With pizza enjoyed, ice cream cake shared, and gifts opened, En’s 14th Birthday Party comes to a close and with that our 2022 Birthday Season. This year brings me near-limitless reasons for gratitude — friends joined En for his day; Coley (who’s been sick this week) does not have Covid and is feeling better; I get to live with her for another year! I get to help En celebrate another of his Birthdays. Every year now, I study every second, thankful for the most menial of tasks to make the party festive, aware that one day, neither of them may want my help making merry, that this may be the last Birthday Party I host. I could go on & on & on. Suffice it to say, I’m wildly glad for my two kids and all our lovely, loved friends!
Also tickled that for the first time in practically forever every single room in the house is clean at the same time! Now, you may think with a statement like that, we live in a large house. Haha but no. We have a decent-sized condo. When reflecting on why that is, at least in the past six years, it’s because we all tend to be pretty busy; when school or work doesn’t force it, we tend to occupy ourselves with self-imposed goals and deadlines. And while we each clean our own rooms periodically, we all work together in the common areas, in those days maybe leaving our rooms to their natural state, and help each other out. Whenever I have the opportunity to help them with their rooms, I take it. Both stubbornly independent and perhaps a bit embarrassed, they tend to refuse support. So I gladly leave my room in ruins to help them when allowed. Anyway, it’s somehow always easier to clean someone else’s mess than one’s own.
My decision to do another purge of clutter and reorganize my space made this cleaning particularly challenging. Between college visits, moving and sifting through items, and the normal day-to-day of work, family, and friends, I’ve written little in the past six weeks. No blog posts. But I’m back with hopes that I’ve positioned myself well for a fertile writing season. You may remember my Writing Fort? (Clear tent outfitted with camp table and heater to write near-outside in the cold.) Well, now I have a Writing Den! I emptied a walk-in closet, added some ambient lighting and a table and voila!
This summer’s already been a funny thing. I planned to work but yearning for free time to sink into thoughts, reflections, and personal work, I changed plans. Then it looked as though college trips may take the lion's share of my summer. I managed to plan shorter trips, so felt as though I got my summer back. Then En was going to do swim team. I encouraged it, but also saw most of my precious morning hours slip away. He since decided against swim team in preference to other activities. I keep losing and getting this summer back. I have it now and am determined to keep it! Even if work would give me a 25% bonus for the summer. Fie, I say! It seems as though one can always get more money, although it never seems enough. But time, well, I’m acutely aware that I can’t get it back.
Although not writing, I've read a good deal over the last few weeks. So I plan to share reviews of some powerful poetry collections I've enjoyed. And a couple of interesting Poets agreed to interviews, so I look forward to sharing those dialogues. In addition to that, I'm sure summer posts will address my own writing journey, as well as more adventures in Mama-ing. So here’s to my return to blogging; my kids growing up; my new Writing Den, and Free Time!
