I wanna go to the playground...

...the one with the swings...

...and some slides...

...and climb-y things for you to climb on...

...and boing-y things...

...and sand...

But what mommy wants to know is...

Why in the heck do they put these stupid things in the play structures under the guise of 'musical instrument'?

The cacophony emanating from these when banged on is atrocious.

And there is always some kid who loves to bang on them.

Stream of Consciousness and the DAR...

I'm finding myself mired in the debilitating doldrums of despair...ignited by the insidious inhibitions of inertia. It is neither a good place nor a good look for anyone.

source

Just imagine a toddler jumping on that person and the sounds of "Jay Joe Jeans and his jelly beans, hey! Let's sing a song about JAYYYY!" playing in the background and you have created my life.

I plan to bust a move as soon as I finish cleaning the bathrooms, washing my hair, balancing my checkbook, folding and putting away the laundry, going through the toy piles in the living room... HA! Who am I kidding? None of that is going to happen. So I need to just bust a move. Slap myself out of this funk... NOW. Inertia, be GONE!

Whew.

So I had a gadget for you, but it broke. I think I can fix it, but in the meantime I'm showing you another old family photo...are you sick of those yet?

This lovely young woman was married to the guy who ran the tight ship. They had six children...part of my big family legacy. She is one of my great-grandmothers...the mother of my paternal grandfather. She hails from distinguished lineage...founders of towns, an American Revolutionary War hero, judges, some lords in the middle ages (for real)... so yeah...I come from good stock :)

I'm thinking of applying for DAR membership, but something in the back of my mind is saying something bad about the DAR but I can't quite make out the message. And it is kind of incongruous...a Berkeley-raised, free-thinking person who loves traveling abroad deciding to join a staunchly patriotic group of historical zealots (or maybe that's a bit extreme)... but I suppose it is these contradictions that make me who I am :)

Boy, I really need to start working out again. My mind is gone...

Anyone know anything about the DAR?  How about the Mayflower Society?

March is such a big month...

...so big, in fact, that I missed the first big-ticket item!

Today is our wedding anniversary. Fourteen. What is the gift theme for one's fourteenth anniversary? Probably something like patio furniture. It doesn't really matter because my husband and I never hardly ever get each other anything...ever. Birthdays, Christmas, Valentine's Day, wedding anniversary...just another day at the mill. Regarding the kids, it's a different story...but the two of us are content, nay, ecstatic to simply bask in our mutual loving glow :)

I'm so glad my mother called this morning to wish us a "Happy Anniversary" because I had completely forgotten! And so had my husband! So... Happy Anniversary to US :) I only hope I remember to reciprocate the reminding favor later in the month when her anniversary rolls around!

And March is Birthday Month here!

Q-man and Miss C have both been talking about their birthdays coming in the middle of next week, and my brother-in-law's birthday is at the end of the week.

Big G will get a re-do of his sucky birthday party next weekend as well. Here's hoping that it won't be as sucky! This time I will be farming out the younger sibs so that they do not provide continual annoyance for the duration of the party...which is what they did last time.

And High Birthday Season ends right after St. Patrick's Day when one of my stepsons turns 27!

Then at the end of the month, once the family birthdays are over...a little over 3 short weeks from right now...I'm running the second leg of the Oakland Marathon Relay. I ran the second leg last year, and it was damn hard. Well, they made it harder this year. Bastards. Fortunately, it's only 6+ miles and my team is all about fun, so maybe I'll do like Tricia and bring beer in my water bottle. I guess I might want to start running soon... It's so weird to open my calendar and look at my plan for the cast-aside Eugene Marathon...and to see that this weekend I would have had a 20-miler to run. Bailing on that puppy was the best decision ever. But I must admit, I really miss having a Big Goal out there...which probably means it's really good for me to sit with this uncomfortable feeling and be present in the moment :)

Do you forget 'important' dates?


Do you prefer having a Big (or little) Goal to fixate focus on? Or are you good with "one day at a time"?