Tuuuuuues-day Aaaafter-Nooon

No, we did not spend Tuesday afternoon at the aquarium with our Visa card. I spent Tuesday afternoon at work, dispensing antiviral drugs to swine flu victims and trying to not get breathed on, sneezed on, or otherwise contaminated. I was slightly loopy from the three Sudafed I took before work, in an effort to staunch the leaking from my allergy-ridden nasal passages, but it was all for naught. My nose continues to run, well, continuously.

In the middle of all this fun, Alisa called to tell me Audrey was missing. Every other Tuesday is a bit of a bear, being that I am at work and Audrey has orchestra and swimming, and Duncan has scouts. It makes for a hectic afternoon, but with the help of my two oldest little darlings, we usually make it through. Anyway, Alisa called from the school, to tell me that Audrey was not in orchestra. Now, Audrey is a very reliable kid. Not the type to go off on wild goose chases. And it would be extremely unusual for her to skip orchestra, and even more unusual for her to go somewhere without letting me know. So I was instantly in panic attack mode. After checking with the only friend I could imagine she might leave with, I was in double panic/heart attack mode. I could not think of one place she might be, or one person she would be with. And of course this was all happening right in the middle of a rush at work. Well, long story shortened up a bit, she was in orchestra. She was never missing. Alisa sort of jumped the gun on the alarm buttons, as did I. Nevertheless, I gave Audrey a great big hug when I got home from work. Just the thoughts of a kid being gone, and not knowing where they are, is enough to freeze my blood.

While all of this was happening at work, the other kids were home, apparently staging World War III in my house. It's a dump! Dirty dishes and dirty socks and school papers....these kids don't know it yet, but they are going to be assigned some serious work detail in very short order.

But before we can start cleaning up, we have to try and dig out some warm jackets for tomorrow. It is supposed to be winter-like here, and we haven't even thought about coats since last March. I'm not even sure I remember what they look like. First, though, we gotta feed the troops. Sounds like a fun night, no?