Off Track

My kids are in year round school which means every 9 week term they go to school is followed by 3 weeks "off track." They went off track on Tuesday afternoon. This is my house on Wednesday morning:

This counter-top was completely clean at 7:30 a.m. This is 8:14.

This was accomplished by 8:02.

I was going to include a picture of the playroom, but that was keeping it a little bit too real.

Here is my 11-year-old in his pajamas...eating breakfast...at 2:30 in the afternoon!

Only 23 days off to go!

If My Life Were an Opera

For the past 2 years, I have purchased season tickets to the Utah Opera with my sister-in-law, Kim. Now I know to some of my friends and family this may seem like a form of masochism, but we really love opera. No, really. I'm not just saying that to sound aristocratic or high-fallutin. (Although, I have to admit, I always feel so cultured when I can say things like, "this weekend at the opera," or "I'm looking forward to next season's adaptation of Butterfly." Try saying that at the next dinner party you attend and guaranteed, people will automatically spot you an extra 15 IQ points.) But besides the intrinsic value of snootiness, we really do enjoy the actual productions themselves. We love the staging and the sets; the sumptuous and sparkly costumes; the over-the-top dramatic plots--it's better than high school. I also especially love an excuse 4 times a year to go out to dinner at "girly" restaurants, dress up a little and leave my children in the capable (although infinitely less cultured) hands of their father. And most importantly, we love the music. Even if there is bad singing (and there very rarely is) or acting or dancing or standing or clumping around the stage, we love to mock. Oh how we love the mocking.

Now Kim is an actual opera singer so she is infinitely more informed when we go to the opera. She almost always has sung or heard many of the arias in each production. This weekend we attended the opera, "Regina." It's a contemporary work that I was completely unfamiliar with before attending. As usual, we loved it. One of the great things about dramatic opera is knowing that generally speaking, the characters are not going to have happy endings. You know going in that things are going to end badly...worse even than you can predict. The meticulous plan to thwart a dismal destiny will go sadly awry. There will not be blanks in the executioner's rifle. The long-awaited return of an old lover will not resolve the heroine's distress so suicide will ensue. The ghosts in the graveyard will not turn out to be friendly. "Regina" is pure melodrama, but the ending is not quite as tragic as you can expect from Wagner and Verdi. The characters and situations are almost accessible as real life. And it got me to thinking...what if my life were an opera?

Wouldn't it be great? What if I could swoon over all the little problems arising in my life? I could take great pains to avoid any consequences of my actions thereby setting into motion my ultimate downfall or I could become a fatalist and lie back and accept as my due all the heinous and cruel tricks of fate. Either way, I would be wearing an opulent gown and some stunning jewels. If all my world was set to music, my children's arguing would become a comical fugue, my inner dialogue-a dramatic aria, and a estrogen-induced mood swing would be the mother lode of a shrieking, hand-wringing scene. All in perfect tune of course.

I guess that's what I really love about opera--the escape from reality.

Ennui

Have you ever had those days where you feel like you are never at rest...you run, run, run through life...and then when you look back at bed-time there is literally nothing to show for it. That is how my entire January is feeling. I'm halfway through the first month of 2009, just weeks after all of my well-meant, fresh-start, wide-eyed new beginnings. And despite the daily stretching in all my roles in an elasti-girl-like glory, I feel like I have accomplished a big nothing so far.


So I have tried in the last 24 hours to identify where the problem lies. Part of this feeling is the inevitable result of being a mom. A good portion of my life is spent doing things that don't stay done. And growing children is a slow and usually imperceptible process. Part of the issue is that this month is unusually full. I have had many extra service opportunities that have added up to hours well-spent but still spent. But I think the real root of this feeling of frustration lies in the hours wasted simply because I have not used them well. I can justify that I'm exhausted and need the break, but rationalization for me is usually just a sign that I know better.


So after I pondered about the source of my "problem" I spent some time trying to figure out a solution. Here's what I decided. 1-I need a project. Something that motivates me more than housework. 2-I need to make time to exercise. That's the thing that I enjoy that has been most neglected by filling up my schedule with other things. I can use the energy. 3-I need to eliminate my time-wasters. I don't ever resent the time I spend reading or writing, but I could definitely give up some of the time spent in front of the TV or computer screen. 4-Just say no! If I'm overscheduled I have no one to blame but myself. 5-(and this is an important one) Make a trip to Disneyland. That's right, it's time to get away from the cold and snow and haze of inversion. Mickey Mouse always restores my spark.

2008 In Review

Here is a month by month look at what I have learned in the last year, and my resulting resolutions.

January: Visiting my sister and my niece Xiana in Las Vegas

Resolution: Visit family more often.

February: Isaac in our driveway

Resolution: Invest in a snowblower.

March: Anna on "Hero Day" for Preschool

Resolution: Always root for the underdog.

April:

Resolution: Take more pictures.

May: Spring in our backyard

Resolution: Plant a garden.

June: Anna at the Teva Games in Vail, CO

Resolution: Overcome my fear of heights.

July: The Children's Museum in Ogden

Resolution: Conduct a family fire safety drill.

August: On our way to an Iowa baseball game

Resolution: Cut Noah's hair more frequently. And teach him how to match his clothes.

September: ???

Resolution: Lock up all the markers.

October: At the Alamosa Alligator Farm

Resolution: Increase my Life Insurance.

November: My cousin's baby, CaRina

Resolution: Wipe off the table more than once a week.

December: The kids in the playroom

Resolution: Spring for a real Ping Pong table.