the best laid plans ….

I know.

You’re on the edge of your seat. You’ve been rechecking this website every six and half minutes.

I can’t wait to tell you who won this giveaway.

I can’t wait.

But I’m going to.

Wait, that is.

I’m going to wait for just one more day.

Not to drag out some long suspense or build tension with dramatic music playing in the background.

Nothing profound or incredible.

I’m just out of hours in a day and I’m a little sleepy.

There was school this morning – like most every morning. But math was interrupted by Kevin returning from a meeting and making a simple announcement, “There’s a baby possum in the yard.”

And yes, this photo lets you know that the baby possum did not stay in the yard.

He (or she – I wasn’t checking) joined us in a cardboard box for the day. Branchie (we name all possums the same name from a Lois Lowry novel we read when Riley was younger) had some swell wood shavings and a custom made cozy fake fur hide-away.

We stopped math and drew possums in our nature notebooks. We learned possums have more teeth than any other mammal. Fifty of them. And we learned that if a rescued baby possum was about seven inches long , he’d probably survive just fine on his own. London measured Branchie and he was about a fourth inch shorter but close enough for me to feel just fine about his quick rehabilitation to the outside-of-our-school-room life later that evening.

Eventually we returned to math and the remaining school subjects.

We enjoyed an afternoon coffeehouse break with friends.

We ran by the library to pick up some new books that were on hold for us. A new Khaled Hosseini novel and two Laura Ingalls books I never knew existed from some discovered writings published after her death.

At home I began to prep for a new recipe. I’ve been challenging myself to try a fish dish each week. Because fish is really good for you – right? But I only like tuna. (As in – canned.) So, I’m trying. Tonight was this recipe for broiled Parmesan tilapia. Pre-prep Kevin asks, “Are we having chips with this fish?”

Um. No.

Making homemade fries is …. a process. An ordeal.

But then he says, “I’ll make them.”

So. Yes. We had fish and chips and homemade tartar sauce. It was crazy delicious actually. Everyone but Piper Finn loved it all. The tilapia was genuinely tasty and Kevin’s cold water, thick cut, twice fried hand cut French fries are legendary.

But it wasn’t ready until about seven thirty.

And then our friend Hannah dropped by. And then we played a round of The Game of Keigley. And then I made a recipe for ginger nuts from a Laura Ingalls cookbook of her own recipes. (And we kept immaturely laughing at the cookie’s odd name.) But they turned out great. And then we had a pre-planned Family Meeting about money for the kids – we’ve been working on Spend, Save and Give jars. And then Branchie was released into the wild. And then the kids went to bed way past bedtime – a sure recipe for tomorrow’s success. And then I packed lunches for tomorrow’s co-op. And then I planned a few extra details of my lessons for the co-op.

And then I sat down to draw names for the giveaway.

And then I said, “I think instead I’ll write a post about how I don’t plan on completing the giveaway tonight.”

But now I realize that with all the time it took to explain my reasons I could have done the original task.

Classic. Typical.

And too late.

So, friends.

Tomorrow it is.