Why I Hate Bill Paying Mondays

My Office (aka Pool Room) after opening and sorting stuff

It took me all day Monday to sort through the accumulate junque of the past month. Normally I do this on the FIRST Monday of the month, but I was too busy celebrating my birthday week to do it on the first.

Anyone who knows me knows that I don't like paperwork, don't like the telephone, don't like minutiae of any kind. I purposely schedule NOTHING on Mondays, so I can have the day to recover both the house and my sanity from having everyone at home during the weekend. It's my mental health day. So I really detest it when the little things of life (bill paying, cooking, laundry, taxi-driving, etc) take up my Mondays.

But I slogged on ahead. Opened, sorted, noted, balanced, paid, reconciled, filed (sort of). Planned and listed. Wrote thank-you notes and sympathy cards. Researched and tackled new health insurance application forms.

Eight hours of my life later, I was finished. Mail basket empty, ready for another month's accumulation. Creditors kept at bay for one more month. My reward was a beautifully grilled hamburger (Grumpy Guy to the rescue!), a cleaned up kitchen (thanks, kids) and a blissful 2 hours with a glass of wine, my ipod and some sock knitting.

I am woman-hear me roar.

Searching for Inspiration

I sit here staring at a computer monitor, knowing that I need to open mail and pay bills, and do all sorts of mandatory (um, not...) stuff that makes up Monday mornings at MCR. I've spent an hour playing around on the internet, checking up on friends, reading blogs, checking the weather-anything to not get to the task at hand.

What happened to the weekend? Well, we went to Bulloch Academy in Statesboro, GA for Boy's football game. They played 3 great quarters and then sorta fell apart in the fourth. So we go into the region portion of the season with exactly the same record as last year (1-4-1), when we won region for the fourth straight year. This schedule of playing much larger and tougher teams has its merit, but can be demoralizing mentally. Hopefully we are at the top of the roller coaster hill, ready to zoom toward the fun. Boy got in LOTS of playing time, (the stats aren't in the paper for a few days, but I know he had at least 77 yards) as the two major Senior runners are out. He is bruised and very sore, but happy. God love him-he must be as crazy as they come. Apples don't fall far from their trees.

Girl didn't have a cross country meet this weekend, so she just did the "hanging out" thing. Typical 13-year old. Those with this type of human in the house know just what joy and happiness can be spread by hormones. I still have my hair and she hasn't been grounded-but it wasn't for trying.

Not even the doves were flying Saturday, so Grumpy Guy and Chip were disappointed. Georgia lost....well, at least LSU pulled it out in the end. I just really hate it/love it when a ball game is that good-but have to hang on until the bitter end.

I spent most of yesterday reading stuff about my alma mater. I haven't written about Randolph-Macon Woman's College becoming co-ed "randolph college" (the lower case is intentional...)- it's just too painful. Maybe I will in a few weeks, but the horror stories that have happened over the summer, (and continue to happen, if one believes the reports from the Lynchburg police news) among them the trustee's decision to sell part of the prestigious RMWC art collection to keep the college afloat have left me heartsick. I'll write of it later, but I can say that the best thing that could possibly have happened is that I am closer than ever to the women of my class ('82). We reconnected at our 25th reunion, and rebonded. Of my closest 5 friends, we've always kept in touch, but now I realized how deeply important these friends are. We now communicate on a weekly, if not daily basis. They are the treasure that has come from all this muck.

So, on this dreary Monday morning, overcast and drizzily, with my coffee getting cold, I am now smiling at the thought of all those strong, vibrant women who are alums-and present students- of Randolph-Macon Woman's College. They are my inspiration.