So, we're working on getting Schuyler to go back to sleeping in her crib now that I'm going to be going back to work in a few weeks (that is SO not a fun thought). This way, I can get more and better sleep and not have to lay in a strange position half the night while she kicks me closer and closer to the edge of the bed. This way, I will be better-rested and will therefore be able to take better care of her and function at my sometimes-tedious desk job. The first couple of nights were kind of rough - she'd take close to two hours to get to a point where I could put her in her crib, and then she'd wake up screaming less than an hour later and after trying for an hour to get her to go back to sleep, she wouldn't, so I'd give in and bring her to bed after all. But last night, night three, was a different story. Sure, it still took a little over an hour to get her to be quiet and sleepy and willing to lay in the crib, but once I put her down, she didn't cry. She was content to stay there and didn't make a peep until about 2:00 when she was hungry. She woke up one other time before Brendan and then again at 6:30. As I said in my last post, getting up early is always a great idea when possible because I can finally get things done, and as I said above, my entire life is one big to-do list now, so I definitely took advantage of my first night of real, refreshing sleep and stayed up when she went back down at 7:00. I've managed to do laundry, pack half of her and my stuff for our holiday in PA, do the dishes, and call Bank of America to complain about their crappy service and get them to refund a ridiculous late fee that never should have been added to my account. (If my payment is due Nov. 21st, and I pay by phone and they tell me that the payment will be drafted Nov. 9th, why should I pay the late fee if they don't get around to drafting it until DECEMBER THIRD??? If you are in the market for a new bank this holiday season, DO NOT go with Bank of America. They are THE WORST bank I have EVER had to deal with. One branch even refused to let me close my account with them, but that is another story for another day.)
Anyways, back to the to-do lists. I sat down on Sunday night, thought of everything that needs to be done before we leave Saturday (four days in the Poconos and then a glorious two weeks at home! Hooray!!!), and split it up into five task lists, one for every day of this week (yes, I know, I am crazy, obsessive compulsive, and just plain sick). As of this morning, I still had at least one item left from each day, but thanks to the 6:30 wake-up call, I'm finally making ground. At this rate, I may have half of Thursday done by the time Brendan gets home. I could be amazing.
Speaking of amazing, here's something that is: My husband's mother has been engaged for almost a month now, and I just found out this morning. Better yet: I'm pretty sure Brendan still has no idea. I'm practically counting down until noon when I can call him and share the news. I feel like such a cad that we completely missed such a momentous event. I mean, on one hand, I could get upset that no one called to tell us. However, I choose to be honest adn say, "Wow. We are terrible children, and we need to call her more often because we are all missing out on the big things in each other's lives, and that's just terrible. We need to stop being such self-absorbed Americans and pay attention to someone besides ourselves." It's a shame that people ahve become so disconnected these days. The whole facebook, email, myspace, cell phone, iphone, texting, IM movement was supposed to connect people. It was supposed to bring us all together and make it more convenient to keep in touch. Instead, it has made us replace real conversations with a brief series of acronyms sent over AOL or Sprint and it's rare that we really take the time to connect with people. Like our friend Tom has said on several occassions, Americans need to instate the European concept of long dinners. And no, obese America, it's not because long dinners mean seven courses of fattening pre-packaged food. European dinners aren't really about the mass quantities of food. They're about the three hours of conversation that occur when people actually sit down at a table together, look one another in the eye and share their lives with one another. We actually have a dinner like that tomorrow night, and I am SO looking forward to it. There's not much better than sitting around a table with some of your closest friends and sharing a good meal and even better conversation. In today's to-do list-driven societ, we are losing our bond of humantiy. Reconnect. Make plans to share a meal and a long conversation with someone you love this weekend. Trust me: It'll be worth it.
