What Passes for a Normal Life ...

My apologies for falling off the blog-posting wagon. The start of school and a large project at work both have me a bit addled. There have also been some significant changes afoot in my extended family, but I don't feel as if I can really post about other people's lives (the kids and the hubby don't get a vote yet). It's a shame, since some of my favorite blogs are very open, but I'm still working through my boundaries and the level of transparency I want to reach.

The start of school has been a smashing success; more so than I expected. Miles is a shy, reserved child, and he does not always embrace change quickly or enthusiastically. We were lukewarm on his Pre-K program, but I think its real value was in introducing him to the school and the structure of a school day. He is making new friends and exploring his independence, and every day he comes home with a different story. The cool lunchbox has also helped! All of this is reinforcing his self-confidence, and while sometimes the conformity school seems to require makes me cringe, it is wonderful to see him blossom and develop more of his individual personality. Such a paradox. I've found it hard to let go of some of this process, just as it can be difficult to let him make his own mistakes or go through phases of development that just rub me the wrong way. It's one of the (many) aspects of mothering that has surprised me.

Miss T misses her brother during the day, but I think she's adjusted. The first few days were hard for her, but she is such a busy little girl that she couldn't slow down to fuss about it for long. She is almost running, and working very hard on language development. She is also learning about ways to direct and control her environment, with varying levels of success. Screetching at her brother to obtain a toy ... check! Screetching at the dogs to get them to stop licking her booster seat clean ... not as sucessful.

With an Autumn chill in the air, I've picked up my knitting needles again and started the second half of the Clementine Shawlette. I allowed myself a few washclothes while this project sat, and I think I benefited from the break. I'm excited and enthusiastic about knitting again, and isn't it nice to feel that thrill? The simple therapy of knitting is also helping me with some of those family changes I mentioned earlier, reassuring me in the value of patience and a deliberative process. It helps to calm my nervous energy, and distracts me as I get involved in color, pattern and texture. Non-knitters don't know what they're missing. Now if I can only stay on my yarn diet ...

Other tidbits ... I do have a new podcast review in the works, although it's already a well-known podcast; I just keep coming back to it. I've completed my third book in the 1% Well-Read Challenge (An Artist of the Floating World, by Kazuo Ishiguro), and am contemplating my next choice. I have two cookbooks that I'd like to talk about cooking from, and I'm itching to get my stash up on Ravelry. And as always, more talk about the kids.

As things develop with my family, I hope to share more, at least my own perspective and where some of my thoughts are leading me. Until then, generic kind thoughts are appreciated.