Sunday, July 31, 2011

So Glad It's Almost August

Usually I hate when it's time to turn the page on the calendar, for it's a sad reminder of how quickly time passes. I don't particularly enjoy being reminded that another birthday (and, not to mention, a more advanced age) is one month closer. 

It's sort of depressing.

But on the other hand, July has been one very long month and I'm really happy it's over.  And when I say it's been a long month, I mean very long.  Painfully long.  Long in a I-think-I've-added-ten-years-to-my-life kind of way.  I started July at the ripe age of 34, but I feel like I'm entering August as a 44 year old.  I hope gray hair didn't spontaneously start sprouting atop my head this month.   I'll screamlet you know if I discover any.

It should also be noted that in July, I officially lost my patience.  It's been hanging on by a thread since school let out, but this month, I finally saw the thread snap.  Or perhaps I can attribute my loss of patience, not to July itself, but to this season of discontent Caroline seems to have entered.  For the most part, she's an easy going kid, which I happen to really appreciate, because it generally makes my life easier.  However, for whatever reason, she's never quite happy with the options I provide for her.  I suggest something, she counter offers with something else.  I say we'll go to lunch at Subway, she asks for McDonalds.  I take her to dinner at Noodles and Company, per her request, she balks because I forgot to order her some bread.  I offer ice cream for dessert, she wants to make pudding, instead.  Nothing is quite good enough. 

It's kind of annoying.

Surely you can understand my delight in being able to bid July adieu.

August is shaping up to be somewhat eventful:  we're heading out of town on Wednesday to spend some time with my sister in North Carolina.  The following week Caroline has Spanish camp in the mornings and an evening soccer camp the week after.  Throw in a possible trip to the aquarium in Baltimore and some back to school shopping, I'm hopeful that August will fly by.

In the mean time, while I'm focusing on summer survival mode and plucking any sprouting grey hairs, I'm also trying to switch my blog from Blogger to Wordpress.  It's going to take some time because we're going out of town.  But also because I'm sort of a computer idiot.  I try hard, but it doesn't come easy.  Not even the easy stuff comes easily.  I've got the basics of the move covered, and I even made myself a new header, but the whole shifting all of my blog posts to a new blog host is kind of scary.  I don't want any of my beautiful writing drivel to get lost somewhere  in cyberspace.  Then what would you do? 

Talk about pressure.

In other news, I got a new kitchen faucet today.  It's lovely and not at all gnarly and gross like its predecessor.  My landlord is quite the handy man and for that I'm very thankful.  Because, as adept as I am at changing car batteries, toilet handles and light bulbs, my other household handyperson skills leave a bit to be desired.  Word on the street is that I'm getting an new garbage disposal, too.  It's like Christmas, or something.

Hmm, perhaps July hasn't been so bad, after all.

6 comments:

Sarah said...

Yay! Moving to Wordpress from Blogger is pretty easy...just be patient and it will work just fine. Trust me, if I can do it, you can do it. And if you have any questions along the way, just let me know! And here's hoping that August isn't quite as hot as July!

Yo. Mama. said...

Make a back up copy of your blog on a flash drive. (She said as if she knows what she's talking about.)
Also? Forget about the gray hair on your head -- watch for chin whiskers!
Also? Girls around Caroline's age go through some sort of hormone change. Ask any mom of a 9-10 year-old girl and the stories will be similar. Trust me, I had two 9-year-olds once....and the oldest was definitely the worst.
;)

Alison said...

Thanks Sarah. I book marked the instructions; now I just have to do it. And then I'll have to figure out how to actually write and publish a post. I'll get there....

Mom--You may be right, but I think it's less hormonal and more about being spoiled. She's not rotten, but she's used to some pretty laid back living. Which, is probably my fault.

Sissy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sissy said...

I always offer choices to the students. "would you like subway or dinner at home.". That's my strategy. Charlie uses a different stategy: "you can have subway or NOTHING." LOL. It makes me laugh, but it works. Our nephew (who is three) likes Pepsi, but he does not get it at our house. So, his choice is juice or water, and I keep repeating them until he finally makes a choice. Sometimes he whines at the choices but he usually gives in. Of course, I only have to deal with this for several hours, not an entire summer of discontent! :)

Alison said...

Sissy, I tend to use both of your techniques. I start out with yours and then if the whining persists, I got with the Subway or Nothing approach a la Charlie. That usually does it. :)