Heptadecagon

Last night, I set the alarm for 5:00 a.m. I'm not sure why I bothered. With the first day of school for the kids being today, I knew I'd be up and ready. Not because I'm at the end of my tether and willing to sell my kids to the lowest bidder. No, it's more of a quiet nervousness that exists for at least three of my four kids. The older two head off to high school and the boy starts middle school. Only the youngest is at the same school as last year. And since we already know (and love) her teacher, we don't expect too many surprises. But I found myself asking so many questions this morning that shut-eye remained elusive. And I'm not even the one going to school. I could bore you with those questions, but I won't. Deep down, I know that Zoe and Talia, while nervous, will find their way (literally and figuratively) through the high school. I know that Aaron won't forget his lunch every day nor will he go to one class instead of the one written on hi...

Life can be hysterical sometimes.  (Insert maniacal laughter here.) I was looking around the blog the other day and found this post from May 15 , aptly titled Summer Hopes. (Sure, go ahead and laugh again, FRN.) That date is the day before Mom and Dad came out for the girls' recital and ended up going home, after a trip to the ER here in Ohio. It's the day before Dad fell once he was back in Michigan. It's the day before a certain chain of events was set off by Dad falling. Dare I say it's the day before my summer took a turn for the worse? I especially like this quote from that post: But this year, I'm armed. The girls are 13, Aaron is 10, and Melina will turn 7 in July. Not only do they have the maturity to be more helpful, but they have the strength. Which means five people getting things done around here should give us more time to do the fun things, like visiting metroparks, pools, and museums, or perhaps just sitting outside having a picnic. ...

I stayed off Facebook for much of the day yesterday because... I could not stand seeing one more back to school picture. NOT ONE MORE, I TELL YOU. Yes, I just admitted to not wanting to show the love to my friends. And maybe I'm a little sorry, but not much. Because as you know, in this forum, I am very honest, sometimes even brutal. It's not that I don't love you or your children, because I do. I really do. (Especially you, Barbara!) But yesterday's glut of pictures felt like an assault to my senses. I found myself trying to "Like" so many pictures in such a short span of time that I decided instead to just give up. In one word, I was overwhelmed. Again, it's me. Not you. (I do hope that everyone's first day back was incredible, because I know how important starting off on the right foot can be.)