Thursday, June 15, 2006

Cranky Day

I hereby decree today to be Cranky Day. Some might choose to recognize Flag Day, but I assure you, it is also Cranky Day—one of those up-and-down days punctuated by ill temper.

This morning Ben graduated from kindergarten. The ceremony was cute, and Ben was in the middle of the front row—helpful when there are upwards of 150 kindergartners on stage. (Hooray!) But we were all sardined into the folding chairs, and the air conditioning didn't keep up well with the crowd. (Cranky.) And whenever I was about to take a photo of Ben, somebody in front of me would reposition themselves so that I could get a great snapshot of the back of their head. (Cranky.) Then it was time for cake. (Yippee!) But the lines to the cake tables were mayhem, and they ran out of plates, and I ended up carrying three tiny pieces of cake for me, Mr. Tangerine, and my mother atop a single napkin. (Cranky.) But the cake was pretty good. (Yum.)

Then we went back to the classroom for distribution of miscellaneous awards. (Hooray!) Still too crowded and warm. (Cranky.) Then it turned out that families could either leave the kid there for the rest of the school day (as I'd expected) or take them home—and Ben cried because he wanted to go home with us. But I was scheduled for a haircut and highlights in 20 minutes! (Cranky.) So Mr. Tangerine took Ben home and delayed going to work for a couple more hours. I made it to the salon on time. (Yay!) And then waited for 10 minutes while the colorist finished up with another client. (Cranky.) Then I got my hair done, and along the way, I saw my mother's face staring back at me in the mirror. (Cranky.)

I zipped back to the car, checking my phone on the way—and saw that I'd missed a series of calls from Mr. Tangerine because the ringer was still turned off from graduation. So I called him, and he was cranky because I hadn't been answering my phone. (As if I'd been choosing not to answer it, rather than not aware that it had been vibrating in my bag.) He was still so cranky when I got home, it exacerbated my off-and-on crankiness and put me into an actual snit. (It is so very difficult to be sweetly conciliatory and apologize for inconveniencing someone when his opening gambit is to be snappish, isn't it?)

Then it was just about time for Ben's age-6 pediatric checkup. "Ben, turn off the game and brush your teeth. It's time to go." He was, shall we say, lackadaisical in his response. (Cranky.) Eventually he moseyed along, and we were only a couple minutes late for his appointment. Then we had to wait numerous times for numerous minutes. (Cranky.) But the doctor was very nice, cautiously thorough. (Hooray!) We were there for a hair over two hours for a well-child visit. Two hours! (Cranky.) So long that our parking meter had expired, and we were five minutes into a rush-hour no-parking period. (Cranky.) But we didn't have a ticket. (Hooray!)

I think I've now exorcised the Cranky Demon, but it's possible he will return before the night is through. Have you got a surefire method of shackling the Cranky Demon? If so, please share.

9 comments:

Cricket said...

Get some toys from Flea.

DoctorMama said...

Mojitos. Margaritas. Chill pills.
Better Living Through Chemistry!
What do you think these were all invented for, anyway?

Maman said...

trade you... the Angel tried to jump out of a 2nd floor window because I wouldn't let her go o the park...I think I need valium or maybe something stronger.

Mignon said...

I had the crankies when I woke and I tried to self-medicate with yoghurt pretzels, which gave me a stomach ache. (Cranky) So instead I had two glasses of wine and a Red Stripe. (Hooray) Not for breakfast, but that would have made rainy swimming lessons a little more bearable. (Cranky) But Madeleine's swim teacher looks like Ryan Phillippe. (Hooray)

Summary? liquor and hot guys in swim trunks

Mona Buonanotte said...

I just scarfed a handful of Capn Crunch with Crunchberries and felt a whole lot better! Perhaps sweet breakfast cereal makes the Cranky Demon a bit sweeter....

E. said...

Chocolate. Dark chocolate. That's what works for me. It's a drug that acts quicker than any pill or even alcohol. When people describe shooting heroin, the nod sounds like a much more intense version of what happens to me when I ingest a piece of really nice dark chocolate. Warmth spreads over me, a feeling of serenity, the pain dissipates, ahh....

I keep a few squares in my purse and in my backpack, wrapped in foil, for emergencies.

The Curmudgeon said...

Doctormama's prescription seems adequate to me. But there are others:

1. A nap -- they're not just for toddlers anymore;

2. Writing interesting sentences like, "it exacerbated my off-and-on crankiness and put me into an actual snit."

3. A walk (or a run if you go for that sort of thing) so that your physical fatigue level starts to get more in line with the mental fatigue from which you are suffering.

Of course, being a Curmudgeon, maybe I like being cranky....

Orange said...

Cricket: Ah, who's in the mood when they're cranky?

DoctorMama: You didn't mention chocolate.

Maman: I recommend chocolate.

Mignon: I like the way you think.

Mona: Yeah, some people talk smack about sugar being bad, throwing off your mood, but I say it's deeply therapeutic.

E.: I came into the possession of some rich, homemade chocolate cake. It fixed what ailed me.

Curmudgeon: I'm not a napper, alas, and I'm not yet in the habit of that exercise thang (I'm working on it). But your singling out a sentence was quite therapeutic. Thanks!

Orange said...

I've got some Berghoff Dark Beer chilling in the fridge now. It has "touches of chocolate"—how can I go wrong?