It's okay to drop the ball!

Today while looking in Taz's closet for dress clothes to wear to his friend's birthday party,  I realized just how much time I've lost while dealing with cancer, working a full time job and raising two special needs kids. I couldn't find a single sweater that would fit him and he grows very slowly. Majorly dropped the ball on that one.

I always manage to buy school uniforms but apparently I have skipped the necessary dress clothes for the past couple of years. Worse, we've gone through the whole winter, which was a really cold one, and I  haven't been shopping once. At least not at stores that sell preteen boys clothes.

Of course I practically live at Sam's Club and frequently go to BJ'S, but neither of these stores sell clothes in his size. Here's a shout out to both of these stores to start carrying a line of clothes for kids in between, i.e., not babies and toddlers, and not adult sizes.

Of course the real point is that I have no energy to shop at any store other than ones like Sam's Club were I have to go anyway to get bulk foods, prescriptions and household items.

The days of hitting the Outlet Malls are long gone and I only go to the mall if I absolutely have to.

Here's a perfect example. I recently needed some makeup that I could only get at a department store. So I go to Macy's and the requisite counter and the person there who was "filling in" could not find what I needed. She asked me to come back that afternoon when the regular person would be in. I guess she's used to people who go to the mall for hours on Saturday.

I wanted to say "Hello, I'm only here for one thing, I  haven't stepped inside the Mall for ages, I'm recovering from cancer, I have a sick #SNK child at home and I am Not coming back later!" That would have taken more energy than I had, so I bought a couple of other items and left without the one I came for.

It's hard enough being a mother to special needs children, but when you face your own illness and multiple surgeries too, it's beyond overwhelming.

Today was a perfect example of how I roll these days. I pulled out a pair of jeans, a school Polo and a school jacket and gave them to Taz. Then I made a mental note to buy him some nice sweaters between now and next winter. It's on the list along with so many other tasks that probably won't get done.

I'm trying to plan a special 13th birthday party for Taz in the next couple of weeks. The race is on and I can't even keep up with the tortoise. Anyone got a hare I can borrow?

My kudos and praise go out to any mom who can do more than the bare minimum while dealing with her own illness and raising special needs kids. Some days even the bare minimum is just too much.

On the bright side, I did manage to photograph the winter ball for Taz's school this week. It's something I do every year and really enjoy, and TG Taz's only suit still fits. I was exhausted afterwards but really enjoyed it. It's nice to know that a few of my favorite things are part of my new norm. And I learned a longtime ago that the world isn't going to fall apart just because I drop the ball.

Nianya