This Is The Day That Never Ends

"This is the song that never ends.
It goes on and on my friends.
Someone started singing it not knowing what it was,
and they'll continue singing it forever just because,
(then repeat back at top) "

I've had this childhood song stuck in my head all day today. But I changed the lyrics a little.... to "this is the day that never ends". Seriously. Longest. Day. Ever.

Tuesdays are our "early" days. Lexi has band at 7:45, so the kids and I all leave the house at 7:30. Lexi goes to band, Jake eats breakfast at school then has extra football time before school, the little girls go to daycare and I get an early start on my work day. We've only been in this routine for a couple of weeks, but I've already gotten used to it and even plan my day around getting to work by 8:00.

I should know better. Why do I set myself up for failure? I planned to leave for an out of town story at 7:45 this morning. I got to work at 7:48 (not too bad, considering I got four kids and myself ready and to our different destinations all by myself) It was 8:17 before we actually left on that shoot. There was a miscommunication between my photographer and me. It was not a big deal. The story was flexible and actually turned out better than I planned.

But, I never got those 29 minutes back. In fact, I have spent the rest of the day making up for those 29 minutes. I crammed more "stuff" into my day than should ever be allowed. I went on to shoot another story, picked the little girls up from daycare, the big kids from school, took Jake to football, shot another story, picked Jake up from football, cooked supper, cleaned the kitchen, gave Lizzy and Morgan a bath, helped Lexi with homework, put Morgan to bed (twice, mind you) put Lizzy to bed...the list goes on. And still, I find myself thinking of all the the things I didn't get done today.

Then I made the mistake of looking at the calendar that hangs in the kitchen. It is the "master calendar". If it's not on there, it doesn't happen (really, Lizzy missed an ENT appointment last week because I forgot to write it on the calendar) And, as if life isn't busy enough, it seems someone (I won't name names.. but I'll give you a hint... it starts with an "L" and ends with an "izzy") decided we didn't have enough going on, and scribbled a few more things on the calendar!

Don't get me wrong. I would rather be busy than be sitting around watching tv. I love that my kids are involved in things. And the whole reason I cut back on work was so I'd have more time to spend with them, and to drive them all over for their activities. I worked seven hours day, and it was a good reminder of why I don't work full-time... it's just too much.  And while today did turn out to be a pretty good day,  I spent most of the day wishing for the day to be over. In just 63 minutes, this "day that never ends" will be over. As a new day draws near, I am thankful for the chance to do it all again, and hopeful that tomorrow will be a better, less chaotic day. Yet at the same time, I am thankful for the chaos. I don't know what I would do without the crazy schedules and the constant running. Because while those are the very things that make me crazy somedays, they are also the very things that make my life worth living, on schedule or not.