I Woke Up, Realized It Was Friday, And Groaned...

Who does that? Apparently me.

Before May began I knew it was going to be a busy month—and I mean busy—not productive or active or any other 'ive' word you can possibly imagine. Busy. A writing opportunity arose at the end of April. My last editing course—the final project—started on May 2. My youngest son turned eight. May 2-4 happened. I volunteered to scribe for the EQAO (which stands for Education Quality and Accountability Office) standardized testing for six consecutive mornings. I had doctor and dentist appointments. We carted the kids to swimming, tutoring, and soccer. Buddy needed his summer haircut. And all the regular life stuff.

I knew what May was going to be like. I knew. And yet, for all my planning prowess, I failed to schedule May's blog posts. So... This morning, I woke up, realized it was Friday—the day I post my (usually) weekly blog—and groaned. I missed May 11 because we had our son's birthday party on the 12th. I missed May 18th because of the Victoria Day long weekend. I didn't have an excuse at the ready for not posting today. So, here I am.

Everyone is busy. Life is busy. Sometimes, busy means productive—I dedicated a whole post to that in February—but sometimes busy just means getting through the day, putting one foot in front of the other, until what needs done gets done. My husband and I make a great team. Between the two of us, we cover the kids and the house. The kids help more too, usually with incentives.

It's the 25th, and we're almost through the month of May. I submitted my final editing project today—fingers crossed—and checked that item off my list. I have three more mornings of scribing, but no more appointments so ***fingers crossed again*** I'm hoping to finish my writing project—if my health, and life, cooperate.

Despite our best efforts, we constantly dodge the wrench in our plans. I think we run in 'Plan B' mode most of the time. I'm getting better at rolling with it. Maybe? Since 2012, my health has taken me on a rollercoaster ride of decline. In September 2014, I wrote a post on losing the war against stress. Years later, I am better at listening to my body, managing my condition, and carrying on, but I am still far from home free. I am trapped in a series of bad, and worse, days. Every day is different. I can't anticipate a symptom attack or how long it will last. My typical day is best described as 'random', and this has been my reality for five-and-a-half years.

Our plan is no plan. It's a 'do what you can' approach. No matter what I do, I suffer the consequences. Even having fun is hard because I know, without a doubt, I will pay the price for the next day or two or three. But life goes on, and so shall I.

May the 4th

I have a horrible May the 4th confession to make. I am a bigger fan of Star Trek than Star Wars... much to the chagrin of my boys, but the appeal and insight of the Star Wars story is undeniable.

Once upon a time becomes "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" and, after the introduction in bold yellow font scrolls off the screen, the adventure embarks. An epic and intricately woven adventure.

Re-watching the (entire) Star Wars series... including Episodes 4-6, then Episodes 1-3, then Episode 7, then Rogue One (my favorite, by far), then Episode 8... with my boys was an amazing experience. Their excitement became my excitement. When we play Star Wars, I'm always Padmé. I hum the Darth Vader entrance music for dramatic effect. (In fact, I find that the movie soundtracks are actually quite impressive. The beautifully composed music interjects foreshadowing and helps set the mood, especially the very recognizable pieces like Princess Leia's Theme.) And, I have light sabre battles (until I, inevitably, get hurt for real).

So, I've come a long ways from the girl whose boyfriend made her watch the original 3 movies before seeing Episode 1 in the theatre. I'll see Solo later this month, but I'll take a pass when the boys decide to re-watch their favorites again and again.

This May the 4th, enjoy your favorite Star Wars flick, wear your favorite Star Wars tee, and tell everyone you see "May the force be with you."