Anxiety

That's the one word that best describes this past weekend--anxiety.

Normally, I'm not prone to worry and anxiety. I've been through terrible things and the little stuff rolls off my back. Usually. I pride myself on being able to see the "big picture," but I couldn't even find the room where the picture was hanging this weekend. Let's recap, shall we?

Saturday afternoon: learned niece (age 16) is suffering from a kidney stone. Will get treatment today because said stone is likely to large to pass on its own. Age 16?!

Saturday afternoon: work like a dog cleaning the house since I am working all day Sunday. Also fix one hellacious dinner. Oldest child is a complete bump on the log and demands I justify anything I ask her to do. Ferget it. I'll do it myself!

Saturday night: Youngest child complains of a bladdar infection about 1 a.m. Crawls in bed with me. I've got kidney stone fresh on the brain.

Sunday morning: Oldest child wakes up with sore throat, youngest child still having some pain, but no one is actively sick. Just very delicate. I'm pushing fluids to everyone and getting ready for church.

Sunday noon: A quick lunch at Burger King and then off to work. Had long talk with younger child about drinking fluids. Gingerly ask older child, who was bone idle the day before, to unload the dishwasher in my absence. At best a 10-minute chore. Heavy sigh, "OK," she says. Inside she is thinking "Get off my back, woman! Obviously playing Sims for untold hours is a much higher priority than your obsession with clean dishes!!"

Sunday 2:30 p.m.: The first call from home. "Mom, it doesn't hurt when I pee now!" Finally, a piece of good news! Meanwhile, I've emailed the first student who hasn't bothered to come to work. Great, he supposed to be working 2 shifts, so I'll be short-handed even longer.

Sunday 3:45: Get email from student supposed to work at 5 p.m. that reads, "Hey, sorry I won't be able to come to work. I'm running home." Gee, a whole hour's notice. How luck am I? No idea why he is blowing off work. Is it an emergency? Is his mom making his favorite food for supper? I've got no clue. Hey, I'm only his supervisor. I think about emailing him back and saying, "No, it is NOT OK, punk." But he won't see it. I look up his home town, its about 30 miles away. So now I'm down TWO students for the next shift. I inform the other staff member who says, "Oh no. This other student who is signed up never comes, either. What will we do?" WTF? Why do we have so much dead wood on our schedule? If you know he doesn't come to work, let's fire him. Let's fire them all! Might as well.

Sunday 5:07: Student who "never comes to work" appears. V. sends out an email and another student offers to come in and help out, so we are OK by the skin of our teeth.

Sunday 6:45: E. (oldest child) calls. A neighbor has arranged to drop her daughter off at 6:30 for E. to babysit. They are late. E. panics, wonders if she was supposed to go to their house (1 block away)? She calls me. I say, "Well, call them and ask." "NO!" she answers, horrified at the suggestion. I coach her on what she could say. She continues to be utterly horrified at this idea. While on the phone, they arrive. Problem solved for the moment.

Sunday 7:03: E. calls. "Mom! My stomach hurts and I can't even stand up!!" Oh, Lord, what am I supposed to do in this case? "Kidney stone" flashes through my head yet again. She describes low ache in abdomen. I'm thinking first menstrual cramps. Prescribe an ibuprofen and suggest she DO SOMETHING besices sit around and worry.

Sunday 7:15: I call to see how E. is. K. answers the phone and wants to know why I need to talk to E. Just give her the damn phone. It still hurts, but she has taken ibuprofen and is interacting with her babysitting charge and younger sister. I say, "Call me back if it gets worse, but not if it gets better." Blessedly, no more calls.

Sunday 8:35: V. asks, did third student worker email you that he wouldn't be here? Oh, geez. Just shoot me now. What a waste of skin. Our third AWOL student of the day.

Sunday 9:00: Home at last. Babysittee has left. House is very clean, thanks to K. Send K. to bed.

Sunday 9:50 E. goes to bed. Quiet at last. Start Joan Didion's "year of Magical thinking." Hits way close to home.

Sunday 11:11 K comes to my room with a stomachache. Why me, why me? This is 3 out of 4 nights now that she has some nighttime crisis. I try very hard to be understanding and don't voice what I want to say, "Suck it up."

Sunday 11:41: After half of hour of tossing and turning in my bed and some time just sitting and watching TV, K. decides she is tired enough to sleep. Maybe one should not eat macaroni and cheese immediately before bed? Ya think?

Thank goodness they are in school today and can't call me everytime they have an ache or a pain. It's gonna be a long summer!