Saying Goodbye to Darby

I am so sad. I am sitting here at ten minutes until 8 in the morning waiting for the vet's office to open so that I can call and tell them that I think the time has come to put Darby out of her misery. My poor, sweet kitty is just too ill. It has been hard for me to come to terms with it, but I just can't ignore the signs anymore. Yesterday she didn't even get off the couch -- not to eat, not to use the litter box, nothing. She can barely move. I don't want her in pain or discomfort. After 15 years together, it's time for us to say goodbye. I don't know how I am going to do it.

See You in September

August has been a weird month. On one hand, we've had a chance to relax. The four of us spent a week at the cabin together, and now I am back here with just the girls for another week. On the other hand, I've been busy with getting ready for back to school, meeting architects for the new house, and getting into my new role as Marketing Chair for S's preschool. I am definitely ready for September to arrive though. While I looove summer, by the end of August I long for the return of routine that September brings. I didn't used to be like this, but as they say, having children changes everything.

I may be biting off more than I can chew, but I have put together a pretty involved schedule for the fall. S has preschool Monday through Thursday afternoons. She also has speech therapy Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Then I have both girls in some fun activities. L is going to start gym class on Monday mornings and S is going to continue ballet on Wednesdays. I found an art class that will take kids from 18 months through 5 years old, so I've enrolled them both on Friday mornings. Finally, I want L to have more one-on-one time with her dad (S already gets more than L, just by virtue of her age), so on Saturday morning R is going to take her to music class while I take S to a different class for older kids. Somewhere in there, I am going to have to find time for my workouts.

Now that I see it all spelled out, it really does seem like a lot. I actually don't believe in having kids' schedules filled with activities every day; they really need to have some down time in order to spur their imaginations, foster creativity and instill self-reliance. We'll see how it goes this fall; if it gets to be too much, we'll cut something from the schedule.

Either way, I am just glad to get back to a routine. August has been nice, but I am ready to see September.