One of My Days As a Mother, in Action Verbs.

Career coaches are constantly droning on about how our resumes will be stronger if we use active language to convey the responsibilities of our varied job histories. In thinking about the treacherous terrain of forming a coherent resume / CV in the year ahead, I give you this. I had better duck; here come the herds of headhunters I knew would be a'comin'!


Executed.
New Year's plan for maximum efficiency and productivity by determining annual goals.


Procured.

• Discount vouchers for child's life-sustaining medicine (cost will soon go up due to ACA-Obamacare). 
• Healthy food from grocery store.

Negotiated.
Numerous sibling squabbles with patience, guidance with a startling degree of newfound equanimity.


Organized.

• Sorted, hung and contained clean clothing of family after folding three loads of laundry post-holiday vacation, washed in hot water to incinerate any last shred of lurking Norovirus. 
• My neglected manuscript, so as to begin concentrating on the piece as a whole (to edit).

Produced.
Three empty laundry baskets and delivered them to the laundry room.


Prepared.
After school snacks for hungry children who will arrive home in 3.5 hours.


Handled.
Call to pest control service after observing tiny jagged bite marks in plastic top of hot chocolate tin housed in lower kitchen cupboard this morning while preparing breakfast.


Navigated.

• Maze of voice mail tree when trying to contact said pest control service. 
• Three-tiered, staggered and color-coded complexities of the after school pick up car line.

Assessed.
Sizes of outgrown clothing for children, determined which pieces can be justifiably reused next season for younger sibling who will surely perform the "seasonal moan" about hand-me-downs.


Archived.
Holiday greeting cards received this year because even though most didn't bother to write a handwritten note on back I cannot in good conscience throw out photos of peoples' children and / or families.


Documented.
Already long-forgotten gifts kids received mostly from grandparents this Xmas, in preparation for supervising their pained writing of robotic thank you notes this week.


Administered.
Morning and evening doses of C2's daily life-sustaining medicines.


Monitored.

• Condition of car battery in sub-zero weather resulting from historic North American "Polar Vortex". 
• Alarm clock hawkishly at 5:30AM to determine whether kids' school had been delayed due to cold weather (school was on). 
• How much of C1's medicines are left before I must call in a refill to the pharmacy.

Assisted.

• In morning shoe tying debacle, sock finding and knit hat- and mitten-remembering on way out the door to school.
• In poetry memorization homework for C2.

Evaluated.

• Need for new furniture slipcover which likely succumbed to scissor puncture created by crafty children doing art projects in prohibited zone (on sofa).
• Reupholstery of living room chairs (decision = Yes).

Coordinated.
Dermatology and orthodontic appointments for C1 to minimize hours spent out of school.


Cooked.
Nutritious dinner for family of four who have wildly disparate notions of "what tastes good."


Drove.
(Logistical management). Met -- with seasoned precision -- deadline for morning drop off and afternoon pick up of C1 & C2 despite perplexing, sheep-like convoy of almost identical minivans driven by shivering, sleep-deprived parents.


Cleaned.

• Remnants of last evening's knitting and art projects left by kids in common living space.
• Kitchen (scrubbed extra due to possible presence of aforementioned mouse).

Purchased.
Long promised overpriced bedding set for C1's room after securing post-holiday sale bargain price.


Managed.
To find time to write this post, perhaps the most victorious achievement of all previously documented.