Double Digits

"What a relief, I was getting tired of being a single digit!"

Someone hit a decade old today. He's absolutely thrilled.

A special little someone who totally changed my life ten years ago.



A special someone who is not so little anymore.



The first person in the world to ever call me "Mommy".

Happy birthday, my boy wonder.

The Guilt

"How many days of daycare am I going to have this summer? Why can't my summer just be care-free? It'll be just like school, what a drag!"

The whining. The red-rimmed eyes. The allergies? I think not.

This will be the first summer in five years that I won't be home with the kids. I will be working. I'll have vacation, of course. But there won't be the lazy days of getting up when they want to, hanging out around the house all day (driving me crazy as I try to get a particular boy off the computer), driving to programs or playdates. I'll be honest, though, I will miss it too.

*****

I ran into one of the kindergarten moms at Costco on my lunch break today. It was nice to see her, as we'd had conversations in the playground just last June before summer break, about what the plans for summer were, and even beyond, now that the kids were getting to be school age. I had no idea at the time that I would even be contemplating working full-time again. She was talking about getting more training so she would be in a position to go back to work in the fall.

How ironic then, that I ran into her. When she saw me, with my work clothes, my access key hanging from my skirt pocket, a look of "I've got another 5 minutes before I've got to get into line to make it back to the office in time for my 1:30 pm meeting" on my face... she said with a sigh,

"I hope I'm making the right decision, being home with them now that they're both in school all day."

And I told her she had, as kids often need their moms more as they get older. I say this with the wisdom of being back in the grind a whole 7 months.

I think I made her feel better. But these words came back to haunt me as I was picking the kids up after work, and looking at the summer registration sheet.

My kids are getting older. I think I need someone to make me feel a bit better right now.

Five Minute Friday Fragments

Why five minutes?

Because that's all I've got.

*****

My 9 year old's take on the whole Woods' scandal: "He's not a Tiger, he's a Cheetah."

*****

I went to my first book club meeting, and to be honest it felt like more of an excuse to have some wine, cheese, goodies, and get caught up with friends, and make new ones.

We discussed "The Help", which, by the way, I found to be an excellent read. I'd actually purchased it to read on the plane for my last work trip - but I was so engrossed that I ended up getting to the last few chapters before I got to the airport.

The evening was eye-opening in a way that was a little discouraging. Even in my more liberal neck of the modern day woods, the attitudes that were portrayed in the book (which was written about the 60's in Jackson, Mississippi and dealt with the lives of black housekeepers/maids and the white ladies of the house), still seem to persist albeit in much more subtle ways.

I'll leave it at that.

*****

Have you caught "The Marriage Ref" produced by Jerry Seinfeld yet?

It's absolutely hilarious. The premise is that couples present their marital issues to a panel of celebrities (usually including comedians), and the host of the show makes a decision as to which spouse he will side with in the dispute. It's all fun and the issues are quite trivial (last night, a man refused to eat his wife's green bean casserole which she's been trying to get him to try for 10 years ...) and my husband and I are usually howling like hyenas throughout the show.

Ironically it's become our couple's thing to do on Thursday nights. Go figure.

*****

As a quick catch up, I've managed to hit the Bodyjam circuit with a vengeance.

This is my favourite release so far, Bodyjam 50.

I can't wait for my gym time tomorrow morning.

Don't forget to visit lovely Mrs. 4444's.

Have a good one!