Drowning

I am drowning. And I'm not just talking about the rain. In a sea of paper.

The mail comes daily. Some days, I deal with all of it in a timely manner.

And there are those other days. You know the type - the kind of day when you toss the mail onto the desk, plan to look at it later.

Some days, I just don't know how others cope. Along with the mail (which today totalled four - ! - magazines, catalogs, bills, credit card offers - no day complete without those, an insurance statement, my thrice-weekly invitation to purchase opera season tickets, and the promise of better mobile phone service if I just! switch! now!), I have receipts from the eye doctor, forms to be turned into school next week, errant phone messages, a list of restaurant recommendations that I would like to hold onto, a health history form for next month's orthodontist appointment, and a letter promising me a pizza coupon to thank me for volunteering (why didn't they just send me the coupon? Because it would have been buried on my desk, that's why - they know me).*

I see others' houses, and they show no sign of such paper. Either I am a) incompetent, b) merely inefficient.\, or c) woefully understaffed. More likely it's just d) unmotivated.

But today is tidying day, so I am getting a grip on the filing. A temporary grip, but for the weekend we'll be all caught up.

Because this weekend we have better things to do. Tonight we have ditched .... well, let's say all three girls have been invited out. Two are watching High School Musical and one is at a different sort of party. But she set theTiVo ... So Gary and I plan to watch a movie. And it won't be on the Disney Channel.

Tomorrow we must take advantage of tax-free weekend and finish the school shopping. And, just to make things exciting, it's time to prepare for our first Texas hurricane: Dean is on the way. I think we're far enough away that we won't really feel the effects of the worst of the weather, but we will experience the residual rainfall - we had heavy rains and flooding yesterday already from Erin. So tomorrow we'll be sure to get right into the shopping frenzy, making sure we have groceries and gas (though I just shopped yesterday ... still, good to be prepared).

I doubt our lives will be disrupted much. We are 90 miles from Galveston, and with Rita, this area didn't even lose power (though many people evacuated, just to be safe). We'll just stay home and enjoy some rainy afternoons; I suspect we will carry on as usual.

Though maybe, just maybe, the mail won't be delivered. Which is fine by me - give me chance to stay caught up.

*List is not comprehensive