Summer Groove

The kids started summer vacation last week. It was a wobbly start, as is often the case. You know, it just takes time for everyone to get into the new groove of summer. The kids are used to a schedule, and without – or at least, with a much looser schedule – they seem a little lost. I have faith that they will figure it out; they always have in the past. In the meantime, the transition is shaky. They are constantly asking me about something or for something. It's pretty much an interruption every 2 minutes. It makes me miss having boring job in a dull, quiet office. Although, I didn't get to watch them do funny things like make this "neighborhood" complete with mailboxes, mullioned windows, and flower boxes when I was at a boing office job all day:

We've had some unseasonably cold temperatures here. Added together the kids' desire to SWIM (because it is summer, after all), several of us have ended up with colds. This week we are taking things very easy. Easy means watching television. But Easy gives me a chance to get caught up on some lingering work projects. I've been hesitant about taking on too many projects this summer, since we no longer have an au pair and there aren't many camps on the schedule. I guess my new reality as self-employed will be this: I will worry about having work, I will be worried about not having work.

We are doing a fair amount of travel this summer. I'm looking forward to being somewhere else for an extended period. I've done a lot of two-and-three days trips in the last couple of years. But it will be nice to be away for longer. We also have some guests coming, including Fritz's mom, who will stay for two weeks.

I'm also forcing myself back into a regular exercise schedule; it's been lacking from my life for essentially 12 years now. I think my 2 year stint as an office worker didn't help at all. As a stay-at-home parent, one spends more time doing physical activity. Sitting in an office was really a radical change. Working at home for the past 3 months has been a welcome blend of intellectual work and physical activity, but I'm still happy to be getting an official hour-long workout each day. I think this change is really possible – finally! – because the kids are old enough that they sleep through the nights and sleep-in in the morning. That only took 12 years... Oh! AND I'm no longer scrambling to make it to an office by 8 am.