Yesterday I had a client meeting in DeKalb, Illinois. That might not sound too exciting, but it was a nice break from my usual trek down US 31 that I make just about every week. Anyway, we had this great meeting where we presented true creative work, also a nice break from the usual stuff we work on. They loved the work, complemented our research, my partner and I had a great lunch, and we didn't even get caught in the usual home-from-Chicago traffic nightmare.
When I got back I headed over to my parents' house to pick up the girls and have some dinner.
And then my step-mom brought out their new miniature horse.
We all screamed so loud she could hear us from outside the house. This is the cutest, littlest horse you've ever seen. Knee-high, with feet the size of silver dollars.
Me, my sister and her husband, my niece, my Dad and my two daughters ran outside and spent a half hour oohing and aahing over the horse. I took a picture with my cell phone that, of course, I can't show you because I don't have a clue how to get pictures from my phone to my computer.
Anyway, after the girls had soaked themselves playing in the birdbath (gross, I know), we went inside and had dinner. Lauren ate four (4!!!!) plates of spaghetti and was so messy I had to strip her in the high chair and take her straight to the bathtub without getting slimed on my dress pants.
Finally, around 9:00 and way past bedtime I got everyone clean, dry and loaded into the car. And then I had the feeling you get when you've had a day where you've spent considerable time in two totally different environments. Kind of like you had two separate days, but really it was all one very weird day.
Weird. But good.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
What I like about work.
There are some days when it's hard to leave the girls at daycare. When I look at their sweet smiling faces and want to whisk them back into the car and straight to the beach.
But there are other days where work is like a drug I can't quit taking. I mean, yeah, my work is creative and fulfilling and all that jazz. But it's mostly the intangible benefits of going to work that make it all worthwhile. For instance, when I go to work no one is hanging on me. That's right - hanging. As in Lauren hanging from my thigh until I pick her up, or Grace (who is nearly too big for me to pick up without getting a hernia) reaching up to hug me, only to pick her feet up off the ground and swing from my neck like we're a pair of orangutans.
Parenting is an incredibly physical job. In fact, it's the sheer physical labor of it all that makes me relieved to go to work by Monday. Everyone at my office can walk up the stairs unassisted. Everyone here can go to the bathroom all alone. No one here has to be lifted into their booster chair or car seat or swing, or carried down a mountain of blistering hot sand that shifts with every step (much less carried back up!).
Best of all, no one here is crying. Which is good because, in our house, crying is contagious.
Exhibit A:
I guess it's the contrast between worlds that makes each one so great.
But there are other days where work is like a drug I can't quit taking. I mean, yeah, my work is creative and fulfilling and all that jazz. But it's mostly the intangible benefits of going to work that make it all worthwhile. For instance, when I go to work no one is hanging on me. That's right - hanging. As in Lauren hanging from my thigh until I pick her up, or Grace (who is nearly too big for me to pick up without getting a hernia) reaching up to hug me, only to pick her feet up off the ground and swing from my neck like we're a pair of orangutans.
Parenting is an incredibly physical job. In fact, it's the sheer physical labor of it all that makes me relieved to go to work by Monday. Everyone at my office can walk up the stairs unassisted. Everyone here can go to the bathroom all alone. No one here has to be lifted into their booster chair or car seat or swing, or carried down a mountain of blistering hot sand that shifts with every step (much less carried back up!).
Best of all, no one here is crying. Which is good because, in our house, crying is contagious.
Exhibit A:
I guess it's the contrast between worlds that makes each one so great.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
It's summer. Now what?
During the school year being a working mom is pretty easy. Sure, you have to attend some holiday parties and book fairs, but overall the schedule is pretty good. Drop the kids off in the morning, go to work, pick them up at daycare at the end of the day. They're busy. You're busy. Everyone has a routine.
Only now it's summer.
No schedule, for the kids anyway. Late bedtimes thanks to the sun setting at frigging 9:30. And my kids can't understand why I'm not on summer vacation too.
I used to have a friend who spent part of her childhood in California and went to school year-round. She totally dug it. I'll bet her parents did too. Instead of three months of "how in the heck am I going to keep these kids from getting bored out of their minds" they got a nice long vacation every few months, and then they got right back onto the schedule.
I'm not sure why we're still living our lives according to a turn-of-the-century agrarian calendar where the kids have to quit school at planting time and can't come back until the harvest is in. I mean, I LOVE summer. But I still have to work.
We're thinking about day camp. Of course, since I work, getting Grace to day camp, then from day camp to daycare is somewhat a logistical challenge. I'll let you know how it goes.
P.S. Thanks for reading girls. I've been doing a bad job keeping up with my posts, even though I have plenty to write about. But my PC at home is fixed now, so you should be hearing more. At least, that's my plan.
Only now it's summer.
No schedule, for the kids anyway. Late bedtimes thanks to the sun setting at frigging 9:30. And my kids can't understand why I'm not on summer vacation too.
I used to have a friend who spent part of her childhood in California and went to school year-round. She totally dug it. I'll bet her parents did too. Instead of three months of "how in the heck am I going to keep these kids from getting bored out of their minds" they got a nice long vacation every few months, and then they got right back onto the schedule.
I'm not sure why we're still living our lives according to a turn-of-the-century agrarian calendar where the kids have to quit school at planting time and can't come back until the harvest is in. I mean, I LOVE summer. But I still have to work.
We're thinking about day camp. Of course, since I work, getting Grace to day camp, then from day camp to daycare is somewhat a logistical challenge. I'll let you know how it goes.
P.S. Thanks for reading girls. I've been doing a bad job keeping up with my posts, even though I have plenty to write about. But my PC at home is fixed now, so you should be hearing more. At least, that's my plan.
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