Mary Angel

(11/2015) There have been many songs, poems, and comedic skits about being a mom. So here is my version of a day in the life of a working, stay-at-home, public school, homeschool, wife and mother. In my opinion there is no such thing as a typical day in my life, but here is a day that we all survived and in our opinion that is a good day. This is also this homeschool mom’s play on a run-on sentence.

Get up by 5:30 and make sure the boys are up, get the oldest in the shower and wake the younger of the two high schoolers for the second time, encourage them both to eat breakfast before we are walking out the door, make sure one has packed his lunch and the other has his lunch money, check for brushed teeth and book bags and a lunch box and an instrument and homework, and we are out the door.

Drive to pick up a friend and then off to the high school, drop off the boys and back to the house, wake up the girls and see how my husband is feeling since he is home sick from work today, remind the girls they need to be ready by 8:00 to start homeschooling and realize I have a part time job and need to be to work by 9:00, and I also forgot I need to drop the dog off to get neutered by 8:00 as well, get the girls moving because they are hanging out with my mother-in-law while I am at work, all of the remaining teeth and heads of hair brushed, breakfast eaten, coffee made, and out the door I go, girls and dog in tow, drop him off at the vet and back home again.

Swing by the middle school and drop off paper work because my daughter is going back to public school the next day, run through McDonald’s drive thru and grab two fountain sodas, put in my Bluetooth so I can call the office about my first paycheck, drive past the turn off for work because I am so used to driving to the high school, find another way to work and arrive on time at 9:00.

Gather all of my supplies and bags and fountain sodas and head into work, get ready for group at work just in time, finish group, run over the week with my boss, get a few more assignments for the week, head out, drive to my mother-in-law’s to pick up the girls, Bluetooth in again and call her to say I am on my way, get to her house, run in and ask the girls to clean up and get in the car, look at a sweater she wants me to see, love the sweater, thank her and in the car.

Take a moment to pause so my 6th grader can tell me she is nervous to start school the next day. What will she wear? Can I help her with her hair? Will she know anyone in her class? Is it alright that she is nervous? What about school supplies? I calm her down and we talked for a moment and I decide we will go get an outfit at the outlets for her first day, and away we go.

Drive to the outlets while still answering questions about the 6th grader going back to school, arrive at the outlets while keeping a close eye on the clock since we need to pick up the dog by 4:30, go to Old Navy, Maurices, Justice, a shoe store, realize the youngest could use pants and shoes that fit her, Children’s Place, Stride Rite, and oh yeah I forgot to eat lunch (thank goodness Grandma fed them before I arrived), grab some pizza and away we go to grab the dog from the vet.

Arrive at the vet, everything about recovery is explained, girls and dog are back in the car, again we are on the road, ten minutes from home and I realize it is 3:50 and I was supposed to pick up the 9th grader at 3:30 from the high school because he had stayed after. Try to call him, no answer, try to call his brother, no answer, try to call my husband, no answer, husband calls back and I verify that my son is not home, drop of the girls and the dog and head over to the high school, I arrive an hour late and there he is sitting on the curb, we start driving home and I explain that if he had his phone (which he left at home AGAIN) this wouldn’t have happened, I apologize for having too much on my plate, we arrive home.

I take the youngest to my husband’s office to homeschool since it is the only quiet place in the house when no one is home, without distractions she cruises through her work, we come to the kitchen to start dinner and find my husband heating up the left overs (YAY husband), she calls everyone to the table, the 6th grader walks the dog, and we all sit down to dinner, take a breath and eat.

After dinner my husband heads out to his office to get some work done, I remind the boys to take the trash up, then my husband calls the boys out because they are doing a Bible study, I send the 6th grader to grab a quick shower, hand feed the dog because he can’t eat with his cone on, clean up the dishes, do a load of laundry, help my daughter pick out her outfit for the next day, take off her old fingernail polish, work with her hair to figure out how to do that in the morning, gather school supplies, give the dog his medicine, put the girls to bed, listen to them sing to dog who doesn’t want to sleep in his cone (Hush Little Baby), smile and sit down to write this article…go to bed at 11…Good Night!

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