The Monday before we left for Florida I received a jury duty summons for the Monday after we returned. Next to voting I believe jury duty is important and is what sets the United States apart from every other country in the world. If you can do it, you should. But I have small kids and I am the primary care provider for them.
I considered deferring my summons for sometime in the next six months, which the state of Ohio lets you do one time, but that seemed akin to sweeping my problems under a rug. So I quickly responded and then figured out what to do with my three kids. The school secretary was willing to let me drop Hulk off early and have him hang out in the office before it was time for the kids to go to class and the mom of Hulk's best friend would pick him up after school. I then had a series of friends that would watch Little Viking Girl and Teddy. None of these friends could also take Hulk because they had their own kids to pick up from school and didn't have the car space. With daycare taken care of my last hurdle was that Teddy still nurses. We've started him on solids but he gets most of his food from me. So I took my breast pump with me to Florida and tried introducing Teddy to a bottle.
He will not drink from a bottle.
Saturday, while we're driving back from Florida I receive a text from a friend that her kids are sick and she can't take Viking Girl or Teddy. So I go through my limited list of friends that don't have day jobs or haven't already told me no and send a lengthy email explaining my situation.
Sunday, my friend gets back to me and tells me she can take my two youngest but then Hulk's best friend's mom tells me her kids are sick and she can't pick up Hulk from school. And Teddy still won't drink from a bottle. And I forgot about asking someone to come over and walk Link. Sunday night I find someone to pick up Hulk from school and a neighbor to walk Link but I still only get three hours of sleep because I have to pack food for three kids, extra clothes and diapers for Viking Girl and Teddy, and pump milk (in the hope that Teddy will drink from a bottle for someone else).
Monday morning goes smoothly with the exception of Little Viking Girl feeling abandoned when I dropped her off. I hadn't factored in the long line to get into the county court house but I still made it to the jury summons room before orientation. After signing in they give you a form to fill out and a booklet to read, and there's a video, and someone goes over the rules/expectations. It's all very repetitive, takes a long time, and there's a lot of waiting around but they staff are friendly. My name was one of the first called. When my name was called there were 43 other names called as well and we were each given a number. They lined us all up just like in elementary school and marched us to a court room where we sat in numerical order. In the courtroom there was a questionnaire to fill out and then more waiting as they vetted the questionnaires in a backroom.
The courtroom clerk then called 8 people into the backroom. I was one of the 8. The judge told us that we were not needed for that particular case because we might have biases due to our backgrounds and then he asked me to stay behind. He asked about my kids (which I had mentioned on the form that I had filled out after signing in that morning) and he asked if I wasn't there would I be home with them. I said that yes, I would be home with them and that it had been a challenge to figure out childcare. He was sympathetic and said I was relieved from jury duty. He is now my favorite judge.
I rushed to get Little Viking Girl and Teddy from my friend. Teddy had refused the bottle and spent the morning crying (which he never does) before taking a nap. Little Viking Girl had also spent the morning crying and telling my friend that I had left her. They were both happy to see me and Teddy was happy to nurse.
After picking Hulk up from school I took all three kids to the grocery store because all we had in the fridge after traveling was a jar of pickles, carrots, a stick of butter, two jars of jam, and condiments. On the way to the grocery store I was pulled over for speeding in a school zone. The officer asked for my license and proof of car insurance. I could not find the proof of insurance and broke down in tears (not in front of the police officer). The day and lack of sleep had caught up to me. As I am frantically looking for the proof of insurance the officer comes back and gives me a verbal warning before letting me go.
As a thank you I will do my best to never speed within city limits again. I really have no excuse other than I was tired, not paying attention, and just wanted to get shopping with three kids over with.
It was a long day. I am glad it is over.
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