First Snippets of Spring...

We have had a few sunny days and even though they have brought with them cold, clear nights and crisp mornings, just the fact that it is a break in the rain and grey has been inspiring. Everyone and everywhere there is talk of impending Spring. It just doesn't take much. As for our little townhouse, we have swept off the patio and planted a few seeds, opened up some windows and started to look for the robins that are appearing out on the lawn. Of course, it isn't fully here yet, but there are definitely signs that it is on its way.

Meanwhile, we go to school, work, make appointments, and fulfill other obligations and try to find time for a little play and recreation as well. Lu has officially entered her final term of high school and probably only about 1/3 of her spirit is actually into it--the rest of her self is getting ready to move on to the next adventure. Strange that she is counting down the weeks (and only a handful to go) before she turns 18. Strange for her, of course, but quite strange for her mother as well. I have always thought of Lucy as the Spring baby--born on Easter morning, turning over a new year each time the branches unfurl and the flowers start to blossom. Never has it seemed that she is more the Spring child than this year...

Valentine's Day

I have to admit that Valentine's Day has never been my favorite of the Post-Capitalist holidays. Perhaps it stems from the fact that I had the chicken pox in the first grade and missed the Valentine's Day party on the heals of my seventh birthday? Or perhaps it is due to the fact that I really haven't had the greatest experiences in the romance department and Valentine's Day has a tendency to remind me of that. Regardless, since becoming a mom, I have made it a day to do little things for my kids anyway--a little candy, home-made cards, cookies. I tend to play it pretty low key and am generally relieved when it is over.

Meanwhile, we are having some sneak-peaks at spring with some sunny weather and I am starting to get buried in work as a conference approaches. This is when it gets really hard to keep up with all my work--both the conference coordinator tasks and keep up with all the writing work. It is really the equivilent of two full-time jobs and I get a little stretched and crabby. Even though I know I can't do it all, I know my income will suffer if I don't, so I try. Besides, there will soon be two girls to put through college...

My Birthday...

My forty-first birthday has come and gone and I don't know if a woman "my age" has ever had a better one! It really was a fine, grand day including a scrumptious home-made coconut cream pie baked by my coworker and friend Cathy at Midwifery Today, a beautiful vase of tulips, a cake that my son baked and frosted (his first ever foray into the world of baking), a new tattoo designed and done by Kathy at Tattoo by Design (my daughter Lilly came along), and a late night feast of Chinese food and birthday cake and ice cream with my kids (Lucy came over from across town and waited the long hours while I was getting my tattoo done)--my son even did the dishes so I wouldn't get my new tattoo wet! Not to mention we were all able to eat on our brand-new dining room table that I purchased last week, but was delivered yesterday. Oh, of course I can't forget the very fun card and flask Cheryl gave me or the fine "labor day" chat, card and gift I received from my mother (and dad). Nor the promised Broadway show from/with my sister while I am there visiting her in NYC in April. It really was a great deal of celebration and I hope I will be able to continue to say how fabulous my forties are--so far, it is hands down the best decade yet!

Trying to Get Back in the Swing

After being sick and "out of it" for over a week, I have been trying to get back in the swing of things. It can be rough--I feel like I am behind on everything. Since I tend to work all the time, or at least feel like I should be doing some sort of work all the time--it doesn't take long before I feel like I'm running behind and need to play catch-up!

I have much enjoyed seeing so much of all three of my kids lately. They have been coming and going from my house more and have been hanging out with each other. The latter was one of my early primary parenting goals--that my kids would be bonded and connected to one another and I can see now--after nearly twenty years, that they are. Still, they don't always make the choices I would (or the make the choices I would have at sixteen, seventeen, or eighteen and NOT the choices I want them to make now that I am forty-one) and not a one of them ever seems the slightest bit interested in taking the easy path to anything. I definitely cannot sit back on my laurels yet as a mom.

So, I am determined to get some writing work done, actually get to the mailbox to bring in the mail, maybe make a pot of coffee, and try not to end up on the couch under a quilt with a book watching LOGO television. That is my goal for this fine February Sunday...

Sick...

Any one who knows me knows that I make a horrible patient. I have no patience for it (no pun intended) and try not to slow down more than is obligatory in order to get well. This week has caught me a bit green behind the gills with a cold, congestion, and a very annoying ear infection. I've been forced to take a couple days to convalesce--which does NOT mean no work at all, it just means cutting back and trying to get the minimum done. Meanwhile, my kids seem to have even less appreciation for my lack of oomph and I'm starting to feel that all sorts of things are sliding--from picking up the mail to getting the dishes washed to filling the cupboards with a trip to the grocery store. Therefore, I am determined to get things back on track this weekend without putting myself out for another week! The good thing is that I have been catching up on my reading a bit (ha ha ha ha)--and am enjoying reading a biography of Iggy Pop--"Open Up and Bleed"--great reading for a sick forty-one year old woman, eh?