Just pull the covers over my head...

Yesterday was my day off. I look forward to that day all week long. I usually plan to crawl right back to bed once my younger son is off to school and sleep as long as I can - just because I can.

Well, unfortunately, that was not the case yesterday. I had to go to the Department of Social Security because SEVENTEEN YEARS AGO I did not change my name on my social security card and now you cannot renew your driver's license unless the names match. So basically, the driver's license that was issued to me by the DMV WITH my married name on it, no longer counts as a valid I.D. You cannot go in with your social security card with the maiden name on it AND show them your marriage certificate, no, you have to go and change the darn card. So, I got up in the morning, got the boy off to school, lingered around not doing much of anything and by 8:50, I was out the door and on my way to Raleigh. I hate going in to Raleigh. I'm just lazy that way and the fact that I thought that the whole reason of the trip was ridiculous did not help with my motivation.

I had been warned by many, many people to be prepared for a long wait, that the people are nasty, there's a list of things that you can and cannot bring in with you, blah, blah, blah. So I went in armed with a book but no snacks or water (even though I had skipped breakfast and was hungry). I went in, signed in on the computer, took my printed receipt with my number on it and found a place to sit. The room was packed. I had very little hope at that point and got comfortable and picked up my book.

"Number 212, please report to blue hallway, desk 3." The voice was clear and pleasant and I noticed two people get up. I looked down at my own ticket and saw that I was number 215! Wow, maybe this won't be so bad after all. And you know what? It wasn't! Fifteen minutes later, I was out of there! I read like 2 pages in my book, went and met with a very pleasant woman, showed my I.D., signed a paper and was on my way. I was a little bit giddy, I have to admit. Now I have time on my hands because mentally I had been prepared to to be in there for a good long while. Option A at this point was to go back home and go back to sleep, but no. I was showered, dressed and out of the house so I should make an effort to be productive and get some things done. So I went with option B and went and did a little shopping.

After a very disappointing and freaky shopping experience in Marshall's - I literally left my wagon in the middle of an aisle and sprinted from the store (a weird guy was following me around), I headed - on two wheels at one point, I think - across the street to Ross. If you've never shopped there and like a good bargain, I highly recommend it. It's a similar layout to Marshall's but where Marshall's promises good deals (and doesn't follow through), Ross did. I bought a long, belted cardigan sweater which I had been looking for, a beautiful, festive green knit turtle neck sweater, a bra and a fondue set all for $35!! I was in bargain heaven! I was energized. I could conquer the world at that point. I ran some other errands and then grabbed some McDonald's for me and Nick and headed home.

It was all down hill from there. Had I known what lie ahead, I would have opted for the extra sleep. After eating, we left the house to run some more errands. First stop was dropping him off at the movie theater to pre-purchase tickets for "Twilight" while I went in to Kroger's to get my .39 cent a pound turkey for Thanksgiving. While in there, mom called with a crisis. She just needed to vent and I understand that but I get too emotionally involved and I cannot understand why people don't speak up when other's are just being unreasonable. I wish for her sake that she would just do that. She'd feel so much better. Nick met up with me, we got the rest of our Thanksgiving dinner essentials, checked out and left. Then it was off to the bank. Just a word here on banking etiquette people, when going through the drive through, could you please just be PREPARED BEFORE getting in line. The guy in front of me had two people in front of him before it was his turn and waited UNTIL it was his turn to write up his transaction. So we sat, and sat, and sat thanks to this idiot. Not cool.

I don't know what happened next, but the conversation in the car turned ugly and it became a battle of getting the last word and at one point I began to contemplate the repurcussions of shoving someone out the door of a moving vehicle. How bad are the local jails? Would I get probation? I mean, no matter what I said, the boy had a snarky come back and it was all I could do to just get him to work without losing my mind! I had to remind him - REMIND HIM - of which of us is the parent and which is the child and who REALLY gets the last word. This should all go under the heading of the "I'm Rubber/You're Glue" chronicles but man can that child push my buttons!

Now, I am mentally exhausted, I'm feeling physically exhausted and am now ready to admit that I NEED a little sleep. Michael came home from school and was cheerily watching TV and having a snack when I decided to let myself relax and lie down. My mistake? I had the cordless phone on the bed with me. Not ten minutes in, my dad calls. Why? I don't really know because he spent as much time talking to his wife and someone else (if not more) as he did talking to me. The gist of the conversation was that some mechanic didn't tighten something in the engine of his car after an oil change and now the engine was blown in his car. Riveting! This one sided conversation went on for like 10 minutes and now I find myself wide awake! And not in a good way! He might have said good-bye, but I'm unsure because of all of the other conversations he was having! That's just rude, you know?

Serioulsy, I am THISCLOSE to changing my phone numbers, or throwing the darn things away, moving with no forwarding address and not letting anyone know where I am - including the teenager!