This isn't going to be all that interesting

Do you think its possible for me to be younger today that I was yesterday? I think so. I certainly feel younger. Funny, what stress can do to you. So I had to do a competition for work — only way to get promoted. I’m not going to get promoted (I think there are too many good people ahead of me) but I didn’t want to humiliate myself on the test either. I could have chosen, as some did, not to do the competition but I felt like that was admitting defeat before even getting out of the gate. I much prefer to round the first turn before I run up the white flag (how’s that for mixing your metaphors). Mostly I don’t have the self-esteem to boldly hold my ground that I am as worthy as my colleagues of my position without a test to measure where I fit. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb but so very true. I don’t remember being so unsure of my abilities as a child/teenager.

So I applied for the stupid promotion. I worked for days on my application and was screened in. There was a point where I was hoping that I wouldn’t make it pass that initial screening. You can imagine my delight three weeks ago, while I lay at home sick with the stomach flu and got the “congratulations, you’ve been screened-in” call. My response was “wonderful.” I think the manager who called me actually though I MEANT wonderful. It wasn’t that kind of exclamation.

Anyway so then I started to procrastinate. I wouldn’t start studying I reasoned until the following week for a variety of reasons that I came up with. Then I found ways to put it off even further. In the end though I did study — hard. I crammed quite a bit of information in my head and only a little flowed back out through my ears. I studied most of last week. I studied all weekend. I studied and I studied and I studied and last night I was so completely bored with studying that my head almost exploded. This morning I wrote a three-hour exam. The questions were fair and thorough and some of them were damn hard but I didn’t draw a complete blank on any of them although as generally happens to most people (I think) after an exam I realized I knew more than I actually put down on paper. Annoyingly enough I don’t know what a pass is. There were 5 questions – all essay. I’m guessing they are all weighted equally. I hope a pass is 50% (although I sincerely doubt it). If it was 50%, I’m good. 60% probably. 70% hmmm… church this Sunday? My colleague expects they’ll simply bell curve it. I think she is probably right. Ah well. I didn’t expect to win the competition anyhow. No matter, I am so relieved it is over and that I can return to life as I know it.

Life as I know it isn’t so hot. Kamryn is sick. Sick. Sick. Sick. She hasn’t been to school all week. It’s unlikely she will go to school this week at all. She supposedly has a virus although I just finished googling pneumonia. She had another “virus” a week and a half ago and got sent home from school with a temp of 103 (her temp was COMPLETELY normal in the morning when I sent her to school). So that was Friday. Her temp was up on Saturday and broke Saturday afternoon sometime. She was fine on Sunday and returned to school on Monday. Fine all week although she complained of a headache. Sunday her temp spiked again. I immediately assumed that the fever she had one week previous and the headache were all linked together and I dragged her to the doctor on Monday. Doctor looked her over, did a strep test, told me she had a virus and sent us home. I got a distinct feeling from my doctor that I was overreacting and wasting everyone's time (although it could be that she was just busy and that it had been a long day for her). I was content with her diagnosis and felt a little stupid.

Monday night, AFTER Motrin, her temp passed 104 and was heading for 105. Gave her tynenol stripped her down and gave her a shower. All was then fine in the world and her temp went down to 101. When she got up yesterday she was fever-free for about an hour. Today it was 101 when she got up (she had a dose of Motrin around 2am). It comes down with Motrin and the occasional tylenol chaser. She has a horrid cough and seems to be getting worse as the week progresses rather than better. This morning was the first morning she didn't complain when I told her she couldn't go to school. She is NEVER sick and has never had a fever this long before. I just called to check up on her (she is with my mother) and Mom tells me that Kamryn coughed until she threw up. That’s the second time this week she has done that. Poor kid. I think that tomorrow we’re going back to the doctor.

So I have a sick kid AND I have a social life. I’m kind of a homebody and actually don’t mind not doing much socially. This weekend might kill me. Lol Friday, I have a friend from out of town and her husband coming to dinner. Kind of a pain. Dinner on a Friday night. There’s work and then you rush home to tidy up a little and throw dinner together. I really want to see her on the other hand I hate week-night social engagements. Ugh!

Saturday, I have an untold number of people coming for dinner. My fault for not asking for RSVPs. Yikes. I THINK we’ve got about 13 people coming. It makes a difference between sitting at the table or doing a buffet. I much prefer to sit at the table so I’m hoping for less rather than more. We can sit 10 easily at the table and 12 close friends. Lol I’m a terrible host.

Sunday morning bright and early (like 4 am) I have to take my mother to the airport. That’s going to be hard. Then, if Kamryn has recovered I’d also like to have her invite a friend over to play. Not looking very likely now. Her little friend keeps having her over for mommy-free playdates and Kamryn never gets a chance to return the favour. I feel bad.

Lots going on when really want I want to do is NOTHING. Okay, one good thing just happened. Tomorrow is an Opposition Day in the House of Commons. That’s a day when the Opposition Party can introduce a motion to be debated. You find out what its going to be the day before and then maniacally write speeches for the debate. Obviously depending on what is being debated a particular department takes the lead. It’s only been Defence once since I started her in April – we wrote until 2 am. There was a good chance it was going to be us today. I so wasn’t looking forward to abandoning my sick child and further abusing my whipped brain and sitting here writing speeches for the next 12 hours. Luckily its not us today but some poor sods at Citizenship and Immigration. Woohoo for the good guys at defence.

Anyway so that’s life in the T. household. Not the most exciting of updates but we don’t have the most exciting lives.