Day Eleven: A Tentative Agreement

Woo hoo! They agreed to a "tentative agreement" at 4am! A massive sigh of relief registered across the province. As if in acknowledgement, the weather turned a little cooler. Still sunny, but only 20 degrees today. Our neighbours are madly putting their kids to work on outdoor projects. I should have thought of that. This afternoon, they were up ladders painting and scraping. A more miserable couple of kids you've never seen. I found their son lurking in the basement at one point - I think he was hiding. I kept his secret because he gave me some of his chips.

You can sense the joy

The kids' reaction to the agreement was mixed. Initially, they cheered, then reality started to sink in and the anxieties began percolating. Little worries would pop up in conversation throughout the day. I took them to buy new backpacks. Grandma sent money for backpacks and I splurged on decent ones, since last year I could barely lift A's and I don't want my kids developing humps. They all bought grey. I'm sure that won't be a problem.

B's medication was making him "emo" today. He looked it up and said it's a common but short-lived side-effect of the new medication. I don't like it. We'll be keeping our eyes on that side effect. B can be frustrating, but he's generally a happy guy.

Oh yes, and I will be bubble-wrapping my car...because this happened today:

Suddenly, I felt like the kids did - happy, then "where did the time go?" followed by the urge to hide under my covers.