Distractions

Focusing on homework can be difficult during a normal week. Add life to the mix, and you’ve got a recipe for a formidable hindrance. 

My best friend’s mom has been in the process of trying to buy a bakery through this last week, which is a huge step for a single mother of 5. My best friend had told her mom in the past that if she ever started a bakery, then she’d stop school for 3 years to help get it off the ground. So this week my friend has needed a lot of moral support and a listening ear. I’m always more than happy to be there for her. But this week, of all weeks, made it a bit difficult for me in regards to the time-factor. 

Without realizing what the week had in store, I picked up some extra shifts at work. Right before going to one of them – last Saturday night – I found out that my dad had badly burned his hands at work that day. He’s self-employed (HVAC) and fixes commercial kitchen equipment in restaurants. In one of the restaurants, he was moving a fryer. He didn’t know it was on a bit of a ledge until it fell from down the ledge causing hot 350 degree cooking oil to cover his hands, run down his shirt, pants, and shoes. Since his hands were uncovered, they got the worst of it. First and second degree burns now cover over 70% of his hands (a very vital part of the body for doing his type of work). I found out after work that my mom had taken him to emergency. The next day I saw his hands (let’s just say - eww!), which were puffy and blistering. Needless to say, I have now taken many trips to Walgreens for gauze, stretchy wrappings, burn patches, creams and gels this week.  

My brother works with my dad as an apprentice. But after my dad got burned, my brother has gone on all of the jobs this week – Until today. Last night my brother got hit hard and fast with a pretty nasty flu bug. So today, my mom took my dad’s work cell and has been informing the restaurants that their equipment repairmen aren’t available right now.   

And since I’ve been distracted this week, and probably working too shifts, I ended up reading the wrong chapter for one of my classes. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize it until we were having group discussions and I started talking about a chapter that no one else had read.