The 5 P's

Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance

I think that this whole work thing would go off without a hitch with proper scheduling/ planning and everything went the way I imagine that it would go. But, no, of course not, that would be too easy.

Today was my second day going to work. I woke up at 5:50am. That's damn early. And to top it off, I couldn't sleep all night because I was worried that I was going to miss waking up at 5:50am.

When the alarm goes off, I tip toe to the bathroom and groggily start the day's preparations...shower, makeup, hair etc. Now that I am on a very tight time schedule with the little one, the clothes that I want to wear that day have to be chosen and ironed and put in the bathroom the night before so that I don't waste time trying to figure out what I'm going to wear in the morning.

Keira's milk is already poured in the sippy cup the night before. Most of her lunch is made the night before. I just like to make her sandwich in the morning so that it doesn't get too mushy before her lunchtime. Her clothes for the next day are also chosen the night before so that I dont' have to figure out what she's going to wear in the morning.

Once I'm ready, then there's the task of waking up Keira. I feel so bad that she needs to wake up so early. Poor little thing. She now needs to wake up at 6:45am rather than 7:30am. 45 minutes is a lot for a little thing like her. 6:45am only works when Per is in town. When he's out of town and I have to do it by myself, then she needs to wake up at 6:30am. Gee, that's early.

She wants to sit on the toilet FOREVER. She likes to read books and point at objects and have me tell her what they are. This is all great when I didnt have to work or on weekends, but this is not so great when we have a tight time schedule to keep. I keep looking at my watch, worried that I'm going to be late for work.

I run downstairs to turn on the milk warmer while she sitting on the toilet. Run back upstairs to be with her. Run back downstairs five minutes later to put in the milk. Run back upstairs to change her. Brush her teeth. Wash her face. Comb her hair. Run back downstairs to get the milk. Run back upstairs to give it to her. Whew! And I haven't even gotten to breakfast yet.

We go downstairs and she takes about 20 minutes to eat a little tiny bowl of Cheerios. She is a super slow eater sometimes, that one. When she's done, we have to sit on the potty again so that she can pee. Then, I have to chase her around the house to put on her clothes and shoes.

By the time I get to work, I'm much more calm and can quietly enjoy a cup of coffee before I begin the day. It's somewhat weird to be back at work. I can't remember how to book a meeting in our CRM, and my brain doesn't seem to be working at full capacity either. I think I must have left it at home in between the Cheerios and the vacuum cleaner. It's nice to see other grown ups and talk about grown up things, but at the same time, I miss my little one and wonder how she's doing. I need to leave the office by 3:15pm in order to get home in time to pick her up. I can't believe that I even have to leave that early when I used to leave around 8pm! I feel guilty as I go out the door, but hey, WTF, I have more important things to get to!

The whole dinner thing when we get home is kind of stressful too because I need to prepare dinner, eat, clean up, shower Keira and she needs to be in bed by 7:30pm. And then, of course, it starts all over again...where does the day go?