Off and Running

Helen is back at school this week so the boys have been staying with Helen's parents (aka Camp Nanna and Poppy). The boys love going over there. We dropped them off on Sunday night and have had a few kid-less days. It's been nice.

We did our normal last week of Summer vacation dance where I get really geared up for everything to be organized for the start of the rat race and for any loose ends to get tied up, while Helen gets sluggish and withdrawn. Her conversational responses get slower and slower as she enters into a sort of fog. I have to tell her not to "slow response" me.

I finally finished organizing the playroom - we'll see how long that lasts. I also helped Helen finish painting some of the nautical themed things that she bought for Adam's room...about 5 years ago!

I've really enjoyed walking the hallway of the house this week with the boys gone and seeing that all the rooms are staying nice and orderly. Is that so wrong? Normally any trip through the house for me involves addressing a handful of things that one of the people or pets screwed up. I can usually take one or two things, but eventually I get pushed over the edge and it leads to one of my "can't everyone just take care of their own business" rants, which leads to Helen asking me again if I need to build my own room in the garage.

Helen's first day was much better than she expected. The school got a new principal and some new administrators. The new administration addressed the fact that the previous administration did not do a good job of supporting the teachers and they committed to do a better job this year, which is exactly what the teachers wanted to hear. It makes all the difference when you work for management that you respect. It was really wearing her down the last couple years working for people she didn't respect. Although the teachers are happy that the previous principal is gone, they're sickened by the fact that it's because he was promoted.