You might remember me. My name is Jen.
I used to blog here regularly.
And then I didn't.
And then I did and then I didn't again.
I'm hoping to be back for good this time.
It's been about 6 months since I've been here. We sold our house in sunny Florida and moved back to chilly NJ, back to our old house (I know. So weird.) The kids are all in a new school this year and so is Josh. He has a killer of a commute these days, but he loves his job. The kids are happy and/or getting happy in their new school and I am slowly coming to grips with driving them to school - 35 minutes each way, without traffic. But this is the northeast, there's ALWAYS traffic. Sometimes, if we leave at the wrong moment in the morning, there's even traffic on my own block. I just shake my head at it all - especially the part where I can spend a almost 4 hours in the car each day. I recently heard a commercial on the radio for Uber and I seriously considered signing up. I pretty much live in my van, I could make a fortune.
Now that I've caught you up on our life here (We moved. The end.) I can tell you that blogging has been on my mind lately. I kind of miss it and I'll resolve to start it up again and then, I don't know, I just don't and I've been pondering why.
Pondering is different than thinking. I ponder when I drive. I think when I go walking. There's a difference, and since I've been driving so much, I've become a ponderer. The honest truth is that I am not so sure where to go with this blog these days. The kiddies are all in school all day long. We leave the house at 7am and don't get back until almost 5pm. That's a lot of time out of the house and not a lot of time left for art or projects or anything really. As I type this and see how long the days really are, I have this overwhelming urge to homeschool. Or run away with them and never do homework again. Maybe live in a cave, but one that has wifi because how would we know the answers to the homework without google?! I think I'm just unsure of what direction to take here because what do I blog about without art projects and Cookie Tuesday and toy decluttering ideas? Wait, nix that decluttering thing - I still have to do that. I always have to do that.
I just re-read that last paragraph and I sound like someone who might benefit from a Paxil or two. Or eight. I don't need any though. What I do need though is to start writing again, even if no one reads it. Because writing is, while not totally a use-it-or-lose-it skill, it is, in the words of my brilliantly rabbinical doctor husband, "When you write, you write. And when you don't write, you don't write". How profound is that? I know. But you know what? He's right. Or correct. Too many homophones for me in this paragraph.
So maybe this blog won't only be all glitter and glue sticks anymore. Although we did use glitter this past Sunday and in case you were wondering, it still makes a fantastic mess. But it's all good, because we're not only raising littles anymore (although we still do use safety scissors when we run). Some of them are somewhat bigger (10!) and raising middles is way more mental than physical. There used to be a lot of cleaning up - there still is, but in different ways. I may not have to clean up a floor blanketed in matchbox cars and little people anymore, but now the cleaning up is more precarious because vacuuming around a hugely imaginative and built from his head and not from instructions Lego City is way more challenging than just pushing all the dolls and trucks to the side of the room so we could clear a path to the bathroom.
There also used to be a lot of chasing people around the house to get them to do things like wear clothes and eat and well, in our house, wear clothes. But now it's not chasing little people who refuse to keep their clothes on (although we do still have some of that. Naked dancing before a shower just doesn't get old, you know?) It's more of a chase around the house, trying to catch people who have absconded with my phone (again) or who refuse to do their homework or, who am I kidding, wear clothes. And instead of one bath time for everyone, it's getting those that can shower alone to actually do so - and use soap and use shampoo and not put the same socks back on when they are done drying off. There are so many steps to successfully taking a solo shower, it's almost too much to ask of a kid who's been in school all day.
But I do ask, everyday. Or almost every day. Thankfully, my boys don't stink yet so they can still get away with skipping a shower every once in a while.
So here's a truth I know about myself - If I don't write something down, it's as if it didn't happen. And even though we're all spending our time out of the house these days doesn't mean things don't happen so I need to keep writing, if only so I can remember the things I ponder as I drive the hours away each day. There will, however, likely be far fewer photos because it seems taking pictures while driving is frowned upon. I really don't want to get pulled over - I'm not yet sure how I might explain to the policeman why my car is registered in NJ and why my license is still sporting a picture of me smiling in Florida, listing an address of a home I no longer own. See? It won't be so boring around here. I'm a scofflaw. It'll be great!
:)
Jen