So Much to Say

I feel so guilty sitting here writing because I have so much to do! But, I miss you guys! So, a few random things and then a quasi post.

• Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who delurked, and to any readers as well. All week I have felt all warm and fuzzy about the blogosphere. For the first time ever, I got 30+ comments on a post. And in the same week, I had the most comments I've ever had on a DotMoms post, too. Woot!

• John's in a new school. We moved him after Christmas because I used to drive him 15 to 20 minutes away and it was just a huge pain. Now he's in the same school as Ben (the public preschool) and it's a five-minute walk. This has wreaked havoc on him, the poor guy, because instead of having to get up early two mornings a week he now has to get up four mornings. He's getting less than 12 hours sleep a night and since he just turned 4 the day after Christmas, he becomes a psycho at about 2pm. That's why I haven't been here this week. I'll have to reinstitute some kind of nap. But in the meantime, John pretty much needs a bodyguard, and that would be me.

• John's having his birthday party tomorrow, which I didn't realize until like five minutes ago. You should see my house. I would post pictures, but, since I'm still feeling overexposed after the rhino post, I'm not posting pictures. Because of my poor planning, and because he just changed schools, John will have family and neighbors at his party, no friends from school. I began feeling guilty about this but then I thought, "He's four, get a grip." We all know how well I do planning birthday parties anyway.

Speaking of birthdays ... (yes, this is the segue to the quasi post)

I came to a startling realization today. My mother-in-law's 60th birthday is next month. I thought about this because I knew that if something requiring advance preparations is going to happen for Brian's mother on her 60th, this would have to be initiated by me.

As I thought about this, my brain kept flashing back to when I first met her. I was 18, immature for my age, and Brian's rebound girlfriend of a few weeks. (He was engaged when I first met him.)

That sunny spring afternoon, Brian and I were going to see AC/DC at the Worcester Centrum. Being in my first real relationship at the end of my first year at college, I felt as new as the spring grass. Even as I was failing every class at UMass.

Because of the concert I was dressed weird, trying to look like something I wasn't: tight jeans (tapered, acid washed) and an oversized, long AC/DC t-shirt my roommate lent me. I also had this strange attitude, like some bad-girl wannabe. Brian and I had been seeing each other for just a few weeks. We weren't that serious, I mean, had just ended an engagement and I'd never had a real boyfriend before.

Seventeen years ago, I never imagined this woman would be my mother-in-law. But first impressions aside, I remember her back then, scurrying around the kitchen, folding laundry and sipping Orange Dry. She seemed so old.

She was 43.

This realization has shaken me up quite a bit. I'm only 6 1/2 years away from 43. Judging by how fast the last 17 years went, judging by the fact that my dad died 7 1/2 years ago and it feels like yesterday, I'm guessing age 43 will be here in about five minutes.

Aaaaaahhh!