Oct
25
Lucky
Filed Under Uncategorized | 17 Comments
Up until recently, I had no plans to enroll Dylan in preschool. For one thing, the vast majority of preschools in our area are ridiculously expensive; for another, I was convinced we could easily do preschool at home.
One pretty big thing changed when Riley went off to school in September, though: Dylan lost his playmate. Now, he doesn’t sit around all day pining for his brother’s company—in fact, he’s generally about a thousand times more well-behaved and good-natured without his shit-stirring partner in crime around. But he doesn’t have anyone to interact with except for me, and while I had the best intentions of doing all kinds of fun and educational activities together, the reality is that my workload has increased. I typically sit in front of my laptop all morning, and sporadically throughout the afternoon as well.
So after tons of searching, I finally found a nearby preschool that has an affordable part-time option, and I reluctantly said goodbye to our long-time babysitter. I don’t have quite as much free time as I did before—he’s only there 2 mornings a week—but I think it was the right thing to do for Dylan. He went to his 3rd class today, and as he did both times before, he exploded out of the classroom afterwards in a joyous tumble of excitement, brimming over with stories. “MOMMY I LEARNED ABOUT P FOR PENGUIN AND PINEAPPLE AND I PLAYED OUTSIDE WITH FRIENDS AND I HAD A SNACK!”
I am sad about the loss of our sitter, whose weekly presence allowed me not only to work uninterrupted but to attend doctor’s appointments and run various errands, but I’m thrilled that Dylan is having fun at his new school, and that Riley is thriving beyond my greatest hopes in kindergarten. I’m thrilled we have the flexibility to change things, when it seems like they need changing. (I’m maybe even a little thrilled I don’t have to work from the library any more, unless I want to.)
I read an amazing article the other day, maybe you did too. It’s written by the mother of a child with a fatal disease, and no, it is not an easy thing to read. But I carefully bookmarked it, and every now and then I read it again. Because it is a powerful thing to be reminded of that which is most important. I can get so caught up in the minutiae of our schedules and whether I’m doing the right things or doing enough things, when life doesn’t need to be so complicated. She writes it so perfectly: the only task here is to love.
I feel beyond lucky these days. Harried and isolated and sometimes more than a little overwhelmed, but ridiculously, insanely lucky.
Oct
23
Misc.
Filed Under Uncategorized | 28 Comments
Current running playlist, and iTunes Ping link, for those who are interested in such things:
(*I* am most definitely interested in such things, so you should tell me about whatever music is rocking your earbuds lately.)
3 handy tips for running, from me to you:
• Don’t drink one of those 5 Hour Energy drinks before a run.
• No, seriously, don’t.
• You know how the logo has that athletic-looking figure on it, all supercharged with energy and stuff? He’s sprinting for a bathroom.
Speaking of crappy (har!) advice, one or two of you may remember a website I used to run called Sundry Buzz. I retired the site a long time ago, but it seems someone has grabbed the URL and is using my old tagline while publishing a bunch of weird Engrish-sounding spam. Sorry if a long-dead RSS feed suddenly lit up with a bunch of strange articles about log cabins and “health club services to get you stress-free today!”
Lastly, we carved pumpkins tonight, and I love how the boys’ designs turned out :
I also carved one, and here’s your chance to click away, because mine is a maybe-spoiler for the season 4 finale of Breaking Bad. Haven’t seen it? Look no further! La la la la la la are you gone yet?
.
.
.
.
.
Okay, here it is:
-
My product review site:
[