year ... and that we have not one cent in a college savings plan.

Bring your kids and peppers to Michigan next summer. We'll figure out something to do with all of them :)

Audrey at Barking Mad! said...

My list is too long.

I have done NOTHING absolutely NOTHING to get ready for Meg's twin brother, Matt's, arrival tonight. And on top of that, our damn hot water heater burst flooding everything downstairs. We had no idea the damage was so extensive until we started pulling up the soaking wet carpet and realized the damage extended much further into the family room...and the WALL than we'd first thought.

I've never filed a homeowners insurance claim and the folks at Allstate had better be nice, or I'm gonna give you an address where you can send a whole lot of those peppers!

Anonymous said...

Ok, so we are the same age and mine are 26, 22 and 20...AND I'm a Grandma...so now tell me who's old LOL. As for the other...good lord honey, you are the most amazing woman I know!!! You bring so much joy to others, you have no idea. Let me know when the kids will be selling those peppers, I'll come buy some LOL. If it weren't for BF cutting my grass and motivating me to get things done, I think I would still have a jungle in my yard. One of these days we are going to have to share that bottle (or two, or three) of wine and just let it all out!!!
Hugs
msseabreeze

big hair envy said...

You don't even want to know...

Noe Noe Girl...A Queen of all Trades. said...

Ditto #7.

I can help. Just say the word. Or would you prefer I just come and take over.

Daryl said...

I would whine some more about my aching sciatica but I wont because I am tired of hearing myself whine.

However I would happily eaten some of your hot peppers ... and been glad to be sitting out on your deck with you while you whine ...

Lynne M. said...

I have a 13 1/2 year old with another on the way. I don't know where 13 years went...

The Squirrel still resides in the soon-to-be nursery.

My husband is afraid of me and my belly... Therefore I cried all day Saturday.

I can't sleep because of sciatica.

I'm having palpitations.

I have to give myself a shot twice a day.

You shouldn't ask a pregnant woman to whine!!


BUT.... I got a computer this weekend, hopefully internet to be hooked up soon!!

Hang in there.

foolery said...

Hang in there, Darlin'. Don't know how to support you but I know that there are a BUNCH of people out here who are ready to if you need us to.

Can you grind up those peppers to make deer repellent? Because I think the stores are running short of CBKids Deer Repellent.

foolery said...

And the captcha is

TRAINESS

I don't know if that refers to my teaching skills, or if it's suggesting I hop a freight to Mathews. I guess my interpretation will depend on how the day goes. ; )

mmm said...

Have you ever wondered by so many people feel the same way?

Linda said...

Do you have any wine to go with that whine? A nice Riesling will compliment thos hot peppers;-)

Pueblo girl said...

Running to stand still...How well I recognise that feeling. Other days are better, or I can recommend what I did before, that it's time to take a holiday in Spain, where life takes on a different pace...

Annie said...

Peublo Girl. Gosh, if we send her to Spain we might never get her back again, if it is as you say. What am I saying, I don't even live in the US.

Daryl, I know how to get rid of the sciatica...just fall over , double said leg under you, and hurt your wrist and neck instead!

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

Thank you all so very much. In fact, my day turned out even *worse* than I expected, and it's not even close to over yet! These encouraging words mean everything right now.

Hopefully things will get back to a more manageable normal soon, but I think it is going to be a bumpy road to get there, and I'm driving an old jalopy.

I'd rather wait it out in Spain. Australia sounds nice too. Grandma J. has a spare room in TExas, maybe I can go bug her...

Anyway, here's to a better rest of the week and a better everything.

Thanks so much.

p.s. Don't expect much in the way of blog posts this week. Oh wait, you already don't exect much...maybe I should have said expect even less/worse than usual.

Serenity now.

Shelley Jaffe said...

I thought there were 12 steps.

Just sayin'...

I think that us Mathews Mamas must make a pact - whoever wins the lottery will hire help for their household and then personally proceed to CBW's be her housekeeper.

That is all.

Annie said...

Yes, come to Australia...anytime...just make sure I am going to be here/home!

Noe Noe Girl...A Queen of all Trades. said...

I always have a place you can escape to!