After this week, things should settle down.

Next week at the latest. Probably.

If we make it through this week, things should settle down a bit. 

Just got a lot to get through this week, y’know? 

The kids are phasing back into school, and so it’s gonna take a few days to get our schedules settled, of course. I’ve got that dentist appointment Tuesday morning—I had to move a few things around because of that—and we’re supposed to go to that parents’ thing on Wednesday night. Oh, and we’ve got that farewell happy hour for the neighbors on Thursday, remember, we said we’d bring an hors d’oeuvre. Then I’ve still got that deadline coming up on Friday. [deep inhale] Been working toward that one for a while. That’s a big one. Looking forward to putting that behind me.

Just gotta make it through this week. Then things will be fine.

Well, next week’s a little busy too. I mean, overall, stuff should be calming down, sure, but we’ve got the kids’ soccer practices and ballet classes starting up next week, so that’ll be an adjustment. Can’t forget about those. You did put those in your calendar, right? Okay, good. Hey, which days are you traveling again?

Oh, wait, that’s the week after?

Ugh. Don’t get me started on the week after. 

We’ve gotta make it through this week and next week first, then we’ll deal with making it through the week after. 

Honestly, it’s just this whole month, really. August is always tough, right?

After Labor Day, things should really calm down. Nothing’s ever settled before Labor Day, everyone’s still working on summer hours, summer schedules, summer mindset. Can’t get anything done when people are off on vacation. We get through Labor Day, though, and it’s smooth sailing from there.

[pauses]

Hold up, when is Labor Day this year?

[checks calendar]

Not until September 6th? 

[exhales hard, puffing cheeks out for dramatic effect] 

Well, that’s good news and bad news, I guess. But after Labor Day, we should be good. 

Of course, everyone gets back from vacations after Labor Day, and then you’re just slammed. They’re all trying to catch up, make up for lost time. That usually takes a couple of weeks, you figure. Halfway through September, things should really start to get back into a normal rhythm. Then you’ve got fall breaks starting up, though. Can’t forget about those. We were talking about driving the kids up to Cleveland then. It’s important for kids to learn about Cleveland.

Anyways, if we make it through September, we’ll be fine. 

October? October’s looking great. Not much on the schedule at all. Well, I guess there’s a couple of birthday parties. And our anniversary. Oh, and Halloween. We promised the kids we’d build a haunted house this year, remember? No, I’m serious. I really think we did. We made a lot of rash promises to them last year out of manic guilt. Anyways, I just got their design drawings. We’re going to need a couple weeks blocked off for construction time. Probably should order the lumber now, with the way things have been. I don’t know how the Suez Canal is looking, but it’s best we play it safe.

We make it through Thanksgiving, though, and then we’re almost in the clear. Then we’ll just have to get through Christmas and New Year’s, and things should really ease up.

But overall, I’m feeling good about 2022, especially after Groundhog Day.

[looks at calendar]

Ahh, boy, the Winter Olympics sneak right up on you, huh? I mean, we’re not participating in them or going to them or really involved in them in any way, but that’s just another thing I wasn’t planning on dealing with, that’s all. You think “Winter 2022”, and that sounds like it’s at the end of the year, doesn’t it? It does to me, at least. Beginning of the year, well, that just throws a bit of a wrench into the schedule. I was going to start training for that triathlon then, so I’ll have to push that back a few months. 

[scanning calendar further]

Hm. Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee is being celebrated in June. 

[shakes head sorrowfully] 

Well, that does complicate things, doesn’t it.

[flipping pages]

Total solar eclipse in 2024. Wanna make sure I look at that.

[still flipping]

And the Paris Olympics, of course. Remember, they’re only three years away this time.

[flipping]

Ugh, 2024’s an election year, too, probably.

[flipping]

Hmph. Texas and Oklahoma don’t get full SEC membership until 2025, pending a settlement in the meantime. Things’ll be easier once we don’t have that uncertainty looming over us. Y’know, as a society. It’s just a lot.

Then the kids are gonna have college visits starting up. Sneaks up on you.

[sets calendar down, looks concerned]

You hear about this whole “lunar wobble” thing? Supposed to be messing up the tides and stuff all through the 2030s. Looking forward to getting past that. 

When does Halley’s Comet come back? [googles] Hm. 2061. Okay.

I think things should clear up before then.

Honestly, though, I’m getting a bit ahead of myself. We’ve just gotta make it through this week. We make it through this week, and the next three, and the first two quarters of next year, and then everything should get easier.

Then we’ll have plenty of time to get ready for Y2K38. 

Won’t really be able to relax until that’s over.

—Scott Hines (@actioncookbook)

---

In case you missed it, here’s what happened last week on The Action Cookbook Newsletter:

The Friday Newsletter embraces the waning light of summer with some indoor campfire cooking, a Peach White Negroni, and much more in the usual robust slate of lifestyle recommendations to improve your weekend.

I talk about compassion in response to the growing sentiment that the only way to reach the unvaccinated is through compassion.

The tooth fairy is our most audacious lie, I contend—and we’ve really backed ourselves into a corner with this one. Make sure to read through the comments, where we’re introduced to a completely new holiday invented by a reader for his children.

Don’t miss out on a thing! Get prime ACBN content fresh in your inbox three times a week for only $5/mo or $50/year. Mere pennies per newsletter!