Crawling Ashore

I know we have all seen a movie about someone getting lost at sea and the struggle to survive. When after a fierce storm he crawls ashore exhausted and ragged. That’s about how I feel after the craziness of oh let’s say… the past eight months.

Since school started it has been one sport following another with a short break (if any) between them. Cross Country went simultaneously with football. Football went into December with playoffs. Soccer started over the Christmas holiday, it too went into playoffs which by that time track season had started. Then just as Abate and Fantu’s school soccer season ended , she started club soccer. Finally this past weekend track season ended with a defeat at the regional meet and Fantu’s last two soccer games were played. It was an insane final weekend. I left Thursday after work and drove as far as Abilene and stayed the night. I awakened early on Friday and drove the rest of the way to Lubbock arriving about an hour before Abate’s race. He ran at 11:15 finished at 11:25. I met up with him briefly after the race then climbed back into my car and headed home, a five and a half hour drive. In the meantime Alan and Fantu were headed up to Dallas on Friday for a father-daughter date to go see Wicked (the musical) at Fair Park. They stayed the night, which was quite short as they had to hit the road to be in Hutto (Austin suburb) by 9:30 for her soccer game. I stayed home to get the laundry and shopping done before going in to work (big event with all hands on deck). I worked until 9:15 then headed home and to bed. Sunday morning came to soon and we were back on the road to Austin. First a stop at IKEA to pick up a few finishing touches for the kitchen (more on that in a minute) then continue all the way down to south Austin for her game which kicked off at 4:00. They played great and won 2-1. Carrie and Caleb had come out to watch and then went with us to Aster’s Ethiopian restaurant for dinner. We arrived home around 8:15. I had survived!

The Kitchen, I think it has become frozen in time for the past month. Nothing more has been done. I can cook in there but I can’t clean. I still don’t have countertops. 6 weeks today since the cabinets were installed. 6 weeks waiting for them. 6 weeks when I was told 2-3. I was beginning to think this would be my life – fetching water from the bathroom, dirty dishes in the bath, and more than double the weekly trash because of all the disposable dinnerware we have been using (I never buy paper plates, cups etc.). Would the end ever be in sight? YES!!! Today they are set to arrive within the next 2 hours to install them. I can’t wait to get home after work. I still won’t have operable plumbing until Monday but the end is near. Maybe, just maybe – this will be totally complete in 3 more weeks.

So not only have I managed to crawl ashore, I am starting to relax and feel the stress melt away. Tonight I can relax on my own little island… my kitchen island that is!