6710 Grand

May-cember.  It’s becoming more recognized among parents of school-aged children.  The month of May is so crammed with activities that it resembles December—but with none of the fun of Christmas.  Performances, end of year parties, tournaments, concerts, graduation, graduation parties, dentist appointments, annual physicals, standardized tests, due dates, Mother’s Day, birthdays, Cinco de Mayo, Endangered Species Day, World Day for Cultural Diversity… the list seems endless.  There’s so much to do for the kids and their insane schedules, not to mention all that I’m doing for work—grant deadlines, promote summer camp, spring appeal, grant reports, meetings, annual reviews, contract negotiations—and home—renew pest control, renew lawn maintenance, plant flowers, tend to flower beds, mow the lawn, oil change on the mower, figure out why the composter isn’t working, clean the carpets, balance the checkbook, pay the taxes, renew the Costco membership, plan the graduation ...

It’s 4:33 and the sunrise alarm clock that is supposed to wake me up naturally is blaring orange light into my bedroom.  I have no idea how to turn it off because the 946 page instruction manual remains unread in my “to read” folder.  But it doesn’t matter.  Ike is crying and it’s time to get up anyway.  I pry myself out of bed, throw on my gym clothes and head downstairs.  The coffee pot is brewing.   I debate having a cup before my run but as I diaper my baby and snuggle him back to bed I know it’s not a smart choice.   One cup leads to seven and that means my morning run won’t happen.   And it MUST happen. Baby is back down for at least another hour so I head to the basement where my office and gym are waiting for me.   I’m immediately reminded of the things I meant to finish last night but didn’t and am momentarily tempted to tackle them now.   No.   You MUST run.   I open the windows in the gym and turn on two fans. ...

Owning a home has been, to say the least, interesting. I've found it to be no unlike living in an apartment--I just don't move every year. Sometimes I have to remind myself that it's OK if everything isn't painted or decorated just the way I want it right away. I have no plans to leave (sadly) anytime soon. That being said, like apartment living, there are things about our house that I absolutly hate. There's certainly plenty that I love--our huge backyard, having a garage, the beautiful staircase and wide open floor plan. I love having a room just for my workout equipment and I love having my laundry room on the upper level. I love that we have four bathrooms (even though only three of our toilets work). I don't love my kitchen--it's too small. I don't love that half of our windows don't open. I don't love the patch of carpet in our living room, though I'm learning to appreciate it. I don't love that our stairs are too wide to...