Doin' the Parental Thing

The Big Project, took a lot of time away from the kids in the past month. #3 son felt the brunt of it. Being the youngest, and the one who has always wanted more attention from the 'rents than the other two, the past month has made him feel like a demi-orphan, sometimes. So DH and I have been trying to spend a bit more time with him, and reminding him that he is a priority in our lives. To this end, we took our budding little concert violinist to his first classical concert. Boring, right? Not at all. Violinist, Tasmin Little, presented a mid-afternoon concert called "The Naked Violin" at our otherwise Hoity-Toity symphony concert hall. It was thouroughly enjoyable, and #3 son was enthralled. Ms. Little, played, talked about her violin and the pieces she played, answered questions from the audience - adult and child alike; and a good time was had by all. Best of all, the concert was free for the kids and their parental escorts. A free classical concert you could attend in your jeans, what better way to introduce a kid who loves his violin, skateboarding and baseball, to classical music.

You can even download "The Naked Violin" for FREE on Ms. Little's website.

Now, there has been some knitting going on....not as much as I would like, though. It seems that I can't get more than a few rows done in the evening without thinking that a little snooze is just what the doctor ordered. A couple of weeks ago, I started - for no particular reason - a baby blanket. I do this occasionally with no specific baby in mind; having faith that one will pop up from somewhere. Well, no sooner had I cast on, when my boys came home announcing that several of their teachers, or teachers' wives were expecting. So now the question has gone from "where will I find a baby to give this blanket to," to "which of the dozen babies soon-to-be-born will get the ONE blanket I have to give." Ya know, that Teacher's strike in September is reaping some unusual benefits.

Still slogging away on hubby's toe-up socks. They go with me everywhere, but lately, when I have kid-wait time, it is spent making or returning phone calls. I spent an entire two hour baseball practice the other day talking to our agents who had not heard about our big change. I would have much rather been knitting on those socks - but no such luck. And just the same, I have been wanting to start a dozen other projects, despite the fact that I have a dozen UN-finished projects patiently waiting their turn in the limelight.

WANTED: My Own Cabana Boy

OK, so the big project that has kept me away from the blog for over the month is finally over, well, mostly. THIS is what has kept me busy, building spreadsheets, making lists, double-checking those lists, changing the lists after the double-checking, planning, emailing, more planning....and doing all this in SECRET!

I understand, to most of the world, this is no big deal. Just another real estate company (and in a down market, are we insane!?) But we've been around for 19 years as a proud, independent, non-franchise company, and we took the big, BIG step of going with a franchise. A new, amazing, totally worth it, wonderful franchise. We expect big things of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, and they expect big things of us. Even in a down market, there can be great opportunities, and this is ours.

But putting everything all together was a lot of work. And most of it fell on my Sister-in-Law and me (Oh! did I mention that we are a FAMILY business?). We have been scurrying around like a couple of squirrels on RedBull for a month. The launch was last Tuesday, and now we are in the honeymoon stage. Checking in with all the agents, smoothing out all the inevitable blips, making sure that all is going well. I have been in constant "Customer Service with a Smile"-mode for a month, and it's wearing a bit thin. I'm tired. Physically tired, and tired of running and being "on" all the time. I'm not complaining, really. I'm excited about our new venture, and I'm excited that I am playing such an important role in them. But I am in desperate need for a bit of "Me Time."

Actually, a lot of "Me Time." I haven't read more than a few pages in a book, or knitted a few rows, or done one of my Couch to 5K workouts in a month. I don't wind down at the end of the day any more.....I collapse. And I've developed this nasty habit of waking up at 2am. Yeech!

But there is a glimmer of hope. DH and I get to go on a little business trip to San Diego next week. Well, it's supposed to be a business trip. We are going to try to make it a mini vay-kay, with a tiny bit of business attached. I promise the "Do Not Disturb" sign is going to get a workout.

That's where the Cabana Boy comes in. I want someone to take care of me for a bit. Fetch for me, carry for me, bring me drinks with little umbrellas in them, massage my tired feet.....and if he knows the location of all the good yarn shops in San Diego, so much the better. He doesn't have to be cute, or sexy....I got a man for that....I just want to be a little lazy and selfish for a while.

Then I'll be ready to go back to the real world, and deal with work and the kids, and meetings, and schedules..........

Well, Maybe, I'll be ready to go back to the real world.