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On Being Flexible

January 29th, 2008

Murphy’s Law: If something can go wrong, it will.

So, here I am, with my day all planned out. Get lunch for Ari started at 10:30 so she can eat at 11. Clean the kitchen until 11:30, when I get her snack together for school. At 11:50, start getting her ready for school to be at the bus stop at 12:05. Make and eat lunch, then start writing at 1 and go for two hours, then do some more chores and get ready to meet the kids’ bus at 4:05.

At 9:30, I get a phone call from the school: afternoon kindergarten has been canceled today because of road conditions. (90% of our school district is bussed, and it’s mostly back roads. They’re in really bad condition this year. In fact, a couple weeks ago when we had that thaw and abnormally warm weather, a couple buses got stuck in the mud. The bus that picks up Ari was stuck so badly that the bumper got torn off when they tried to pull it out of the mud. But that’s another story.) So, Ari’s not going to school today.

Crap.

It’s days like that that cause havoc with my schedule. It’s not like I can expect her to look after herself while I work; being 5 years old, “looking after herself” usually ends up with a mess that will take two days to clean up and/or a trip to urgent care. But I have a choice: I can either just pack it in for the day, moaning and complaining the entire time, or I can try to adapt and be flexible.

So how do I do that?

It’s all about compromises. Keep the morning routine the same (without the snack creation and getting ready for the bus, of course). Then I break out “the arsenal”: our collection of DVD’s, art supplies, and the Let’s Pretend box. With these things she can play in the living room while I work. The movies become background noise while she plays. It’s not an ideal situation, but it will keep me sane and not have her in my hair every five minutes.