Today the computer crashed three times in a row when I tried to boot it up. I managed to get it going in safe mode and snatched a copy of the copy-edit file so I’d have it just in case, because I’d forgotten to e-mail it to myself at the end of the work day on Monday. It’s only crashed twice since then, but it’s gotten stuck or hung up three other times. The boy was resistant about being dropped off this morning, my errands took an hour longer than I expected them to, and the rest of the day has to happen sooner rather than later because both HRH and I are booked at rehearsals tonight, so the boy has to be in bed before we leave, which is a half hour earlier than I usually leave on Wednesday nights. So I lost the entire morning, as the computer didn’t begin behaving till noon, and then I had three days of email to wade through. I may do a chapter or two of copy-edits, or I may give my crankiness and stress a break by doing some longhand hearthcraft work instead. I have three work days after today in which to finish the last half of the copy-edits (two of those are full days in which I don’t have to take the boy to whoever is caring for him that day or pick him up), and working on them today may not be the best of plans as I am very tired, achy, and headache-ridden. I don’t know if I can get into the proper headspace or if I have the reserves of energy to deal with them, or if it’s even worth the attempt. I have a very strong suspicion that it might do more harm than good. So research and notes for the hearthcraft book it is.

For those awaiting news resulting from the doctor’s appointment on Monday… there was no doctor’s appointment. I got there for three, sat there for an hour, then got up and asked the receptionist to reschedule my appointment for next week, because I had to leave to go downtown and pick the boy up from daycare. And good thing I did, because it took me an hour to get there. The receptionist was distressed because I’d gone all the way out there for nothing (sixty kilometre round trip, remember) and kept trying to find a way to slip me in between other appointments, but I wasn’t having any of that; all except two of the other people had been there longer than I had, after all. Also, I was getting claustrophobic in the miniature waiting room that had three car seats, three infants, and nine adults in it, and was growing increasingly stressed by it all. Driving all the way back out next Tuesday morning, even with the boy in tow, was infinitely preferable.

Recent news: The boy has acquired two new nicknames. We visited the LLO all-day dress rehearsal last Saturday after his nap and he had a wonderful time in the very back of the theatre with me, singing and marching and dancing ( “Come on, Mama! We have to hop!”) along with what was happening on the stage. He was remarkably well-behaved (despite my concerns that he would disturb people, and the occasional loud “Dada!” he would chirp whenever HRH would walk on stage to consult with someone about positions, which seemed to amuse people more than anything else) and we managed to stay all the way to the end of Act One, at which point we scampered home for a belated dinner, bath, and bedtime. The cast, who knows HRH by his sobriquet of Bear, began to refer to him as Little Bear. (This will, I know, amuse Bodhifox to no end, because now my son is known by not one but both the nicknames his own two children carry.) This new nickname came hard on the heels of HRH beginning to refer to the boy as HLH, or His Little Highness.

Yesterday the boy drew a very impressionist picture of the stage, his favorite people ( ‘Rob, trying to scare me’ and ‘Colly in her green dress’ were my favourites), and the dancing. It was lovely. I sent it to the theatre with HRH to put up on the wall; I hope people were amused by it.

More recent news: Erm, we unintentionally acquired a Wii over the weekend. No, seriously, it was an accident. A few weeks ago Ron asked one of his students who works at Best Buy what the deal was with never having any in stock, and the kid said that it was because when the delivery trucks arrived the staff grabbed them all, put them aside, and called the people they knew were looking for them. (HRH had inquired because we were going to co-buy one for ourselves for Valentine’s Day, you see, and there were none to be found anywhere. The student thought it was very sweet of us to come up with the idea, and was flat-out stunned that I’d bought him an Xbox as an anniversary gift lo these many years ago… and nearly lost it when Ron told him I had a DS and had passed my old one on to him. I can’t remember if HRH told him I’d worked on two games. Kids. They’re so cute.) Anyway, last Friday the student called him from work to say, “Dude, the truck just arrived, and I’ve got one aside for you! You can pay me back Monday.” It was so very not in the budget, since HRH had no idea the kid was going to take it upon himself to do this, but we did it. We set it up Monday night and tried out the sports games that came with it. They’re surprisingly good for a workout.

All right. Now that I’ve handled all the other stuff, I can get an hour of some kind of work in before I have to leave to get the boy.