New Part-Time Job

I have a new part-time job. It requires organizational skills, financial skills, and good inter-personal skills. I can work from home, although some travel is necessary. I do everything from research, product acquisition, and packaging, to filling out paperwork and planning events. The most time consuming aspect of the job is organizing everything, including time. The amount of prep-work is staggering.


The pay? Well, it doesn't pay anything now, but the payoff is going to be fabulous in a few weeks!


You see, I'm packing for a week of vacation and another week camping. Two separate trips with a week of work in between. It will be great once we're on vacation ... if I don't totally cripple myself in the process of packing. Packing for seven people isn't easy. Packing for seven people with various food and medical issues is nearly impossible. I need to pack food, pots and pans (to safely cook gluten-free food), air mattresses, a tent, sleeping bags, clothing for seven people for nine days, toiletries, entertainment items, and a wheelchair into a minivan. Oh, and there needs to be space left for us, too. I've suggested to the kids that perhaps we could duct tape one or two of them to the roof for the trip. The six-year-old volunteered.

The paperwork for camp - three in resident camp, one in day camp, and the rest of us camping at the campground - was mountainous. Planning activities for a family with kids ages four through thirteen that will engage and interest all of them, that are handicapped accessible, and won't overstimulate our aspie has been quite a journey in itself. Finding places we can go out to eat safely has been time-consuming and discouraging, as some places offer gluten-free menus but don't promise that cross-contamination won't be an issue, and most places just plain don't cater to celiacs. And then there's the issue of not breaking the bank with paying for food, activities, and gas. 


In the end, it will definitely be worth it. In the meantime, I'll make lists. Pack suitcases and bins. Harass children for clothing items. And maybe even remember to pack clothes for myself.