I did my best, but I guess my best wasn’t . . .

Hello OD, I have missed writing.  I get so busy with everyday life that I forget to make time for myself.  That’s the way it goes when the roles are reversed and when I’m the support system for the entire family.  *sigh*

I dunno why that song popped into my head.  "I did my best, but I guess my best wasn’t good enough…  ’cause here we are back where we were before…"  Yeah, I don’t even know who sings that little ditty, and I know that it doesn’t really apply to my situation.  Or, does it?  Hmm.  I should go find the complete lyrics someday and see.

Sooo…  it’s 2008, and things are similar to 2007.  I’m working on myself this year, trying to stick to a diet (gotta lose 30 pounds ONE of these years, ya know) and exercise program (walking on my home treadmill 5 times a week + lifting free weights in the basement 3 times a week).  I’m also trying to be less passive-aggressive about things since my wife HATES that about me.  We’ll see how it goes.  So far, so good.

I am a Virgo, and if I believed in that "astrology stuff," I’d probably stop fighting "how I’m supposed to be" and just go with it.  I like to help others, and I like to make sure that others have what they need to be successful in life.  What do I mean?  Maybe I should just type out an example of my typical weekday morning.

I get up between 5:30am and 6am, depending on what I have planned out in my head the night before.  The day goes something like this:

• 05:30am – alarm goes off; I turn it off and get up within 10 minutes
• 05:40am – 06:00am – in the kitchen:  make coffee; put vitamins + cereal box + bowls/spoons out on the countertop for the children; put oatmeal + Splenda + bowls/spoons out for myself; take vitamins & supplements; fill sports bottle with water for later; take 1liter water downstairs to the treadmill.
• 06:00am – 06:15am – change into workout clothes; stretch out on the floor.
• 06:15am – 07:15am – walk 30-45 minutes on the treadmill while watching TV; cool down.
• 07:15am – 07:30am – make sure children are awake & getting ready for school; pour cereal & milk for oldest daughter & bring it to her.
• 07:30am – 07:50am – lift freeweights in the basement (M/W/F) or organize lunch for myself (T/Th).
• 07:50am – 08:10am – shower & brush teeth
• 08:10am – 08:30am – get breakfast for youngest daughter; make oatmeal; get childrens’ snack/lunch bags ready (cut & core apples; pack snack and water bottles); soup out oatmeal (1cup for wife, 1cup for later, 1+ cups for me); put hardboiled egg in plastic bag (1 for wife, 1 for me); pour coffee into travel mugs (1 for wife, 1 for me); pack up childrens’ backpacks and put by front door.
• 08:30am – "sound the alarm" (LOL):  turn off the TVs and get the children moving.
• 08:40am – dress for work; pack up my car; drive to work.

OK, for those of you who are still with me after that boring description, WAKE UP.  hahaha

As you can tell, I make sure that everyone has everything that they need for the day.  That’s just me.  That’s what I do.  Some days, I ask myself how I do it…  because sometimes I don’t feel well or I am SO tired that I nearly fall asleep sitting up in my chair at work later in the day.

I have stopped grumbling to myself about "how unfair" this is.  It’s of no use to expect it to change, and so I don’t.  I hope that, as the children get older, I won’t have to do as much anymore.  Then again, high school will start a LOT earlier than 8:40am (which is the latest that the kids can get to grade school), and so I will probably be the "early morning rooster" in a few years.  Ugh…  I have to find out how early the bus will come.  I may have to get up at 5am eventually.

What happens in the evenings?  Oh…  you know, it’s similar to the mornings.  I wash the dishes, clean up, organize, make dinners some nights, do laundry, supervise bath time, and attempt to wind down from the workday.  Sometimes, I make tuna fish for lunches or boil eggs or make salads for myself.  It depends on what’s not done that needs to be.  Since my mornings are so limited in "free time," I do things at night after dinner.  I don’t usually get to sit down until after 8:30pm, when the children are in bed.

My weekends are similarly busy.  I go food shopping, do laundry, clean up, and perform odd jobs around the house.  I make sure that the children have food when they’re hungry.  I always need a nap by 2pm, but I hardly ever get to lie down and take it.  There’s always something else to do, ya know.

Anywayyyy…  that’s just a little description of my regular, everyday life.  I hope that it wasn’t too boring.