Don’t you love it when the first of the month also falls on a Monday?
It’s almost like New Year’s Day.
A clean slate.
And today, Monday, also happens to be the first day in, like, forever that we have no baseball and no swim team and no anything at night.
So today I made a commitment to myself.
I am getting my shit together once and for all.
I am going to eat frogs like it’s my goddamn job.
I’ve done this before.
I’ve vowed to stay on top of the things I hate to do but which I inevitably put off.
And then they cause me a lot of stress, and I have them hanging over my head.
And I don’t think I realize it when it’s happening, but the stress of having those things unresolved really makes me a bitch.
Take my car registration, for example.
I got pulled over about two years ago for talking on the phone while I was driving.
And that’s when the cop informed me that my registration had expired.
Three months earlier.
I had no idea.
And when I went to renew it, I couldn’t because I had to get my emissions inspected because that had also expired and I had no idea about that either.
And then when I got my emissions done, I found out I owed a tax bill on the car and I couldn’t renew my registration until I had paid that, and we were in such a financial mess that I didn’t have the money to pay it and it was So. Fucking. Stressful.
And I vowed to never do that again.
That lasted two years until I got pulled over for speeding at 6:15 on a Saturday morning a couple weeks ago on my way to a swim meet where I hadn’t left early enough and Number 3 was having a panic attack about being late for warm up.
And when the cop pulled me over he told me I was going 84 in a 65.
I had no clue. I’ve been better in the speeding department, and I was following someone so it wasn’t like I was whizzing past people.
But the cop was not really in a great mood and he came up to the window and let me know how fast I was going.
And then he told me my registration had expired.
In April.
And I had no clue again!!!!
What the hell???
And then I went through the same thing with the emissions that I had gone through two years ago. I had no clue it was expired.
And then we had another fucking tax issue because when my husband sold his truck we didn’t send anything in to the assessor’s office because we didn’t realize we were supposed to and they were still charging us taxes on it, and at the time I wasn’t really paying attention because we were still in jeopardy of being foreclosed on and I would get bills I knew I couldn’t pay and live in denial and not open them and just shove them in the pile of all the rest of the crap we couldn’t pay for.
So anyway, the cop was about to be a hard ass and tell me he was going to take my plates and tow the car and then Number 3’s eyes about bugged out of his head and he started to have some serious anxiety issues and so the cop went back to his car and then came back and told me he was only going to give me a ticket for failure to read a sign or something like that instead of speeding as well as driving around with an expired registration, and he gave me a month to get my shit straightened out.
I don’t know what the hell my problem is.
Every time I get those renewal notices, the renewal date seems so far away and I put the envelope in a pile and then I totally forget about it.
Until I get pulled over like six months later.
I think I may have finally learned my lesson.
I will never let that happen again.
There.
You heard it here first.
So anyway, the whole ticket/emissions/tax/registration issue has been hanging over my head for about a month.
Today I finally got the tax predicament taken care of, and now I can check that whole fiasco off the list.
Then there was the issue of Number 7’s kindergarten registration.
I still hadn’t done it.
I couldn’t bring myself to acknowledge reality.
Filling out that paperwork made it so…
final.
But I can’t put it off forever.
Plus, the kids spent today pranking each other and dumping rubber gloves full of water on unsuspecting siblings.
Inside.
And then there were a few incidents of slapping handfuls of lotion in each other’s hair and other fun stuff like that, so to be honest, I think I ‘m ready to accept reality and get everyone the hell out of this house.
So kindergarten registration is now complete.
One of the things holding me back was that I needed to go get a copy of Number 7’s birth certificate because, of course, I couldn’t find the original.
And those motherfuckers cost $ 20.
Twenty bucks for a damn piece of paper with a few bumps on it.
That’s another thing I’ve done more than once. Paid $20 for a birth certificate.
Stupid.
So I’m done being irresponsible with the paperwork.
I’m done putting things off for no good reason.
I have enough stress in my life, and I have enough to worry about as it is!
I have a golden opportunity here.
We are on better financial ground than we have been in years.
It’s a new month.
It’s Monday.
I have four glorious weeks with no sports.
I’m on the verge of having all the kids in school.
It’s time to get my goddamn act together.
I’m done making things harder for myself.
And this time I really fucking mean it.
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MOMTO4 says
Keep on keeping on., that’s what they say right! Something my very organized husband did when our kids were born was buy them a safe. Sounded silly to me but then he explained he planned on keeping each kids’ important papers in their safe. Just a thought, it’s worked so well. I’m a bit scatter brained but at least all the kids’ paperwork has a home!
Sarah Hartman says
You need a life binder!! Get a binder, some sheet protectors & print out something from online that has a list of everything to put in your life binder.
Mine has: birth certificates, car titles, house deed, hunting licenses, social security cards, handgun safety certs, father’s death cert, insurance policies, & all the other stuff that #1 you need often & #2 you can grab in case of a fire. It’s all right there.
Next, you need a annual calendar. When a bill comes in the mail, write it down on the day that it’s due, with the amount. IMMEDIATELY write it down!! Or, keep them somewhere insanely annoying until you do, so that eventually, you will have to!!
Every year, put annual/semi-annual bills in the next calendar, so that you can expect them to come. For instance, I know when property tax is due & home owner’s insurance, so I just fill it out when I start new year!!
Good luck!!
Genna says
I really need to get my shit together…it’s so f-ing hard when you have a toddler and kids running around plus an often un-cooperative husband!