And away we go

If I had to write a children's book today, it would be called "Kate and the Stressful, No-Good, Very Bad Day." It was one of those days that started out badly, got a little better, then got a lot worse, and then just kind of exploded. Or maybe that was me. I just about went crazy trying to get things done today, and in the end, I did not accomplish even half of what was on my list. The upside to the whole day? Buying new clothes. I'm telling you, retail therapy is now very high on my list of ways to decompress after work (sorry, Tim!).

The other silver lining of the day is the promise of no work for five days. Tim and I are going to North Carolina tomorrow to visit Tim's grandparents tomorrow for the weekend. Granddad has not been in good health for a while, and we're going out to spend some time with him and Grandmom. I don't really know what to expect since I have only met this set of grandparents one other time, but I am very excited to be back East.

But because I'm going to be out of town, I had to get my classes covered at the elementary school and then I worked like crazy to get enough done at the writing job that I could go without leaving everyone else in the lurch. I didn't quite reach that goal, which was monumentally frustrating, but when it got to be 9:00 pm and I was still at the office, I said no more, I'm going shopping. Naturally, the cleaning I meant to do still isn't done, and the packing is in a state of halfway, but there is something so relieving about declaring yourself done and leaving work at work. I didn't do all I set out to do today (starting with waking up on time...oops), but I did what I could and now I am done. It's not my problem for five more days, and I'm not thinking about what will be waiting for me when I get back.

It's not exactly a vacation, but I'm going on a trip and I intend to enjoy it. And on some days, especially the bad ones, that's the only response left.

See you next week!