Lisa at Grandma's Briefs talks today about how the pressures of life sometimes come to be represented by a brace of numbers. She ends each post with a question, and today's is this: What numbers are currently causing you distress -- or elation?
I realized that numbers do express both my anxieties and my joys right now.
12.5...weeks until I retire.
20...hours a week I work until then.
40...hours a week I spend doing daycare for the grands
3...major work projects I'm trying to finish
2...beautiful kids who bring me inestimable joy
6:45...the hour they arrive each morning
0...blog posts since a week ago.
and last but not least,
25...years with Peter; our anniversary comes up soon
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Wednesday's Word: Exhausted
Exhausted, spent, weary, beat, fatigued, done in...but in a good way.
Our family celebrated my Dad's 95th birthday this weekend. We planned a big brunch with my siblings and some of their offspring (and ours) and assorted cousins. Then before I knew it plans had grown to three days of get-togethers including a visit to the State Fair on its most crowded day ever! My dad clearly loved being the center of attention, and he is enjoying life much more since he and my stepmother moved into assisted living last June. But I'm an off-the-charts introvert, so even when celebrating with my own family, lots of face-time means lots of exhaustion.
Last week was the first week of Wild Rumpus Daycare for this season, so I was already tired before the socializing kicked in. And this week the kids arrive even earlier than last week...6:45 a.m., which is not really in my vocabulary! They let me sleep until 8, when they come and wake me for breakfast. Pretty sweet.
Meanwhile, I finished one big important work project early last week, but the weekend got away from me with not much progress on the next project. So I'm playing catch-up. On the other hand, this coming Friday is September 10. Exactly three months later, I'll be retired from work. Woo-hoo!
Bottom line: life is good but it wears me out, and there's not a lot of time for blogging. I expect that will be the case until, oh, let's say December 10!
Our family celebrated my Dad's 95th birthday this weekend. We planned a big brunch with my siblings and some of their offspring (and ours) and assorted cousins. Then before I knew it plans had grown to three days of get-togethers including a visit to the State Fair on its most crowded day ever! My dad clearly loved being the center of attention, and he is enjoying life much more since he and my stepmother moved into assisted living last June. But I'm an off-the-charts introvert, so even when celebrating with my own family, lots of face-time means lots of exhaustion.
Last week was the first week of Wild Rumpus Daycare for this season, so I was already tired before the socializing kicked in. And this week the kids arrive even earlier than last week...6:45 a.m., which is not really in my vocabulary! They let me sleep until 8, when they come and wake me for breakfast. Pretty sweet.
Meanwhile, I finished one big important work project early last week, but the weekend got away from me with not much progress on the next project. So I'm playing catch-up. On the other hand, this coming Friday is September 10. Exactly three months later, I'll be retired from work. Woo-hoo!
Bottom line: life is good but it wears me out, and there's not a lot of time for blogging. I expect that will be the case until, oh, let's say December 10!
Monday, September 6, 2010
I forgot the calendar!
Meet Chris, John, and Andy of Chiropractic Works in York, Maine. The bean pit crew for Harvestfest, they are the September pinups for the Men of York calendar. It's a fundraising project produced by the Greater York Region Chamber of Commerce. Having won this calendar from Eva, I have been sharing each month's photo, because I'm generous like that.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Wednesday's Word: Imagination
Peter was insistent: we were going to Once Upon a Child, our nearby used clothing store, to find "ruby slippers" and a blue-and-white-checked pinafore so Vi could dress up as Dorothy Gale of Kansas. I admit it: I rolled my eyes. Yet another of my husband's crazy ideas..
Except it was a great idea. ViMae loves her ruby slippers and wears them constantly. She loves the dress we found and wears that nearly every day, too. She renamed her little dog and now totes Toto everywhere she goes--sometimes in a basket.
The kids love the excellent Wizard of Oz exhibit at the Children's Museum (the exhibit closes Sept. 12). We showed them the opening scenes of the movie in which Dorothy gets transported to Oz and meets her traveling companions. Mom and Dad showed them the rest, carefully talking through the scary parts. Like Dorothy's heels, something clicked. ViMae decided she was Dorothy and she assigns supporting roles to those around her. Sometimes I get to be Glinda the Good Witch. Pa has been the Wizard... totally appropriate, given his role in encouraging this little scenario. He regularly tells her to "Pay no attention to the man behind..." whatever he's hiding behind at the moment.
She sometimes responds only to her pseudonym and occasionally blames Dorothy for bad behavior ("Vi doesn't have the crayon in her mouth; Dorothy has the crayon"). Mostly she just has fun with it. And what better role model? Dorothy is brave, and she helps her friends.
The other day, Abby mentioned that Vi's feet are growing again. We've already gone back to buy red shoes--er, ruby slippers--in a larger size.
The kids love the excellent Wizard of Oz exhibit at the Children's Museum (the exhibit closes Sept. 12). We showed them the opening scenes of the movie in which Dorothy gets transported to Oz and meets her traveling companions. Mom and Dad showed them the rest, carefully talking through the scary parts. Like Dorothy's heels, something clicked. ViMae decided she was Dorothy and she assigns supporting roles to those around her. Sometimes I get to be Glinda the Good Witch. Pa has been the Wizard... totally appropriate, given his role in encouraging this little scenario. He regularly tells her to "Pay no attention to the man behind..." whatever he's hiding behind at the moment.
She sometimes responds only to her pseudonym and occasionally blames Dorothy for bad behavior ("Vi doesn't have the crayon in her mouth; Dorothy has the crayon"). Mostly she just has fun with it. And what better role model? Dorothy is brave, and she helps her friends.
The other day, Abby mentioned that Vi's feet are growing again. We've already gone back to buy red shoes--er, ruby slippers--in a larger size.
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