The week that just kept giving!
Cars, canines, chaos - and ... arachnid wisdom...?
Between dyslexia, hormones and the first week of term nerves, this week has been … interesting! I’m so grateful that the people in my life - from my husband to my friends to the people I work with also have humour and grace.
There have been lots of small joys this week! Want to know about it? Keep reading!
Day One: I text my mechanic and confess my sins. I don’t hear from him.
It’s my last full day off - and I use it to get ready for my students the following day. I got some reading done (Angel of Storms - Trudi Canavan) and honestly, it’s a good day!
Day Two: My mechanic rings me and asks me why I put water in the oil. I don’t know - I still don’t! My brain just stopped working I guess… Still, we book the car in to have the extra TLC it so desperately deserves.
Tutoring goes extremely well! I’m back in the swing of it and know what I’m doing. Even though it’s a “busy” day, I stay calm and even having to strip the bed doesn’t take me out of my rhythm. It’s a great day!
Day Three: I plan this day to be my self care day. It’s the one day of the week I’m not working in the morning. So, I plan the day to do admin tasks, have real down time. The Universe has other plans for me.
It starts with a leak. No, it starts with waking up to eight texts from my sibling telling me they have a leak. I reply back as soon as I wake up (and see the texts). I’m not sure how I can help from 300 miles away, but my job right now is to find out the information and keep everyone calm (mostly me at this point!). My sibling manages to sort it out. I spend my morning writing a letter for them, hit send and realise I need to go and pop in to see my friend’s dogs - I’m late!
And one of the dogs collapses on me as soon as I walk in! I did this job years ago - I have canine first aid, I am so incredibly calm and I know what to do.
I panic - obviously!
I ring my friend, she’s not answering. I text her with an ‘I’m not panicking, you’re panicking!’ message. I sit with the dog on the kitchen floor, and try my best to STAY CALM! It’s rule number one of first aid afterall.
Anyway, long story short - my friend books an emergency vet appointment - she’s unable to make it so I take the dog for her. It clashes with a student. I rearrange the student - ‘First lesson back and I can’t make it! Great!’ They can do tomorrow. I can do tomorrow. It works out.
The dog is fine. She’s jumping all over the other dogs as soon as I drop her home.
Of course she is!
I push my next student half an hour later - they’re fine with it. And it all works out.
I’m exhausted.
Day Four: Remember I said yesterday is the only day I’m not working in the morning? Somehow I forget this and think I have the morning off. I’m mid self care, working on something, and I get a text: ‘Remind me. It is today you start isn’t it? When are you getting in?’
Guess I’m not.
I do however remember my other students and tutor them with no issue!
Day Five: I’ve put two students in the wrong way round. Fortunately it works out - sort of. The one who should be in the earlier slot can do it at an even earlier time and the one who should be in the later slot prefers the incorrect time… I’ll have to see if I can make it work - would be nice to finish earlier than early one day.
Pup and I go for a walk with my friend and her dogs - it’s a nice walk. It’s nice to have a bit of adult conversation that doesn’t involve Maths or chit-chat.
Day Six: I spend the day watching a spider in my garden. He’s been sitting on his web for days, occasionally fixing the odd bit here and there. At times he’s still and patient, others he’s pacing up and around fixing his home. It’s windy today - very windy - and I watch in awe at his stubborn determination to fix his web in blustery winds. I’m sure there’s a lesson there somewhere. Something we could all learn. I’m worried for the spider when I go out again a couple of hours later and can’t see him. I hope he’s hidden somewhere out of the wind.
I tutor, I manage to get some housework done, admin done too.
If this week had a soundtrack, it would start with Imagine Dragon’s ‘On top of the World’ dip into something … depressing and stress-y (possibly Good Charlotte) and end with Fallout Boy’s ‘Centuries’ because I’m the main character, obviously, and there’s nothing going to stop me - everybody needs that one power anthem to up the energy after a long and very weird week.
PS - the spider is fine, he came out the day after - and seems to have a smaller neighbour with him! So now I have two spiders to watch in the garden!
PPS - One day, I will take more photos during the week… especially of those moments of joy! Have a great week everyone!