Three-Alarm Wake Up Call

Before you panic with concern, the alarms were not in regards to a fire. The alarms were in the form of madly barking dogs.

Have I mentioned that I (heart) Fridays? I savor them because I get to sleep in a little, take my time getting going, and then I spend the day accomplishing all kinds of stuff I can't get done in a normal day. Fridays (and Mondays, but I don't seem to have the same kind of accomplishment success on Mondays) my daughter is at an all-day French immersion preschool. What's even better is that she loves it too, so it's not just Mommy sanity that is provided, but also an educational and fun experience for my daughter.

Tangent time. (It occurred to me as I wrote "tangent time" that it may actually be more efficient for me to explain when I am NOT on a tangent. Because this is a tangent from my original tangent which never even got started.)

ANYWAY. I have this personal philosophy against day care for my daughter. I'm not saying day cares are bad or that parents who put their kids in day care are bad. I think there are "greats" both in daycares and in parents who utilize them. For some reason though, the idea of putting my daughter in daycare bothers me. My personal thoughts on this are that my husband and I had her to raise her, not to ship her off to someone else to raise her.

Back when I was still coaching, I had her with babysitters because there was just enough overlap in my husband's and my jobs that we couldn't meet in the middle to exchange. Part of the reason I quit coaching was that I realized essentially I was utilizing daycare, but that by leaving my daughter with (qualified) teenagers, instead of having a known and potentially educational structure, I was leaving her in a place with none of that--just a safe place to be taken care of. I could go into all the logistics of how my husband and I worked in opposite directions, so a central place for daycare wasn't feasable, costs wouldn't make sense with my pay rate, and most daycares weren't open the hours I needed so we used kids that were friends of the family instead. Among other things with my work, I really began to feel that I was still just doing "daycare." So that contributed to me quitting coaching.

When the possibility of this French immersion daycare/preschool came up, I was initially reluctant because my initial understanding was that it was essentially daycare. Also, cost, especially since I'm not working regularly. On the other hand, my French is pretty atrocious and she does need more exposure to it. Plus my husband showed me how the cost of this new school was essentially the same as my car payment, so we decided to enroll her right as the car was paid off. I was left without any valid arguments ("guilt" was not relevant to my husband).

And...I have been amazed at how much I can get done without her here. The occasional twinge of guilt is immediately relieved when I think about how she's having fun and doing so in French instead of having me tell her to PLEASE leave the laundry pile alone while Mommy's trying to fold it and ACK, don't pull that cord and other such things she does while she is bored, needs attention, and Mommy is trying (unsuccessfully) to clean/organize.

Granted, I'm not a whole lot more successful at cleaning/organizing as anyone who has visited my home will attest (I joke that we are boarderline hoarders, but it's really not that much of a joke, more of a sad reality). At least I've been able to make a few dents in getting things done, so I was looking forward to another day of that today.

(See? Long tangents. Insert "not a tangent" alert here.)

At about 9:30 (still official "lazy" time for me), the doorbell rang and my dog was barking abnormally loudly (I did not realize at the time that it was not just her barking). I opened the door and was near-trampled by two Golden Retrievers barging in to see my dog.

Oh yeah. I totally forgot that our friends were leaving for a trip and bringing their dogs by TODAY. And even though it was in the back of my head, for some reason I was thinking it would be LATER today.

So my husband's friend saw me in complete disarray and my house even worse. I was (slightly) amazed that he still wanted to leave the dogs with us, although considering he had a flight to catch overseas, I'm not sure he had any other options at that point.

I love having all the goldens here. I would love to get one more of our own so that our dog has someone to play with (I'd even consider several other breeds, just so she would have someone to play with).

Yet at the same time? Sigh. So much for getting things done today.

I did manage to get out in the sun for a brief bit on my bike, which is not getting nearly as much usage as purchasing it would justify or as my training level needs. I would blame the weather, but I do have the bike trainer in the living room and simply need to spend more time on it.

The destroyed toy tally has already begun. Bailey is at 6, including a toy that had lasted our dog through puppy stages and for another 5 years.