How I spent my Monday (September Reset)

I hope everyone who is tracking time this week made it through yesterday! If not, you probably still mostly remember it, so why not go back and fill in your log now? A few blank spots are OK.

Also: If you didn’t get yesterday’s email, and you know you are signed up, please check your junk/spam folder. I’m getting a lot of reports of the emails going there.

I probably won’t post detailed logs of every day this week, but I know I am always curious how other people spend their time. So here’s how I spent Monday — which was a kind of full day…

I was up at 6:40 to shower, dress, and put on make-up before the middle schoolers needed to be up at 7. I got them up (the little guy was around and underfoot by this point), and helped get them out the door with my husband at 7:30. The high schooler was also nudged out of bed at this point. I started some laundry (did 3 loads yesterday…), and cleaned up. I did a little bit of work before getting the 5-year-old off to school at 8:55. I was home around 9:15, and worked for the next 2.5 hours on various things. Then my husband and I ate lunch together (he was also working from home).

At approximately 12:15, I changed into my workout clothes, and went upstairs to the room where we keep the weights. I worked out with my trainer (via FaceTime) from 12:30-1. Then I changed back, did about 15 minutes of work, and went over to our local grocery store to pick up our catering order (a 5 minute drive)

Yep, I’d agreed to host a high school cross-country team pasta dinner (they have their first official meet today, Tuesday). I picked up the giant containers of pasta and a truly gigantic Caesar salad. Then, after putting those in my car, I went back in and bought some other things, like drinks, ice, bread, fruit, and random groceries. I brought those back to the house.

At this point it was 2:15. I worked for another hour until the middle schoolers showed up (about 3:15). I chatted with them, and then our evening babysitter came at 3:30. I headed over to the elementary school with her to get the 5-year-old as I was unsure the car line pick up would work — it was his first time getting home that way, and it was his teacher’s first day back from paternity leave. But we got him all right, so they dropped me off by the trail to walk home, and they took off for ninja warrior class. I got home at about 4:10 after a nice little nature walk.

I then proceeded to set up everything for the party. The pasta needed to go in the oven to be reheated, and I set up the tables (they were out in the patio already but needed to get set up), brought the utensils and such out, etc. My husband went to pick up the 15-year-old from cross country practice, and they were back at around 5:20.

At which point I kind of…waited. The invite said “after practice” and there were widely varying interpretations of what this meant. A few kids came right after. Others went home to shower and change. So I went ahead and put the food out for the kids who were there early, and slowly people started to trickle in. By 6-ish we had about 30 kids devouring the pasta. I think they had a good time. People played frisbee and football in the yard and while we had a few leftovers we did not have a ton of leftovers. So I guessed right on the order. Phew!

I stayed supervising until 7 p.m. Then my husband got off his call and came down to take the second shift of the party while I got in my car and drove downtown (listening to the Best Laid Plans podcast, and then the post-Taylor episode of New Heights…). I parked in my favorite garage, and got to my choir rehearsal at 7:40 — 40 minutes late. I meant to come in quietly, but I had to cross the room to the soprano section and then there wasn’t a chair, so the director stopped to get one for me and carried it across the room and…oh well. I guess I made an entrance.

We rehearsed until 8:15, then took a 15 minute break (they’d been going since 7), and then were back at it, singing Lay a Garland, and the Howells Requiem, and a Victoria Requiem. This group sounds quite good — a lovely blend. We rehearsed until 9:25, at which point I walked back to the garage, got my car, and drove back home, arriving right about 10:00.

Fortunately the little guy was asleep by this point (it’s always a point of contention if he isn’t…). I got a snack, said good night to the others, and read for a tiny bit before getting ready for bed myself. I was asleep around 10:45. That’s a bit early for me, but good because I was up this morning at 5:30 as I heard my husband getting ready (he had an early train). I lay in bed, then when I realized I was not falling back asleep, I read an article online, got up and had a cup of coffee, then showered and dressed 6:20-6:40. Then I got the middle schoolers up, since they were going to take the bus, and it comes 7:19.

I’m pasting the “log” version below — as you can see, a lot less detailed, but since we’re only a day past it, I can reconstruct most of it. Possibly I couldn’t farther away in time, but even looking at some old logs, if there’s something out of the ordinary (like the cross-country party) I probably would remember a lot of it. Memories don’t take much to come back.

I hope the time tracking is going well for you!

5:30
6:00 6:20 up, lie in bed
6:30 6:40 up, shower, dress
7:00 kids, kid breakfasts, eat
7:30 kids go, S ready, laundry
8:00 work, H clean up
8:30 work, drive H
9:00 home, work
9:30 work
10:00 work
10:30 work
11:00 work
11:30 work, lunch w/M
12PM lunch w/M, laundry, change, etc.
12:30 train
1:00 train, change, work
1:30 grocery, pick up, shop
2:00 home, unload, work
2:30 work
3:00 work, chat R, chat sitter
3:30 ready, to elementary school, walk back
4:00 walk, get ready party
4:30 ready party
5:00 ready party – kids starting to come
5:30 wait, hangout/x-country
6:00 x-country party
6:30 x-country party
7:00 in car, drive
7:30 park, to rehearsal
8:00 rehearsal, break
8:30 rehearsal
9:00 rehearsal, to car
9:30 wait, drive home
10:00 snack, kids, wind down
10:30 relax/into bed, sleep