Today marks one of the busiest weeks in Nielson history!
Here we go...
7:25: Gigs and Lottie say their goodbyes to Claire
before heading out for their first day of school.
Lottie is going into 7th grade, and Gigs is a BIG senior!
I waved goodbye to them as Gigs drove the Swagster
past me, and I saw Lottie longingly gazing out the window
in shock. Her face was screaming,
"Mom, I don't want to go back to school! HELPPPPPPPP!"
Also note: Gig's monthly canker sore to
ruin the first day of school!
Those Clark Cankers are always dependable in
ruining anything and everything.
8:30: Finish packing up the last of Claire's
things to load in her car.
9:30: On the road to SVU with Claire at the wheel,
Jane snuggled in the backseat with all her stuff and me in shotgun.
(Christian had left earlier for Maryland to pick up a car part and
we planned to meet him in
Virginia with lunch (Cafe Rio, no less) around 1:00).
12:00: Text from Christian:
"I got the part, headed to grab lunch, be on campus around 2:00".
1:00: Make it on campus, where President Cordon requested a
meeting with the girls and me. What an honor!
Bonnie is one of the most classy, sharp, and incredible women on the planet,
and I am SO GLAD she's the president of SVU!
2:00: Incoming text from Christian:
"The truck's power steering went out as I driving on the freeway.
Luckily, I was getting off at the campus ramp exit.
I'm close, but I will need to be towed."
2:30: Wrap up at SVU while trying to stay excited and optimistic,
even though I know the truck will need to stay in Virginia to get fixed.
Now what? Tomorrow, we head to Utah to drop Jane off at BYU.
Ugghhhh! I am stressing out now.
3:00: Meet Christian on the side of the freeway with
sacks of Cafe Rio in his hands.
We take it to the park to eat but are all in a bad mood.
3:30: Discover that Cafe Rio DID NOT ADD DRESSING FOR OUR SALADS.
There is no worse fate. I think Christian, right then and there,
developed a stress canker in his mouth that was bigger than Gigs'.
And I cried for the missing dressings for our salads,
the broken down truck that Lottie and Gigs would be coming home
on their first day of school, and I wouldn't be there,
and that my girls were leaving.
Then I had a little breakdown.
4:00: Head to Claire's apartment, where we discover her room is DISGUSTING!
I feel like I am a pretty upbeat person; you know,
I can make the most of crappy situations, except this might have
been the last straw.
I was NOT about to leave Claire in this dark, stinky, dirty apartment,
even though I know she's a big girl, has been on a mission,
and has lived away from us. It just felt wrong.
4:30: Move Claire to a new apartment—a better situation all around.
The moral of the story is don't judge an apartment from an online photo,
even though that is literally how you judge an apartment. Duh!
5:30: After we help Claire move in her stuff,
we head to the store to get groceries,
toilet paper, sheets, and other necessities for college kids.
6:45: Return to the apartment and unload while
Christian is on the phone with a car rental place.
(First day of school 2024)
(First day of school 2008)
7:00: Go to a drink place called Straws, similar to Swig
(at least she has that!!), where I leave my PURSE.
(Remember, we are going to Utah tomorrow! I need my license to fly!!!
Also, I HATE FLYING, and I'm anxious about that activity!!)
8:30: Arrive at the airport car rental and discover
MY PURSE IS MISSING; I freak out and retrace my steps.
It's got to be at Straws! I do some investigating only to discover that not
only do Straws close in 30 minutes,
but THEY HAVE NO PHONE NUMBER!
Jane reaches out to them via Facebook Messenger
luckily, they respond with:
"We haven't seen any purse."
My heart is dead.
8:41: Miraculously, we hear back from Straws,
and it turns out they DO HAVE MY PURSE. They don't close until 10:00
(still on summer hours). They will hold it until closing,
!!ANXIOUS REMINDER: I'M FLYING TO UTAH TOMORROW
AND NEED MY PURSE. Also, we are over an hour away!!
9:55: Broke all kinds of speeding laws to get to Straws before they close,
get the purse and then said goodbye to Claire,
which was heartbreaking for Jane!
They won't see each other until Christmas break.
Luckily, we'll be back next week to pick up the truck,
so it's not goodbye for me.
10:15: Leave BV and my oldest child and head back home.
1:30 am: Make it home to a sleepy, quiet house.
2:00 am: Shower and end my day with a prayer of gratitude,
that regardless of the rotten day, we're all fine, and we're all safe.
And we're going to look back on this day and laugh.
