I am one of those people that stresses very easily. I think I am pretty much stressed every day of my life- yes some days are much worse than others. I've really been trying so hard to be patient and let things roll off my back. Sometimes I have some success with this, and other times not so much.
On the 24th of July, yes that is a holiday, we decided to go downtown for the Days of 47 Parade. I've actually never been to it, and have always wanted to go. Matt had to work, but I talked my mom into going and meeting up with my cousins. We actually didn't decide to go for sure until about 30 minutes before it was time to leave, but I did get out the door on time (Miraculous! I personally think getting two kids, plus myself ready and out the door before 9:00 should be considered an Olympic event!) Granted, we did grab McDonald's for breakfast on our way :)
Things were running fairly smoothly until we got off the freeway, and onto North Temple. Oh boy... traffic nightmare. I kept the kids mildly entertained by pointing out the Temple, the Conference Center, the waterfall on the Conference Center, police cars, and whatever else I could think of to point out. At one point, Sydney asked, "Mom, are we ever going to get out of this parade and be able to watch it?" We tried, unsuccessfully, to park at my brother's friend's apartment parking (say that 3 times fast), but decided it wasn't worth the possible towing punishment. So we got out of the cars, and after spilling my entire drink of orange juice all over, I sent the kids off with my brothers and sister to meet up with the cousins, while my mom and I drove around some more to find parking spots. I found one fairly quickly, hopped out of my car to hop in my mom's and walk with her to the parade, just when I saw her car disappear over the top of a very steep and long hill. I debated running after her, but had no idea which way she was headed. That's when I reached into my pocket to grab my phone, just to find an empty pocket and remember that it was actually in my diaper bag, along with my uneaten breakfast, which I sent with my siblings and the kids. I tried to vaguely recall where my aunt had said they would be watching the parade from, and headed in that direction, camp chair over my shoulder.
When I got to the parade route, I walked up and down the street, searching the crowd for familiar faces. I debated asking a stranger to use their phone, multiple times, but decided that I only knew two phone numbers by heart, my own, and my mom's.
If mom didn't hear her phone, likely in a loud crowd, then what would I do, ask the person if I could please hold onto their phone for a while? I finally decided that I needed to find a place where I could stay, call my mom and leave a message if she didn't answer, and have her meet me at the designated place. So, I headed to Temple Square. When I entered the Visitor's Center, camp chair and all, and asked to use a phone, I had to go through a few different people because they weren't sure if it was possible. A nice brother helped me, and after a few different tries, we heard the phone ring! My mom did answer, hooray!, and I scribbled down some directions of where to meet them. When I finally got there and sat down, I got to see 10 minutes of the 2 hour parade, and eat my cold breakfast. My kids absolutely loved the parade, and actually, I was in a pretty good mood considering. It was so fun to see them sitting in their little chairs with their cousins, eating licorice, completely oblivious to the fact that I hadn't even been there the whole time.
This sight could make anyone happy... yep, rollin' with it pretty good.
The parade, however, did not end on a happy note. As we were standing there, getting ready to leave, some of the clean up crew came along, and blew us to death with 100 mph air blowers. Sydney was bawling, because it really hurts having rocks, dirt, and sticks blown on you from all directions at 100 mph, and her white shirt was a nice shade of brown... not kidding. (She still talks about how much she didn't like that part of the parade)
We headed home, determined to turn the holiday around into a fun filled day. When we got home, I promptly changed the kids into swim suits and blocked them all up (another Olympic Event) to head to the pool. Right as we walk out the door, a storm rolls in, and it starts raining. So, I drove to my mom's house where we discussed waiting out the storm vs. going to a movie. We opted for the movie, so I drove home to get us all ready again (3rd time in one day) and head to the movie. The movie we wanted to go to ended up being sold out, so we had to wait for the next showing. It was cute, and the kids loved it, and surprisingly I was still in a pretty good mood- still rollin' with it.
After the movie, we had plans to go to a Bees game. We headed downtown, (for the 2nd time) this time being careful to avoid any traffic. We succeeded, and happily made it to our seats in a reasonable amount of time. The game was fun- high scoring, homeruns, the works... But it was long! We were so excited to see fireworks again, and were determined to stay for them. But at 10:00, when the game was still in the 5th inning, we decided to leave... a little bummed about missing the fireworks. Apparently, come to find out, the next 4 innings flew by, so we should have stayed... (should have figured that would happen considering our day) We got home, put the kids in their beds, and I still had a smile on my face. I guess it was a strong day for me.
Since then, I've been going through the preschool stuff that has taken over my house...
Today, my third student has dropped out since I've taken over. Enrollment is way low, and I've been pretty frustrated with all the parents who have taken their kids out of my class... so I really wanted to remember the holiday when I was able to let things roll of my back and not get too stressed.
I'm sure it will all end up ok. In the mean time... if you know anyone who is looking for a preschool, send them my way please!
