The Habit

Blogging, in many ways, is a habit. I do it when I have free time, sometimes I enjoy it, sometimes it annoys me, but like most habits, it's something for which you must have time. Time has been in short supply lately, and at the end of the day it's been hard to find the motivation for the "work" blogging requires.

Since the start of the new year, our lives have been filled with the slow, painful transitions, the kinds that take time and patience to resolve. Let me enumerate:

Transition 1: Reese has completely given up napping. I spent time this fall fighting this trend, (and I still think there are days when her body physically needs a nap) but in the end it was driving both of us up a wall. We were two equally stubborn and opposing forces and she won this round (which says a lot). Most days when I put her down for naps she was more successful in waking up her sister than actually getting any rest or quiet time. Instead of sleeping or even lying down quietly with books she would visit the bathroom half a dozen times (slamming doors along the way) or dump out and "organize" all the blocks/dress up clothes/puzzle pieces in her closet. Reese now spends "naptime" doing quiet activities--it requires lessons plans to keep this kid quietly occupied.

Transition 2: Paige no longer takes a morning nap. Like her big sister, there are still days that Paige probably needs a morning nap, but if we acquiesce we can say goodbye to an afternoon nap and hello to a cranky toddler. Have you done the math yet? No morning toddler nap + no afternoon big sister nap = Mommy has at least one kid awake for 12+ hours every day. Let's just say my shower ratio has hit a dangerously low level.

Transition 3: Will I ever go back to work? My applications are on line with two school districts and Reese's pre school in hopes that I will once again be employable. I'm considering starting an application for a third school district (because in our gerrymandered area of Austin it makes geographic sense), but the hoops it requires are daunting. During Reese's "quiet time" I usually spend a few minutes hitting up the job vacancy sites and then reciting a mantra along the lines of "it's early for job openings to be posted, don't worry." or "maybe this is a sign, just go with the flow, whatever happens happens for a reason." Do you see my type A personality shining through?

So, I can't promise to be a "good" blogger, but today as long as Paige sleeps and Reese is interested in painting I will (as a writer friend of ours likes to say), "vomit words on the page" in hopes of reviving the enjoyment of this habit.