Reprise: The Best Laid Plans

... have gone pear-shaped again.

Plan A ... sleep until 7am, potter gently through a restful day at home with Little Cherub, taking a nice long walk to rack up some miles on the way to Rivendell at some point.

Cherub wakes up at 5.30. I am very much not an early morning person. Scrub Plan A.

Plan B ... blunder through the day feeling tired, ratty and disgruntled.

Decide Plan B is not desirable and realise that my energy levels are quite good, despite the woken-up-too-early tiredness.

Plan C ... cheer myself up by taking the bus to a nearby town. Potter. Visit County Museum. Use store card reward points to treat myself to a Boots Meal Deal for lunch. Enjoy a relaxed trip out with Cherub snoozing in her pushchair.

Star wakes up complaining of headache and dizziness. Dose her with Nurofen. Tell her she will feel better once she gets to school. Star complains she really, really doesn't feel well and really, really wants to stay home. Grudgingly allow her to take the day off. Feel extreme disgruntlement over loss of Plan C. Just about manage to suppress weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth (mine).

Plan D ... sulk. Spend the day at home feeling tired and sorry for myself with an overtired toddler and a whinging nine year old. (Star, when off-colour, has a track record of turning whinging into an art form.)

Think of the excellent blog post I read this morning (I was up at 5.30, remember!) by Jen at Et Tu? about the difference between God's will and our own. Decide Plan D is a severe case of clinging on to my own will. Manage to put aside the desire to weep, wail and gnash teeth. Take hold of myself, grit teeth, smile and sympathise with Star. Make pancakes for breakfast at her request. Star happy. Cherub happy (she has developed a taste for pancakes since Shrove Tuesday). Feel, if not exactly happy, much better for managing to set aside my resentment and crossness.

Plan E ... make the best of the situation. Revert to Plan A, minus the sleep until 7am and the walk bits. Resolve to pamper Star and snooze when Little Cherub does. Postpone Plan C until later in the week.

Enough blogging. Time for that snooze ...