It’s hard to believe that this school year is almost over. We’ve got less than a month before summer vacation starts. When I got into work this morning and saw the fifteen calendar updates from M with the various camp schedules for the girls, I knew it was happening. I had a feeling last summer that the upcoming school year was going to be a big adjustment – and I wasn’t incorrect. It’s the first time we’ve had two kids in school, but it’s not just that. Our kids will never go to the same school, so from here on out we’ll be juggling two very different schedules.
Most of it’s gone pretty smoothly, and both girls have had great years. But I feel like we’ve really had to up our game around here. There’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to keep things running along without a hitch. There have still been a few hitches. I’m more tired. I get up earlier, and I still stay up late just to keep on track. If I take a night “off”, I feel it more these days. I used to have some time to myself in the morning, post-shower, pre-waking up of the girls. I have more one on one time with the girls in the morning, but I don’t have as much time to read or write on my own. I try to carve out that time in the evening, but that usually means just a bath and trying to stay awake through a quick chapter or the pile of laundry on my countertop. M’s working on bills tonight, and I’m typing this while E works on some sketches for ideas she has with some leftover fabric samples from my office. She’s telling me funny stories from her French class. We both should be going to bed.
I’ve been cranking out project after project at work these days. Every third day is another deadline. I kind of like being busy, and crossing things off a list. I’m not crossing as much off my lists at home. Actually, that’s not really an accurate statement, it just feels like it when we’re mid-week. Maybe it’s because I don’t keep up with writing about it as much. I used to be better at documenting the minutia here. I feel sort of lazy. I have a dozen posts started but not finished. It’s Tuesday night and I’m out of stories.
Maybe I’ll just clean out the attic for a few minutes, and then open the floor to you.
*I’m thinking about birthday parties. The girls’ birthdays are so close together that by the time you plan F’s far enough away from the 4th of July and you plan E’s early enough to avoid the start of school, they are practically together. I want to do a joint party this year. The cool thing is their ages this year – six and twelve. It’s the only time they will be exactly half (or double) of the other. I keep thinking of the coolest things related to numbers, or dozens and half dozens. I still have some convincing to do, but I think I can. I need to reserve a pavilion at the park. I need to email family and pick a date.
*We have the annual Soiree at the girls’ school coming up. I always do the raffle basket posters. I honestly love doing them. Last year I did watercolors. This year I’m thinking three-dimensions. It’s a Wonderland theme (think Alice). I’m excited. I need to buy the tickets. Anyone want to join us? It’s lots of fun.
*Our (non)pink chairs are done! Now we just need half a second with the truck to go get them. Maybe Friday afternoon. I can’t wait. I’m halfway tempted to just switch vehicles with M and pick them up in the morning myself. The living room is looking so good.
*We’ve been painting some more. And we have more lights. I have another project I’m about to (finally) start as soon as the painting is done (and the Soiree posters are done). I need to update the house tour posts. I’m also overdue on a good long house addition project post – I’m procrastinating on that for several reasons.
*We’re getting family portraits taken this weekend. I’m not even sure what we’re wearing yet, but I’m okay with that. Our favorite photographer moved away, but she’s back for the weekend and she offered to do a session with us. I hate being photographed, but I’m trying to be better about it.
*We’re celebrating fifteen years of marriage this fall. What do you do for fifteen years? Go on a big trip? Purchase something large together? Go out on the town? I have no ideas yet. What does fifteen years symbolize – paper, wood, diamonds, steel? I wish it was fireplaces. 🙂
*I set a little mini-goal for me this summer. I’d like to be able to run around the perimeter of Forest Park – about 6.5 miles – without falling on my face. I’m running four miles fairly regularly now, but my feet do get a little sore around that point, and I’d like to stretch them a little bit more (slowly). Also, I get sort of bored after half an hour. And tired. I’m not really sure how you push past that other than to just do that. Maybe it’s as simple as that.
*F is obsessed with Greek Mythology. The girls discuss this topic in great detail in the mornings. I love it. E is going through books faster than we can keep up with. We need to be more regular in our library trips. We’re getting our family portraits made at the library (!), so we should probably pick out a stack while we’re there! If you have some great book recommendations, I’ll take them.
*I love spring. This might be the best one ever. It seemed like it took forever to get here, and even now it’s just slowly unfolding. Some years we go from freezing to ninety degrees almost instantly, but not this year. We’ve been lingering in the sixties and seventies for awhile now, equally rainy and sunny, like spring should be. It’s divine.
*I’m trying to like forty on me. Most of the time I do. The rest of the time I’m faking it, but that’s okay too.
That’s a sliver of what is going on in my head these days. If you have anything to add to my random lists, I’d love to hear it. Ask away. I need some inspiration, and conversation.
You need to build endurance! Best way is to systematically speed up and also slow down. That isn’t some of that walking contradiction thing my husband calls me on routinely. 😉 Take an afternoon run, once every two weeks, and run some intervals. Run full speed for 30 seconds and then slow down to a plod or fast walk for 30 seconds. Do that repeatedly for 5-10 minutes, whatever you can stand. Increase slowly to a minute after a few months. No better way to build build endurance. Now for slow. When you are learning to run long, you must learn to pace. You also need to force yourself to run slower per mile than you are used to, at least at first. If you are currently running a 10 min/mile, decrease to 11 min/mile. I think you’ll surprise yourself how much further you can go by adjusting your pace. In high school cross country we’d call it LSD (Long Slow Distance). It works. I promise. Doesn’t help with the boredom problem. Only way to fix that is to find a friend to run with. 🙂
Thanks! You’re hired as my personal trainer.
I have been doing a little bit of interval training, but I’ll get more serious about it. My Monday night class at the Y has been helping me out in that area too. I’m quite sure I’m running too fast now for any sort of long distance running. It’s hard not to – I sit all day, so when I bust out of the office I always feel like I’m trying to get as far as possible in the quickest way possible before heading home to get dinner going. I’m currently running between an 8 and 9 minute mile. By 3.5 miles I’m spent. I’ll try to reign in the speed a bit, and see where that gets me.
Nobody wants to run with me at 5:30 pm! I get pretty bored listening to music. I’m going to skip the music, and switch to podcasts. I’m such a nerd.
I’m not there with you, unfortunately, but it sounds like you are doing a lot of tempo runs. Those are good…just not every time. A good run speed is one in which you can run and carry on a conversation. Another benefit of a running friend. 🙂 Slowing down is going to feel weird, but really try to watch your pace and learn what an 8 min mile/9 min mile/10 min mile feels like. Doesn’t happen overnight, but you’ll get it.
I’m a lunch-time runner myself. 5:30 is way too late.
Has E read the Rick Riordan Percy Jackson books yet? Lots of good mythology and adventure. My 13 year-old reads them over and over. Now that I think about it, oldest and I read them aloud to the younger siblings when they were about F’s age.
Yes, she has them memorized I think. My husband also reads them aloud to her too. She has started reading the first one to F. She got to meet Rick Riordan and listen to a talk he gave at the library last year. She loves those books.
I realized that she hasn’t read any of the Little House on the Prairie books – I have one of my old copies and she loved it, so that’s on the library list.