DIARY ENTRY 20

From: I.P.
to maketodayhistory@gmail.com,


My Day – 6 May 2008

It’s finally THE day of the project and I am very anxious about whether it is going to work or not. It is 5am and I don’t bother to pretend I can sleep anymore. I hit the computer and start sending out reminders to friends and strangers alike hoping they will engage in the project. I send out “Save the Date” emails for my upcoming show.

Gradually the house stirs to life. Jack, our Jack Russell snoozes beside one of our twin sons, Anish while his brother sleeps on. We finally wake sleeping beauty about 6:40. They are good little boys and get themselves dressed for school without my intervention. I make them their favorite breakfast of pancakes and strawberries smothered in maple syrup with a bit of bacon on the side. Jack waits expectantly under the table for crumbs.

Andre, our manny and everything else calls to say he is running late. He pulls in at 7:30 rather than his customary 7:05 and they are off to school. I sink back into bed with the laptop reading news and emails and making a few phone calls. I see Barbados Free Press has given the project a huge plug. This publicity alone should make it work but I am nervous and want to just hide under the sheets. But that is not to be.

I drive to the Barbados Museum in my diesel-powered car. I love speed but there is no where to race this baby on this small rock. I tune into Love FM and sing along to the silly music. Joanne Spencer, the photographer, meets me at the entrance to the Museum. We spend the next hour doing two different sets of photos. One set is of me cleaning the Museum and the other is for general publicity. I am aiming for the soulful, serious artist look. She is a happier soul who wants me to smile and not look so constipated. We compromise and I leave sure we have got the shots we need.

I feel so very tired like I could sleep for days but it is only 11am. There is a coffee place I often retreat to called Coffee Bean. It has the added attraction of being a couple minutes drive from the Museum so I head there. I always have the same thing: corn soup and ceaser salad. This time I also indulge in a diet coke and a chocolate brownie. They don’t quite cancel each other out but I am relying on the sugar rush to keep me going for the rest of the day.

A woman approaches me as I walk back to my car. She has seen me on TV the day before. I beg her to do her diary but I know she will not. I feel so tired. I drive home and crawl into bed. The kids are playing squash with grandpa after school then having supper with them so I have a clear few hours. I fall into deep sleep for about two hours. Jack sleeps too – at the foot of my bed. My husband calls at some point and we chat for a bit. He is in Geneva at a conference. He is away so often.

I am supposed to go see the boys and take their stuff for school tomorrow as they are having a sleepover at my parents. This is to allow me to go my friend’s lecture at the Museum but I am weak with tiredness. I drive to my parents, have dinner and decide to call it a day. The kids come back home with me. They beg for some TV time. I oblige. Then they want to sleep in my bed. I oblige.

I feel so guilty for not going to the lecture and for my rather unproductive day so I start working on my next blog due at the end of this week. The last one was not good so I owe my readers something special. Work till about 11:30 then decide to call it a night. In my bed the twins are sprawled out. There is no space for me so I go to sleep in Ishan’s bed. I know I will wake by 3am again. Early waking is just the way things are.