Last Monday in July….
Home: yes.
Alive: yes!
Retrieved daughter from university campus twelve hours away: check.
Packed off son to week long scout camp: check.
Confirmed, once and for all, that camping is really, really bad for my complexion: doh!
Also confirmed, somehow, in the midst of the chaos, that my kids are all decent, surprisingly funny, cooperative human beings: I knew that…I did.
Suffering from the concussive effects of 36 cumulative hours of driving in a car with 7-8 other people (decent, funny, cooperative–yes, but surprisingly aromatic) while attempting to compose three different essays–Dostoevsky, Mallarme, and Silko–in my head and on paper napkins and on the palms of my hands: uh-huh.
Submitted essays before due date: yes!
Laid awake all night agonizing about submitting essays, such as they were: duh.
Back at work: Yup.
Already perusing the graduate studies catalog for possible sources of further self-inflicted torture: come on, what did you expect?
Mental Maytag 
July 26th, 2010 at 9:27 am
Literature and camping….such an odd combination, but somehow it works. Throw some Thoreau in there and it will all make sense (I'm sure he wrote on the palm of his hand many times, LOL)!
Not surprised your kids are lovely people. Just keep them away from technology for as long as possible!
I envy your pursuits – we should all aim that high.
July 26th, 2010 at 9:52 am
I know! The pull of technology is insidious and draining. So much good they can get from it, but so much danger as well–what a balancing act! I don't honestly know if I'd have made it through those essays, actually, without the river to go kick around ideas by and the mountains to look up at. I'd be all in knots, go for a little turn around the riverbank or the fire pit, and everything would suddenly make sense!
July 26th, 2010 at 10:55 am
I'm glad you got your essays done and what a great place to do it. I've lived on the river and there is nothing that compares to the sound of that constant flow of water close by. It's soothing. I'm glad you are back though!
July 27th, 2010 at 7:46 am
Hey guess what? in a week my crew and I will be arriving at your place! I'm glad you had a good vacation, now it's my turn. Hopefully my kids will be as well behaved as yours 🙂
July 27th, 2010 at 8:31 am
I know! Looking forward to seeing the baby! Do you know any details yet? If I remember right, you needed a place Tuesday night, or Wednesday or both?
July 27th, 2010 at 8:33 am
And hey, if you're coming down through Sandpoint, ID be sure to stop at Dubs for lunch!
July 27th, 2010 at 8:53 am
We will be arriving Tuesday evening and will be on our way some time on Wednesday. Time wise we really don't have anything set in stone…time doesn't exist in my husbands world. I think we'll call you Tuesday morning to let you know where we are at and give you a better idea on when we will be arriving. I guess that means I'll need your phone #, if you could email that to me.
July 27th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
Dostoevsky? Oooo. How did you like that? Read him this semester too.
July 27th, 2010 at 4:48 pm
Once again I am convinced that you are some sort of superwoman! 🙂