Not the day I intended, really, but there you have it

1. I had today off, because it is a holiday!

2. The banks are closed, impeding one of my errands, namely, go to the bank.

3. I have had a chai eggnog latte (no espresso) every day this week, and should probably stop. But, mmm, chai eggnog!!!

4. The kids, whether because I was home or for some other reason, were miserably whiny and difficult this afternoon.

Okay, that’s not quite true.

M was just M. But J and I have very different approaches to how we do school, that each work for us, but do not work in tandem. I think that what happens is, M does not know which set of rules to follow when we are both home unexpectedly. Chaos, confusion, and angry therefore occur.

K was in trouble from right after lunch for lying about ridiculously small things constantly. This meant she was miserable going into doing school, and THAT meant she took two and a half hours to to fifteen minutes of math. With sobbing, stomping, tears, and despair.

This is … this is not what either J or I envision when we contemplate my having an extra day home from work.

4. I did get the basement shelves clean that I had intended. Also crossed everything off my list.

5. I have written 1100 words today, and may get to more after the kids go to bed. Not sure.

I am such a process junkie. I have to restrain myself for just nattering on at people about what I intend to write, and just do it. Yet, the talking about it helps me figure out what those intentions are. It’s a balance, I think. How much is navel-gazing, and how much is useful conversation with smart people? I think the answer is, as long as the words keep getting on the page, it’s probably okay.

6. Tomorrow at work I must watch Fringe, but then I should have writing time.

7. I’m reading a book called A Different Kind of Boy, by Daniel Mont. It’s a memoir of him raising his son, who has high-functioning autism. Reading this, many things sound familiar. They sound like M. M, as J and I already know, doesn’t have the traits of autism severely enough, or have enough of them, to qualify. But the similarities and echoes are there. Such as the difficulty understanding other people’s intentions. The difficulty with facial expressions. The sensitivity and particularity about sudden touch or sudden noise. The ability to hyper-focus. The monologue-lecture that isn’t actually a conversation. The flair for global learning as opposed to sequential. The problems with intuiting social rules. The freaking out and RAGE when other people do not follow rules. The endless detailed explanations of things to him, because he does not pick up on social things. The picking apart rules looking for every exception.

I could go on.

It’s just, it’s familiar, is what I’m saying.

8. I did get to go to K’s Vault Mini-Trampoline class tonight, which was nice! I never get to see it, and I liked watching her. She’s better than she was last time I saw her do it!

9. After all the various ups and downs of the day, my kids are sweet and cooperative and snuggly right now. It’s a decent end to the day.