Little Kite Girl

Please, God, grant me some.

This past weekend was a first for me.  I was away from my child for 3 whole days.  I did have a weekend away last month, but I was gone for about 36 hours, and John was home.  But this time it was a bonafide trip, John and I went together to my friend’s wedding, and it was really, really nice. Sure, I cried from the time we left the driveway until we hit the highway (about 15 minutes…) but after that I stopped worrying and just had a good time.

We left early Friday morning (like, 3am) and started our drive to VA.  I think we spent $30 on tolls getting down there, which is INSANE if you ask me.  But we got down there early enough to go to the Temple, and then get John to a surprise job interview.  (It was kind of funny that John’s current bosses kept asking him about his “interview,” as if he were lying about having a wedding go to and really had an interview, and then last minute he actually did get an interview! But seriously, it was only the calendar since he GOT this job…who schedules a job interview a year in advance? Yeah.) The interview went really well, which I know because I waited in the parking lot and ended up making him give me a word by word recreation of every moment.  Because we were ALONE, yo, without the baby.  And we had CONVERSATIONS.  We’re both feeling really positive about it because of the Providential way it all came together- he decided to be bold and call a company about a position that was similar to another job he had awhile ago, did the whole 30 second sell thing over the phone and told them that he was available for an interview.  The next day.  They brought him in and he found out that he called just as they were about to start looking for candidates to interview.  I think that we have a good chance, so just keep us in your prayers.  Either way, though, John and I are just feeling peaceful about it.  I mean, maybe this means the world is waking up?  Maybe this phone call thing is the way to go to get interviews?  We still have plans to look for jobs in our area here, but if I lived somewhere else…I’d love to be in the D.C. area.  LOVE.  Honestly, we’d just like to have gainful employment and be near my friends. Again, LOVE.

So we went through the Washington DC Temple, which was kind of the fulfillment of a personal wish.  That was the temple we always went to when I was young, and I have outrageous memories of 8 hour road trips and overnight stays at the Marriott with the teenage set at my church.  As I got older, more temples were built closer to where we lived, which was nice…but kind of killed the whole annual exciting trip thing.  Now it’s more of a day thing.  (And, if you live close enough in certain areas, an afternoon thing).  I’ve always wanted to go back to DC as an adult, and as we’re kind of in a financial/employment/family direction quandary, we try to get to the temple as often as we can to seek direction and peace in our choices.  And that’s what we got.  It was totally worth getting up at 2am.

After the temple and the interview, (having felt like we had already shoved two days worth of activities into one) we went to the hotel and OH FREAKING WOW.  We got a wedding rate at the Hyatt in Reston, and I can honestly say that I’ve never stayed in a nicer hotel. Although the places we stayed during our wedding were close.  I wanted to lick the floor.  Ok, maybe not.  But it was very relaxing in there.  Largely due to the absence of a toddler and the fact that the bed was HEAVENLY and I was able to wake up without the aid of an alarm clock or baby monitor both mornings.

Everything to do with the wedding was amazing.  The food, the company, the ceremony.  I loved watching Emily get married.  I told another friend that all weekend I just kept thinking about how this relationship was for keeps.  It’s sad that some weddings these days don’t carry that same promise.  You hear, “They won’t make it” or “starter marriage” and it just degrades the whole idea.  But Emily and Jason are going to be together forever, because they are a partnership, and seeing their commitment reminded me of my commitment to John and what marriage means.

I especially loved hanging out with my friends and their significant others, and Emily’s friends that I had only met before on a couple of occasions.  It was really fun to be together as GROWN UPS, and fun to participate in the wedding and wear matching dresses and be part of all the pictures and to feel identified as a special friend.  One of Emily’s college friends.  It just felt good.  CAN I PLEASE LIVE NEAR MY FRIENDS NOW, yeah?  Ok.  If only my family were down there, too.

Ok, I’m thinking this will be boring to most of the world except for people who know and care where I was this last weekend…so I will end there and go back to helping John with his papers for school.

Although we took a couple days off, our scheduling restraints did not.

But oh, the heavenly bed.  And the friends.

It was worth it. :)

So you know that game people play where they decide who and what they’d like to take with them if they get stranded on a desert island?  Well, in the last few frustrating days of underemployment and financial crisis that was only taken care of enough to be demoted to serious-to-devastating financial problem, I’ve realized something:

I’m on the island.

Here I am, with people I love, things that I love.  And we’re totally marooned.  By this economy.  Just treading water.

At least if we’re stranded on the island, we get to be here with our ideal list, right?  Except I’d like more chocolate.

I am writing this post and there is SILENCE.  I actually hear no people talking, no TV, no music, no child saying “MOOOOM, MOOOOOOM.  UP, CUP, NO, CUPPA CUPPA CUPPA, NOOOOO, GO!”  Well, maybe it’s not silent.  I just heard some geese outside.  And I had to stop to think, “Coming or going?”  They’re coming back.  I think.  Or maybe passing us up in favor of Canada.  Whatev.  Their loss.

