love > free time

This has been one heck of a week at Casa Clark. Gary has some weird upper back/neck thing going on and has been on meds since Tuesday. He can’t drive while on these meds and he can’t tolerate the pain without the meds. So I have been doing all of the driving and running this week, which is usually a lot because we have 4 teenagers, but then every once in a while there’s a day that I like to call “the perfect storm.” This is a day when they all have stuff going on and it’s a bit crazy. Today was a perfect storm day. Now these are kind of stressful when we have 2 drivers. When Mason lived with us we had 3 drivers, which was so wonderful. But today’s perfect storm involved just 1 driver. Me. Here’s how it went down.

*Please note, decisions were made. They weren’t all good ones. No judgment please. 

3:40pm – I left the school I was subbing at to go pick up Gary and Noah

4:00pm – dropped Gary off at the clinic for an urgent care visit, pain was worsening

4:05pm – pull into Taco Bell, I hadn’t had lunch and was super hungry

4:17pm – finally put my order in. They were a bit slow today

4:25pm – pull away from Taco Bell with a couple of cheesy melts

4:35pm – drop off Noah at home with instructions to eat dinner and Mom will be back in an hour

4:45pm – pick up Gary at clinic

5:07pm – arrive at CVS to fill prescriptions

5:20pm – text Gary (who is in the store) wondering how much longer it’s going to be

5:24pm – leave CVS

5:31pm – drop off Gary at home, pick up Noah from home

5:45pm – drop Noah off at his school for the play

6:00pm – pick up Nahom and his buddy from school after basketball practice 

6:15pm – drop off the buddy at his house

6:17pm – arrive at home BATHROOM BREAK and a quick chat with Gary, tell the girls and Nahom they have 13 minutes until we leave

6:20pm – answer the 3^rd kid who is asking when we are leaving

6:30pm – leave the house with Nahom, Hannah & Molly

6:43pm – drop off Hannah & Molly at the middle school so they can watch their friends in the band concert

6:57pm – arrive to Nahom’s 2^nd basketball practice of the night EARLY. Decide to stop at the drive thru at Culvers. Nahom gets a small chocolate shake, I get a large Diet Dr Pepper

7:10pm – arrive at practice on the south side of town

7:15pm – attend parent meeting for basketball

7:35pm – leave the meeting 

7:36pm – decide to listen to my new Jordan Smith Christmas album because I can

7:50pm – arrive back at middle school (my third time here) and pick up the girls from the band concert

8:02pm – drop the girls off at home

8:11pm – almost hit a cat that runs across the highway

8:11 and 05 seconds pm – yell at the cat “Dude! Get out of the road!”

8:15pm – arrive back at Nahom’s practice EARLY

8:20pm – hit the drive thru at Fazoli’s for a sweet treat

8:30pm – arrive back at Nahom’s practice AGAIN, right on time

8:35pm – Nahom comes out from practice, a few minutes late

8:36pm – explain to Nahom that you can listen to Christmas music whenever you want. Yes, even if Thanksgiving hasn’t come yet. Yes, I’m sure. 

8:43pm – arrive at the high school to pick up Noah, he’s not outside

8:44pm – RUN into the high school to use the restroom because that was a really big Diet Dr Pepper

8:47pm – find a phone in the bathroom while washing my hands

8:59pm – arrive home with my boys, listening to Christmas music with the window rolled down because Noah was hot

3:40-9:00pm in the car with a 13 minute break at home. I could have made it to Racine in that time! 

I love that our kids are involved in activities and while this sometimes means a crazy amount of running around town (and maybe back and forth to the same places!) I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Also, I can’t wait for my boys to start driving! 

Now off to bed, because for some added fun, Nahom and his buddy have morning practice tomorrow and we have to leave the house by 6:05am.