Planning for the Unplanned

From a snowstorm to the emergency room...we've had an exciting weekend. However, our stress was minimized with some planning and flexibility.

This morning my daughter was sick, and also just seemed a little off balance. She has had a recurring ear infection and so we decided that she should see a doctor. Of course it is Sunday, so we headed to the emergency room. What I thought would be a quick check-up turned into seven hours of various tests and a lot of waiting. She is ok, but they aren't really sure what is wrong with her. We have to take her in to see her doctor for some additional tests tomorrow.

Work was obviously not my priority today. But the reality is that I will need to take (at least) a day off tomorrow and I know that I have things that I need to get done. Knowing that adds a little more stress to an already stressful situation. Fortunately, I did a little planning. As I headed out the door to take her to the hospital, I grabbed a bag that I had some exams in that needed graded. So today while we were waiting and she was resting or coloring, I was able to get some work done. It may not seem important, but knowing I am a little ahead right now makes it less stressful to be off tomorrow.

But before our emergency room visit, we had a snow emergency to deal with. We live in Ohio and we were hit with a huge snowstorm (I think it was classified as a blizzard) this weekend. My husband was supposed to work on Saturday, but was not able to get to his office. He is an accountant in the depth of tax season and they day off would have really put him behind. Fortunately, as he heard the weekend forecast (which was for some snow- but not quite a blizzard), he thought to grab a few files as he was heading out on Friday. And now as he returns to work tomorrow, he feels a little less stressed.

So while the weekend was bumpy, the start of the week isn't looking quite so bad.