I'm Now the Bad Mommy...

We flew home for Christmas. Well, we tried to fly home. We spent 4 days and 3 nights in Chicago that we were planning on spending in Wyoming. And then we ended up with 5 days and 4 nights with my parents.

We were pretty burned out by the time we boarded the plane to go home. I did all the right things-- ample snacks, favorite juice, bribery toys, and a choice of movies. Little did I realize that my child would insist on looking out the window. And then that he would get pissed when he couldn't see well out said window.

Well, I knew it would be an interesting flight when the 40+-year-old big haired woman took the seat behind my child and she gave a running commentary on what she thought of her surroundings as she boarded. And several times, she sighed loudly when my son threw a brief temper tantrum as the plane went up. I got him quiet and happy once I could turn on an electronic device.

Then, it was time to land. And I had to turn off the electronic device. And of course, he couldn't see out the window the way he wanted to. So he threw a temper tantrum. I had two choices-- screaming or bashing his head and legs into his seat. I chose the screaming so no one would be banged by the thrashing child.

And thus began the longest descent and airport taxi experience ever. I tried to calm my child, I tried to scold, I tried to redirect his attention... and nothing worked. I occasionally looked at my husband, who offered to switch spots with me-- but we were in the final approach and taxi so we knew we'd officially get in trouble then.

And the lady behind my child was a total wench as I tried to de-plane. So here's my official apology.

Lady-- I'm sorry that my emotionally drained, overtired child wrecked your flight. It was not our intention to inconvenience you. And if being around the general public pisses you off so much, DRIVE YOUR CAR!!!

... but then my life got busy.

Okay, I intended to start doing yoga again. What is that they say about the road of good intentions?

I'll get there. Honest.

Right now, I'm bogged down in unfinished Christmas shopping, blank Christmas cards, and a three-year-old that was ready for Christmas to arrive two weeks ago.

This is a fun time of the year, though.

It's Coming On...

I have felt it building for a while now. Last school year buzzed by. Planting my garden flew past me, as did the watering and harvesting. Now I'm deep into another school year.

Right before I was able to transfer into my current school, life was crazy. I was trying to conceive a child, to no avail. DH and I were building a house while each completing our Master's degrees. My respite was yoga.

Oh, I know that you are thinking that I'm getting all New-Agey and yuppified on you. I started yoga intending to find some new techniques to de-stress. Yoga definitely taught me how to release stress. Then I began seeing my body tone up, which made me dive in even further. I felt really strong and powerful when I was regularly practicing yoga. I loved that.

I denied that I would buy into the spiritual angle of it all, though. I am Catholic, to the point that it's a cultural aspect of my life as well as religious.

The weird thing was that I found that yoga enhanced my religion. Catholicism was focused on the how to live in community. Yoga made me focus on how I was interacting within that community. (i.e., Catholicism was the societal rules while yoga enhanced my personal rules.)

When I finally conceived my child and delivered a son, I dropped the yoga. I went head-first into survival mode, trying to care for my child while my husband flew in and out of town. Diapers and feedings were the focus, not chaturanga and savasana.

Yoga is calling me back, though. I'm preparing to step off of this crazy treadmill of days that melt into one another.

So I'm throwing a promise to myself out into the universe: It is time to refocus and reflect. Yoga is back in my life. I'm not sure where it will take me, but here goes...

Calm

This is the happy time. We were on a piece of driftwood, looking at my sister and the Atlantic Ocean behind her. Mark was racing around on the rocky shore, trying not to slip on the seaweed exposed by the low tide. The wind was blowing and the sun warmed our shoulders.

We had a great time up in Maine. It was so much fun to hang out with my sister and BIL! We had a great day up on China Lake, getting as much time in the water as we could. Lobster was eaten every day. (It's cheap, cheap, cheap right now! Get your lobster now while it's inexpensive...) We shopped while it rained, so we were able to squeeze every last minute of fun out of our long weekend.

Sometimes...

Idealogues can be quite tiresome. I've been on a bit of an anti-Republican kick lately, not because I'm anti-conservative but because I am tired of politicians that only look out for big business. (Some Democrats can be the same way...) And I hate being preached at conservatives who believe that any viewpoint aside from their own is the stupidest drivel ever conjured by man. There's no discussion, just derision.

So I found an article posted on CNN's website quite interesting. It's posted by a conservative, and I find myself agreeing with many of the commenters that his central example is very flawed. You read it and decide.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/01/feehery.franken/index.html

And just so you know, I believe that political gridlock is good. I wrote more than one paper on political gridlock in my poli-sci classes in college. So I am quite nervous about the combination of the executive and legislative branches both being led by the same political party.

Purge

I realize that I'm a clutterbug. I know that it's my Achilles heel.

Therefore, my project of the summer is to purge. I want to get rid of stuff.

My first step was to begin listening to Peter Walsh's It's All Too Much. I wanted to hear the advice of a professional as I started.

The next step was to tackle the pile next to my bed. I had literally nine square feet of carpet covered in clutter. It took one trip to the transfer station (or the dump, if you live in the Midwest) and eight bags of donations to a local thrift shop.

My summer project has begun.

Done

Well, everything is packed away. The classroom is covered and boxed. I'm not due back until August.

This might sound strange, but it really doesn't feel real yet. It seems like I need to be back at school tomorrow.

Instead, I'm heading off to vacation tomorrow. Weird.

Summer '09 has begun.