Updates & Defining Perfection

Maybe it's because I slept for 12 hours straight last night that I feel like I have the time to post a quick note on our blog. Ed & I have silently given up on our blog, much like a diet that you start in quiet, but don't tell anyone about because you know in three days you're going to make a batch of brownies and eat half the pan in half an hour. Since there's two of us, we've only barely poked at the guilt of not-posting. I'd give you a long list of excuses, but as I'm discovering with my students, it's just easier to delete written excuses and read the actions of doing (or not doing) the work.

Not that our blog is work- of course! It started as therapy to get through our move to Boston and then became a way to maintain some kind of community, even if it was a a kind of imaginary cyberspace community. Now that we're overwhelmed with day-to-day life and work, we're realizing just how crucial it is to maintain and create community beyond our little family triangle- imaginary or not (though real would be nice).

So, hello. Again. Here's the update: Ed's working and his schedule is crazy impossible. Jack is recovering from his first croup- it's why I slept 12 hours last night. And, no, it wasn't because I took 6 tylenol PM so I would pass out and avoid all the barking (just because I think it doesn't mean I'm a bad parent- like I said before, it's all about action). It was because the night before we were in the ER until 3AM because Jack woke up at midnight gasping for air. As I grabbed Ed's hand in the steam-filled bathroom, we both silently realized that our weekly worries and stresses were absolutely nothin'. He's fine now, and slept like, well, a baby with his new cool-air vaporizer. Me, too. Ed, not so much - I guess four hours sleep and way too much on your plate isn't the best combination for a good night's sleep. My job is good in that I have a job and like to teach. The school itself is, well, toxic, so I try hard to balance furthering my career while not encountering more than the majority of other instructors who, well, have perfected the art of petty bitterness. What else, oh, yes! We got our first snow. Ed's been chomping at the bit, convinced that the snow purposely alludes him. It wasn't a snow storm by anymeans, but the ground is still white and it's still cold, so at least it looks and feels like winter (finally).

Bottom line, I miss the Northwest and want to be there, but am very aware that imgained reality is a far cry from the real thing. This "real thing" is quite good, which is probably why I want it to be perfect in setting as well. I can see perfection because we're forced to rely on one another more than anything else. And, not to sound too gushy, but waking up with the first thought of just how much your family means to you is as close to perfection as it gets.