Butta, Brie, and Bleu Cheese Days

Yesterday evening as Josh and Nate got into the Jeep after their swimming practice, Nate informed me that he had the coach order his sweatshirt with the word "Butta" instead of "Miller" on the back. He said he had it as "Miller" but then his teammates told him that he should put "Butta" on the back and so he did. (That's how he and his teammates decided it should be spelled, but I think I like it better as "Buttuh". He said that they considered the "h" at the end, as in "Buttah", but concluded that just the "a" was good.) I asked, Why Butta? And his cousin answered, "Because he's so smooth when he swims--like butta."

It got me to thinking that my day had been anything but smooth like buttuh. (hmmm, maybe I do like the butta better...or, butta betta...) My day had been more like crumbled bleu cheese; falling out everywhere. I knew I had a bug on Sunday with the cloudy head, achey, itchy ears, and burning throat and eyes that were with me when I woke that morning; I tried to take it easy. But any parent knows that you can't just take a day off from being a parent, especially when you are the only one present. Monday morning wasn't much better, but I was optimistic; I thought I felt better. So I surged forward with my "to-do-list".

After walking Grace to school, I got right to checking my email to see if Grace's Spanish teacher (the head of Student Council for the school) wanted Jen and me to come to the school that day to help with a fundraiser for Haiti. We had been communicating about it the previous week via email but now, on the kick-off day, my computer, more accurately, my email was going so slowly that it took me an hour and a half to type a two-paragraph message. That should've been my first clue that I needed to slow down and just chill. But I had so much to do! (I can hear my insidious-self chortling in the background now...or just my self...not really insidious, just a part of me that knows better.)

Between waiting for my email to unfreeze I decided to get started on the bills. Turns out I was in a holding pattern on them, too. One of Joel's roommates moved out near the end of December so I knew his rent and utilities and sanitation bills would go up and I took that into account, but what I forgot was that since he also just rotated to the 11am-9pm shift, he lost most of his shift-differential premium pay; a pretty big chunk of money for us to suddenly not have. The ironic thing is that he was allowed to choose his starting rotation with the knowledge that they would soon rotate forward a shift and stay for a longer period. He purposely chose the 5p-3a shift so that he would end up on the nightshift when they moved, but this time they went backwards. No one knows why. It's all a big mystery.

So. You get the idea. My plans for the day were quickly crumbling around me like bleu cheese. And I felt lousy about it along with just feeling lousy. But then today was a new day. I still felt murky but I went along with the flow...not like butta, but not like crumbling bleu cheese, either, more like a nice, creamy Brie. Eventually, by this evening, I found myself saying, "Like butta. Just like butta." And it's not like things have really gone exactly smoothly (hence, the Brie). For example, earlier today Jen and I collected piles and piles of coins and bills from each classroom at our kids' school for the Haiti fundraiser and took them to a credit union to change it all into bills ($486 in two days!). Later, I received a call from from the school clerk stating that I needed to call the lady at the credit union because she overpaid us by $11 and that they needed me to return the $11 to the credit union. I was baffled but I called. After hearing the bank lady's explanation, I knew what had happened and within three minutes it was fixed. We didn't owe $11.

Then today after school I noticed that Grace was coughing a lot. We had to leave for her ballet class in an hour; her costume deposit and measurements were also due, then we were going to skedaddle to the boys' swim meet across town, but I was starting to doubt that she was well enough to do all that. Sure enough, I felt her and knew she was too hot--102 temp. At first I was really bummed to miss one of Nate's meets and to have Grace miss her ballet that she so loves. Also, the costume stuff was due...but I made some calls...I caught my mom just before she hopped in the shower. She came to watch Grace when she was done, left her car running in my driveway so I could jump right in and not have to fiddle with the Jeep's quirks; I zoomed off within the speed limits to try to get to the community center dance studio by 5p so I could catch the teacher between classes and to get back home by 5:15p so Cheri and my mom could get to the meet on time. Whew!

After giving the envelope to her teacher at a few minutes before five, I walked out of there saying, Like butta. (Then I kept saying it all the way home, Just like butta.)

Not only because it all worked out with the timing, but because I realized in that moment that this was best for Grace and for me (and everyone else she may have infected if we went to ballet and swimming). And I thought about yesterday and I appreciated today so much more. The bleu cheese, the Brie, and the butta all come from the same place, they just have different traits. And then I said to myself, Bleu cheese is an aquired taste. Not everyone appreciates the veins of mold and that sharp bite, but those who do, understand its perfection.