Forgive this post in advance, if you please.
It will more than likely be rambling, introspective, negative and a little whiney. But I've been way out of the posting habit for more than a few months and need to get back on the bicycle... horse... wagon... whatever it was I fell off of.
My brain isn't in a place for flowing prose right now, so allow me to set my thoughts up in neat categories.
Avindair
23 days ago, Avindair set out on a big adventure -- off to the DAVE School to change his career and our lives. He's doing amazing work, but the pace is almost overwhelming. The kids and I miss him, of course, but we're so proud of him and support him every step of the way. We count down the days until his first visit on our office whiteboard and calendar. One of his Block 1 images (made his second week of class) even made it to the DAVE School online gallery. Look for the Sideways Tanker image.
Kids
Doing remarkably well. They spent 1/3 of their summer spending as much time with Avindair as they could before he had to go. Then another week with the grandparents in North Dakota with a fun trip to Medora. Now they're back home, getting together with friends as much as possible and trying to get the most out of what's left of summer. MonkeyDude finished the classroom portion of driver's ed. Now I have to get him his permit and get him behind the wheel to practice. He's got a busy social life (and hopefullly a job soon, too), but with Minnesota's 3-stage process, he should have his license to drive alone sometime before he's 25. The Alien is just doing her best to be with friends and keep her room from having a "hazard" label put on it.
Work
I love my new job. It's absolutely perfect for me. But even the best jobs have their rough patches. It's a long story, but the last few weeks have been more than challenging in the sleep department. As in "not getting much." Suffice it to say, due to many big projects due all at once, it's been less than rosie. Last week I logged 80 hours. Last night I pulled an extra 11 hours and was up until 545am. This craziness won't last forever, but my batteries are not recharging like they need to. Last Friday I was literally fit to be tied - completely burned out and exhausted. I'm happy to say that this week has been much better and I'm learning to put the needs of the schedule in perspective.
One HUGE plus in my job is the ability to work from home... pretty much any time I need to. That flexibility in my schedule is true blessing. I also have a fantastic boss and co-workers. And I love, love, love what I do.
Life in General
In some ways, Avindair's absence has been easier than I'd thought. Both of us are so busy - he with school, and me with work, kids and home - that we hardly have time to miss each other a lot. The missing is almost harder when we have down time. Weekends are the toughest.
I spent one week alone when the kids were away with my parents. Unfortunately, it was the one week where I worked an ungodly number of hours. I had hoped that I'd have been able to use that week as much-needed downtime, but no luck. On the other hand, with no one else in the house... just me and Houdini Poochini... the house stayed remarkably clean.
This weekend I'm forcing myself to NOT work (with the exception of about 2 hours of freelance stuff I promised to do). Tomorrow is yard work, a little housecleaning, some errands and a movie with the kids. Sunday we're going to the zoo. I need to spend time with my kids and not with my computer.
I'm off to hang out with the Alien. She wants to read me an article about Doctor Who (I STILL haven't watched the last episode!). Then later, it's off to pick up MonkeyDude from the theater. He went out to dinner and a movie with some pals. I'll have a brownie that just came out of the oven, pour a little glass of wine, and kick back.
Maybe I'll get around to watching that last Doctor Who...
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