But yeah.  A few minutes of silence is nice.  I’ve been having small breakdowns lately, mostly internal (I can keep my shitake together these days thanks the the absence of a certain plastic anchor in my uterus causing all kinds of emotional chaos) about the fact that I HAVE NO TIME.  I have to finish 3 classes in about 3 months.  One that I’m trying to figure out funding for.  And all so that I can start a master’s in September.  Oh please let this be the right plan for me.  Please please Please please.  But as soon as I cracked down and got my books out and decided to give it a go- my kid went all “I HAVE TO BE ON YOUR LAP EVERY TIME YOU SIT DOWN!” and “Cars? What’s that?  Oh that old movie? That doesn’t interest me anymore.  Thanks.”  He does, however, like the Ratatouille (howeveryouspellit) preview.  Not the movie.  Just the preview.  Last week’s preview of choice was Peter Pan, which he asked for by saying, “Bay-be?” Now when he says “Bay-be!” he means he wants to watch the rat in the cheese scare the woman AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN.  So yeah.  I think he’s got allergies (red, puffy eyes, snotty nose, general unhappiness when waking up) on top of maybe working on his second year molars.  If there is such a thing. And it all makes him rather cuddly.  Which I can enjoy.  So at least there’s that.

Music Together started again, and I have to say, our Mommies are GREAT this time.  Seriously!  I’m starting to feel part of a community here- and although I’ve been MIA the last few weeks from our get togethers I’m really happy to be running into people I know around town. I KNOW PEOPLE NOW. It’s like I live here or something.  And the uptight mommies that registered for Music Together ended up just kind of quitting halfway through.  And then they disappeared.  So peace and cool mommies are taking it over again!  Yay!  Oh the playgroup drama. (And if you’re reading this or I’m friends with you on Facebook you are NOT THE UPTIGHT MOMMIES I’M TALKING ABOUT. I didn’t even catch those mommies names.  Because they were uptight.)(And I think writing this paragraph has killed about half of my brain cells, or is proof that half have already died…but if you’ve ever been in a playgroup with annoying mommies you’ll totally understand the necessity of this.  Promise.)

And we did find the Crocs.  Thanks for the recommendations, people.

But they’re a bit big for him, yet.

which makes this happen.  But the smaller ones they had seemed TOO SMALL.  I’m pretty convinced there should be an inbetween, but I got flustered and didn’t check the numbers before leaving the store.  So now I have to drag him into another one to see.

And in the meantime, we down to the CT shore the other day, where I was born.  We got to take some pictures where John goes to school On Ender’s Island.  Which was cold.  But still beautiful.  And we’re seriously considering a yearly pass to the Mystic Aquarium, even though it’s a few hours drive for us, because have you seen the prices for going one time?  We’re mulling it over.

So beautiful.  And then on the way home we got to stop and visit my cousin’s daughter, my newest cousin, and although it was a quick visit, it was just. so. nice.  Makes me want to put another CT day down on the calendar when we can spend some time with more people I love looking at that ocean.  The one I grew up swimming in.  My Dad’s old commute.

And it that wasn’t pretty enough to look at, well…

Yes.  That’s what it looks like.  A piece of string/lint on my bathroom rug.  In the shape of a Treble Clef sign.  I found it there and made sure no one stepped on it until I took a picture.  Yup.  Kind of reminds me of this.

This post could also be entitled, “So it takes me two Thomas the Tank Engine’s to get ready in the morning” or “I should be in bed right now.  Just in case the sleep plan fails and crankybaby resurfaces tomorrow.”

What a day.  For the past five days or so my kid has been NOT HIMSELF.  Or at least, I HOPE this isn’t the new him.  He’s been cranky, restless, impatient and did I say cranky?  He says, “NO!” “NO MORE!” “ALLDUN!” all the time.  If he tries to tell me something or get me to do something and I don’t understand or accidentally do something different than he was asking for, WATCH OUT.  He was screaming louder than I’ve ever heard today when I changed his diaper.

Yeah.

That said, he’s had been sleeping from 8 to 7ish and then taking a nap from about 12-3 in the afternoon.  That started the day after daylight savings time.  THEN, he started to wake up earlier earlier.  Today it was 6:30, and he was crazy crankola boy by 11am.  And then he went to bed at 7pm.  So I think he may be reverting to his former sleeping self.

I was kind of looking forward to a later wakeup and bedtime, especially for summer.  But 7pm bedtime IS nice is some ways.  Like, I got to see the beginning of Chuck AND I’m blogging.

And in the meantime, I  know one sure way to keep the crankies away.

So yeah.