Fifteen years.

you've held my hand every single step of the way.

through newborns and screaming toddlers and migraines and morning sickness.  through interviews and promotions... funerals and weddings.  through deadlines and declines... terror and triumph.  sleepless nights and stormy days.  through first sips and last bites... endless car rides and delayed flights.  through captured dreams and weary quests.

through thick & thin.

{as 'eventful' as life may get...it never, ever goes unnoticed.  happy anniversay to us :).}   

Back in session.

                                          

hellllo!

i went on vacation, came back, and decided i wasn't quite ready to write anything down just yet... to edit photos, format posts, to think about anything other than savoring those last bits of summer.  those last few days in which the kids can just be kids... and i can just be Mom.  not a drill sergeant.  not a taxi driver.  not a schedule coordinator.

and when august 14th hit, we weren't fully ready (are we ever??), but we were as ready as we were ever going to be.  to step back into it.  into routine.  into schedules.  into paperwork, and homework.  into the [transitional] 4th grade.  into HIGH SCHOOL so help me god.

other than the 'my-son-is-now-in-HIGH-SCHOOL' part, it's all gone fairly smooth.  other than the mound of paperwork to be filled out... the [long] lists of supplies to be purchased, the "surprise!" $110- check to be filled out for an 'orchestra tux'... the $80- yearbook, the $60-  asb card, the school photos, the pta donations, the p.e. clothes.......... yep, it's all gone fairly smooth.

...with a big dose of overwhelming-ness mixed in.

in fact i was just sitting down to try and work my way out of this knot in the back of my neck (wine in hand), when i came across an article shared by the lovely (& i can truly attest to the "lovely" part now that i've met her in person... more on that later :)) melissa~ ‘Slow Parenting’: Why a Mom Is ‘Fed Up with Frenzy’.

i believe in 'slow parenting' with all my heart... but school's only been in session for 2 days, and already our mode has switched from calm & connected to rushed & frenzied. i was that parent who honked at the car stopped in the middle of the street (as opposed to pulling IN to the carpool line).  twice.  yes- twice in one day.  one at her school & one at his.  shameful, i know.  but true.  well, friday is here.  and clearly it is time to take a step back... & slooooooow down. {oh, & come up with "plan B" for tackling that high school pick-up line}

it feels good to be back :).

   

{thank you to my mom for gently reminding me that my blog has remained "dark" for a bit too long.  

& thanks melissa for the knocking that writer's block right out of the park}