In which We Have a Little Panic

Numerically speaking, my life is whizzing out of control.

Here are my stats.  You may weep at the state of my affairs, if you are so moved.

1. 1. Number of days until we leave THE COUNTRY (I'm a little freaked out by this part, can you tell?):  6, but only if you are generous enough to count today, which is almost over, and Monday, which is the day we leave.  
2. 2. Number of suitcases packed:  none; clothes are all dirty and we're not really sure where the suitcases are.  They're duffel bags anyway. We are still not mature enough to own "suitcases" and wouldn't even know where to look for such a thing as a "valise"
3. 3. Packing lists generated: none
4.  4. Ideas of what to pack: Zero.  I'm too busy to deal with minor details. (see below)
5.  5. Number of pages left to edit: 80
6.  6. Days remaining in which to edit said pages: 2
7. 7. Panic level resulting from work load/work time imbalance: 6
8. 8.  Brain power not engaged in freaking out about impending travel and therefore available for work: 25%
9. 9. Revised panic level: 11
10. 10.  Loads of laundry left to do: 5, not counting everything we wore this week and will also need for vacation
11. 11.  Number of children who don't actually own enough shorts to go on vacation for 10 days to Central America: 2/4.  Could be worse.
12. 12.  Time available to correct #11: theoretically: 72 hours (excluding work days); realistically: 45 minutes (see below)
13. 13. Number of softball/baseball games to be watched: Five if the teams lose, seven if they win.  I sense a moral confict coming on.
14. 14. Number of children turning 15 in two days: 1
15. 15. Number of presents bought: 0
16. 16. Number of presents thought of: 0
17. 17. Expected amount by which cost of last minute, panic-induced gifts will exceed reasonable birthday budget: 50%
18. 18.  Number of unwashed dishes in the sink:  not sure; we can't find the sink under all the dishes
19. 19. Number of children now on summer vacation and constantly either in my way or up to no good instead of conveniently located and constructively occupied at school: 4
20. 20. Number of disputes/squabbles/differences, petty and grand, to mediate:  not sure what this number is called, but it is almost certainly irrational and I refuse to deal with it
21. 21. Number of post-school papers/projects/leftover supplies taking oer my kitchen counter: not sure I can count that high. Certainly the level falls somewhere on the continuum between "Fire Hazard" and "Candidate for Hoarders"

PLAN OF ACTION:

• Items 2-4, 10-13, 18-21: Bury head in sand, hope they go away
• Items 1, 5 - 9, 14 - 17: PANIC!!!!!!!

EMERGENCY BACK UP PLAN OF ACTION:

Part A: Wednesday through Friday:

• Items 5 & 6: Barricade self in office; ignore all other items so as to finish by Friday
• Items 7-9: pretend I didn't see this
• Item 10: do laundry while working.  Or really, on occasional breaks from work. There's nothing like some boring work to make folding laundry seem like a treat. Or some boring laundry to make work seem like a good option. Win-win, right?

Part B: Friday night through Sunday:

• Item 13: pray for rain? Or pack an audiobook (driving is boring!), some sandwiches, and some knitting and enjoy the great outdoors.
• Items 14-17: pray for inspiration and, maybe, an additional paycheck
• Items 18 & 21: Barricade family out of kitchen, buy paper plates, and order a lot of pizza.  Also, consider having a bonfire
• Items 19, 20: Barricade children out of house until they stop behaving like barbarians and develop a sense of appreciation for their lovely home and the joys of summer vacation 
• Revised plan for items 18-21: Let reformed children back into house, barricade them into the kitchen, and put children to work earning their keep. 
• Items 1-4:  Well, there's always Monday, right?

Sorry for the lengthy silence.  I am still here, though it's been a bit busy and I don't even have any good pictures to post. Below, in unpunctuated free verse, is a brief summary of the last few months:

workworkwork
drivedrivedrive
sitintherainandwatchsports
repeat

There is also a good story about a wedding which included, in what may be the first event ever of the kind, the word 'skulduggery'.  I plan to write about that another time, but that's the same thing that I said about the day that we almost had to abandon EH in the Dominican Republic and you have yet to read that little tale, so don't hold your collective breath.

In other updates, the pool is not open yet, which is just as well since it is 65 and raining here today.  The garden is, in all likelihood, having a year off unless I suddenly come upon a pile of free time not caused by cancellations due to rain. And, it is probably time for me to start panicking about the fact that our trip to Costa Rica is less than two weeks away.  The way things are going, it will undoubtedly rain on us there too.

In the mean time, all sports were cancelled tonight due to rain, so I have finally lucked into a little unexpected time, which I will spend working to make up for all the legitimate work time that I have recently spent playing Candy Crush.  Off we go!