Bright Eyed and Bushy Tailed

These last few weeks, we have been focusing on becoming successful working parents. Our efforts have been somewhat successful. Fact is, this shiz is HARD. You spend all day dealing with other peoples' problems, then you come home and soak up all the time you can with your little one before he goes to bed 2 hours later. Then it's chores time. Weekends are for running errands and catching up on chores you had zero time to do during the week.

Jeff is a counselor, so he gets to deal with all kinds of fun things during the day. Here is what my typical day looks like:

"Hello, Miss Emily. I had a call from that parent who is scheduled on your calendar. She says you need to give her son $20,000 in scholarships so we can make his dream of coming to Gonzaga come true. If you don't give him the money, she says she would hate to have to go to the Dean. (his office is right next to mine...) And I have a parent on the phone I need to transfer to you. She wants to know why her son has to pay such a high tuition rate. So. Here. You. Go."

Call me crazy, but why does this happen? I'm pretty sure that when I was applying to colleges I didn't call people and expect them to lay a red carpet for me. In fact, I didn't apply for colleges if I knew I couldn't afford them. So could someone please explain parents' logic these days?

After dealing with this BS for 9 hours, I come home and want to do nothing other than cuddle with Everett. And eat.

Little Man is happy, the house is relatively clean, we are eating solid meals. BUT, my crazy day leaves no room for taking care of myself. There is no time to run, I am too exhausted to read, I have fallen so far behind in The Vampire Diaries, and social interactions are limited to one weeknight a week*. I registered for Bloomsday, a 7.5 mile race which will take place in May, and have only had time to run three miles a week. It will prove to be interesting.

Running is important to me. It gives me a chance to feel as though I am physically escaping the cares of the day (and I can eat whatever I want when I'm running...and I wanna lose 3 pounds). Reading offers much the same in that I can be taken to another world, if only in my imagination. I am not exactly surprised that these hobbies have been snatched from me, but I am still mourning the loss of this part of my individualism. Good news: I am feeling worn down, but not broken. In all honesty, I would rather have a mowed lawn than go on a 3 mile run. No one wants to be the one living in that house.

So I pick myself up by my bootstraps, roll out of bed and get to work, drink a giant cup of coffee, and sigh in exasperation as I listen to my voice messages. Another day, another dollar. At least I have a cute baby with whom I can play. And at least it's Friday.

And stay tuned because BIG things are happening. Okay fine, not really that big. However, now that Jeff is done with grad school and we have 2 incomes again (sort of), we are planning some awesome house projects for the summer months. Since we don't have enough to do.

And now, a video for you:

*Unless social interactions are productive. Tonight my friend is going to come over and help me decide which clothes in my wardrobe I should keep, and which ones will go in a box marked "Garage Sale." We will also drink wine.