I have been trying to sit down and put fingers to keyboard all week and today is Thursday. I'm not sure I even remember back to Monday except that Sam started Truck Driving School. He has about a 70 mile commute to get to his class but that's normal in this part of the world. Getting to class by 7 am requires him to leave the house by 7:30. So he was up at 4:30 and I was up at 5. This program is 5 weeks. He was scheduled to spend the first week studying for and taking the tests required to get his learners permit and then the next 4 weeks is time behind the wheel. Today is Thursday and he should be going to get the permit today. So, that is Monday.
Then came Tuesday. Up at 5, cooking breakfast and leaving the kitchen cleaned up is GREAT!! We have also been making our lunches to take to school and work with us. Getting up at 5 has also given me time to read, cook a real breakfast, leave the kitchen clean, make lunch to take with me, and even pick up some stuff around the house before time to leave. Getting to work was great!! This is the time of year that we have TONS of work in the office. End of month paperwork and reports, Quarterly reports, more Quarterly reports, End of year paperwork and changing all the files both on the computer and in physical file cabinets and such for all the companies. Add to this keeping up with the daily billing, Uhaul, phone calls. I can honestly say the morning went EXTREMELY WELL. We BOTH got so much done toward all the above items being completed. Almost one whole file drawer converted which at this moment involves changing, refining our filing system, got the billing done, and a number of other things done on my side and one of the MAJOR quarterly reports done.
And THEN the adventure REALLY started. About 3:30, it changed. I had a UHaul Customer who needed to move his mother from here most of the way across the country. As we were doing the hook up, we realized that the car was not providing what was needed for the trailer to have stop lights. Jonathan and I were able to spend the next hour and a half helping this man basically rewire his moms car so that everything was safe. The man did most of the work but it took more than 2 hands to get it done.
While that was happening, Sam called and said his truck had stalled at an intersection leaving town from his class. My mom HAPPENED to be in the same town and was getting ready to leave on her way home so I quickly called her. Sam called back and said he had gotten the truck started but we were going to have the two of them hook up to caravan back incase something happened. They got about 20 miles down the road and it quit working again. So they sat on the side of the highway waiting for us to get there. On the way out of town now about 5:30, Jonathan dropped me off at the rent a car place that happened to still be open so I could rent a car for Sam to get back and forth to school in so I didn't have to drive him every morning until we found out what was wrong with the truck. He headed on toward them towing a car trailer we had access to. I rent the car and start for home to cook dinner. My mom calls and tells me that after sitting for over 2 hours on the side of the road with her flashers on HER CAR wont start now. So, I turn around in the rental car and head their way as well. When we get there, we get her car started, realize that she has an 08 model minivan that has only had a new battery once, which was about a year after they got it. Yeah, probably time for a new battery for her.
Jonathan gets the truck started after some work and changing nuts and tightening cables and we find that the truck wont fit on the trailer we have. SOOOOOO I get in the truck pulling the empty trailer, Sam gets in the rental car, Jonthan backs the ill truck off the trailer and starts driving with my mom bringing up the rear in her car.
It is now after 7, driving along, my phone rings. It is the local county law enforcement dispatch. She wants to know if we still rent Uhauls and I tell her we do. Then she tells me that they have a situation that someone suggested we might could help with. There is a man who is living out in the county who needs to be transported to the hospital. The man is large enough that he cannot fit in the ambulance and they are looking for alternatives to get him there and would I possibly consider checking them out a Uhaul truck to make this happen for this man. I tell her I am on my way to the office now but my ETA is about 30 minutes. She gets to work on confirming this order and I drive.
Long story short on that one is that being ex fire/ems ourselves we take the truck to the location instead of someone having to leave the scene of trying to extricate this man from his house to get it. We stayed for a while to see if there was anything we could do to help but they had several hours hour of work left to remove a wall from this mans house to be able to carry him out of it. After we turn it over to the ambulance service it is now about 9:30 and we head for the truck stop to get some food before getting to the house and falling in bed about 11:00.
Wednesday 5 am the alarm sounds and it starts again.
Alarm goes off at 5 AM. Coffee is "making", take the dogs outside. Work on breakfast while Sam is fixing his lunch for the day. We eat and drink our coffee and he heads out at 6 in the rental car. Off to work by 8:30 and start the day. Morning paperwork started, working on this and that while Jonathan talks off and on to our driver that is hauling fuel. He is sick we know but trying to struggle through. Jonathan tells me, he is worse today and I am going to have to make him come home. We spend the morning trying to figure out various options to make this happen or get him meds or something. By about noon he says, I'm going to have to have you go because you are going to have to take me over there and bring R. back home, he is very sick. We have a "pow wow" with the local driver to go over his schedule, give him his current and future orders and he starts rolling. Well, he doesn't really START as he has already been on one load himself for the day. . So we decide which vehicles to use, get fueled up, grab some food for ourselves and by about 1 or so we are headed out of town. Todays adventure is in a different direction than yesterdays. Across the mountain and about 3.5 hours travel time to get to the truck stop where the trade is made. Jonathan loads his stuff into the truck and we get R.'s stuff out of the truck and tuck him in in the back seat of my moms car and back across the mountain we go. Home about 8, need food so I cook myself something quick for dinner, Sam eats what I don't eat and he shares with me the ins and outs of his day. We clean up the kitchen and I fall on my bed and watch 30 minutes worth of tv. I know the next show started but hummmm I became aware of my surroundings about 10:30, turned off the tv, tucked myself in and settled for sleep.
Thursday, For some reason unknown to himself, Sam woke up about 4 and when he came to take his shower it woke me and I realized that I had not set my alarm before I went to bed so up I came. It was 4:30 before I realized it was 4:30 not 5:30 but by then...... so again, some breakfast and coffee talk, dogs outside, a little news watched.. some blogging started, talking to other of my kids, a load of towels into the washer.. some papers sorted and dealt with, lost keys found and off to work.
Today, I can say that of my USUAL job, I have gotten nothing done. Billing done on business one, a lost pay stub found and new copy made for employee, bank errands run, rental car returned, part ordered from Toyota after taking the old one there for a visual to TRY to get the right one ordered, conversations had with my mechanics over it, groceries bought for dinner for Sams Birthday, and back to work to attempt to get a few things done. I decided to finish this while I was eating my lunch though as I thought it might be nice to not actually WORK at my desk while I eat as I normally do.
Oh and the thing I HAVENT mentioned in the last 2 days is that the saga of this poor man at the hospital is still going on. It looks like they are just going to send him back home with some new home health care workers who might actually CARE about his home health. The thing is though, it is apparently ILLEGAL for the fire department who took his wall apart to come back and put it back together, so he is going home to a well ventilated room. I really don't understand all of what is going on because most of the information I have is 3rd party or beyond but I continue to feel very sorry for this man.
My life spins out of control at a seconds notice and stays that way for hours and days at a time, but the thing I can say is that when it happens...... I am physically capable of spinning with it. And that matters. It also matters that I am part of a community that even in a small way, I can care about and for those around me.
Who knows that the rest of today and tomorrow will bring.
OH YES< and happy 23rd birthday to Samuel James Holmes!!!!! Birthday cake for dessert tonight!
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