Logistics

My life for the past few days has been a logistical nightmare.

I have to back up a little for this to make much sense.  I have 3 brothers (for the sake of simplicity db1, db2, and db3 dear brother 1, 2, and 3; I also have a sister, but she isn't really involved... neither is db3).  The brakes on my mom's car really needed to be changed.  2 weeks ago db1 was supposed to help db2 change them (db1 is 29, db2 is 20 and never had done a brake job by himself so he wanted some help/supervision).  On 4 different occasions, days and times were set up for the two of them to fix the brakes.  Db1 never showed, and only sometimes called to cancel.  The brakes really needed to get done.  Jet had volunteered to help, but Mom and db2 thought db1 should be the one to help as well, it is his mom.  Tuesday on the way home from work, db2 wound up hitting debris from a fatal car accident and his radiator was completely torn up.  Wednesday he drove Mom's car to work and then came over here as the brakes really were done.

Wednesday Obsidian needed to get his stitches out at 8:30.  The company that was putting in our windows were supposed to be here between 8-10 to start.  Jet was home, so this worked out okay.  Pyrope had to be at school at 12:30, and I had to be at work for a meeting at 12:45.  The boys and I had headed over to my mom's house after we picked up Pyrope after Obsidian's appointment.  8 of the 21 windows we were replacing had lead in the surrounding frames, so essentially they couldn't be anywhere near the area that those windows were being worked on (which was 1 window in the living room, 2 in the dining room, 1 in our bedroom, 2 in the boys' bedroom, 1 in a bathroom, and 1 at the top of the stairs... so basically all over the house, for those windows furniture had to be 8 feet away or tarps placed on it).  After feeding the boys lunch at Mom's I left Obsidian there and took Pyrope back home so Jet could take him to school.  I drive into work.  After much difficulty trying to park (they are building a parking garage as well as expanding the building, we were supposed to be assigned to lots, my badge lets me into all lots, but will not let me out of any, and I wasn't allowed into the parking garage as all of the employee spots were full.  So I had to park on the street, which we are not supposed to do either.), I was sitting in my meeting.  My phone rings.  Jet has decided he is going to go help one of his clubs fix a car that was having problems.  So I now must leave work early but it isn't the end of the world. But I really don't have time to pick up Obsidian.  I call my mom, and she agrees to keep Obsidian until db2 come to get her to bring her car to my house so Jet can help him fix her brakes.  (Note: I keep a car seat for both boys at Mom's so if I drop them off there, she can go out if she wants to)  So I pick up Pyrope and bring him home.  Jet, Mom, db2, and Obsidian all get to my house a little after 4.  By 6:45, it is clear that all of the parts that are needed for fixing Mom's car we do not have, and all of the autoparts store can't get the part until Friday.  Mom was going to come sit with my house the next day to let the window people start when I had the boys at speech and physical therapy.  The new plan is that Mom drives my car that night (Jet and I both drive manual transmission cars, Mom knows how to drive them, db2 does not) and takes db2 to his apartment to get clothes, then takes him to her house, so they can wake up and be at my house by 6 so she can watch my kids while I drive db2 to work (Mom doesn't like freeways, and basically refuses to do them at rush hour).  After I get home at 7, I then get Pyrope and Obsidian ready for the day and leave by 8:20.  As I'm waiting for the appointments to start, I get a phone call from Mom.  Window guys have been there and left.  Since we have kids under the age of 6 in the house, they can not replace windows involving lead removal if there are winds over 10 mph.  Yeah.  There were storms all day, definitely winds over 10 mph.  They will be back Friday (the next day) to try again.  They hope to be done between 1-3 pm.  They don't normally work on Saturdays, but agree to finish the job if Friday doesn't work out on Saturday.  So Mom hangs out at my house until I get back to my home, I drive her home.  At lunch time, db2 calls to tell me he convinced a coworker to give him a ride to Mom's house that day and Friday.  Cool.  I still have to drive back to Mom's after a fundraiser at a restaurant, so she has my car so she can drive over to my house the next morning so I can drive db2 to work while she baby sits.  I call dear sister (ds) that lives 1.5 hours away to tell her that I'm not sure when I will be able to get down to visit her.  We were planning on getting there around 3, but I can't leave until windows are done and the car parts are picked up.  On top of this, Mom was going to keep my boys at her house while the lead work was being done at mine, but Fridays are swimming lesson day.  So she was going to drive Jet's car (with the kids) to her house once the window guys get there, then return to my house so I can take them to swimming.  So after I get back from dropping db2 at work.  Jet's car is not there.  And his motorcycle is parked under a window that is being replace.  Yeah.  Call him and find out that he was about to run out of gas with his motorcycle so he brought it back home and took his car.  I point out where he parked his motorcycle.  He says "Oh."  I decide to wait for a neighbor to start to be out in his yard to move the motorcycle.  Now I just wait for window guys.  Jet pulls up in his car, I ask him what he is doing.  The hospital that he was supposed to work at that day didn't have as much work as they thought, so he was done and was going back to his "home" unit, and decided to switch out to the motorcycle on the way.  I am still waiting for the window guys (with my mom and kids in my torn up house).  They don't show.  A little after 10 am, I call to find out.  I'm given some crazy story.  Bottom line, they are not coming that day.  So Jet will be staying at home.  Change plans yet again of who is driving what car where, and it is decided that db2 is bring his broken car to my house instead of db1's house.  Eventually, Pyrope, Obsidian, and I leave by 3 pm for ds.  Jet's day continued to be crazy.  He didn't think he would have a full day of work, but did.  He then went to pick up his muscle car, but the lady next door fell, and the family was having trouble caring for her until the ambulance got there, so Jet helped.  Then the ambulance was blocking the driveway for Jet to take his car home.  Since he had to be at our house the whole next day (the window guys started at 8 am and didn't finish until 4), the guy who was working on the car's wife helped drop the car off at our house on Saturday.  Jet and db2 finished up the brakes on Mom's car (which were in way worse shape than originally though), then rope towed db2's car to our house.  He didn't get to bed until after midnight.  Saturday was a relatively good but very busy day for all.  If all of the car parts for db2 car come in on time, by Wednesday night, I should have a driveway and garage with all fully functioning automobiles.  Which has not happened since mid July.  The logisitics of this last week were just nuts.