Ok, I’m off. I’ve been off for several weeks. I’ve been off since the winter storms and weekly kiddo dental appointments started disrupting my routines. I miss going to work for a full day on a regular basis. I feel out of touch with my people. I mean, when I’m there, it’s good, and I have technically only missed 2 days. But dang. First there was winter break. Then two days of court as a witness (excused for civic duty). Then the snow started flying and the dental appointments began. And today, that culminated in trading my Spring Break for listening to my children bicker with one another on yet another snow day. I’d hoped to trade that break for time with my older kids when they visit in April…and when my younger kids are also on spring break.

I’m behind on my homework. No, I mean behinder than I have ever been in my life, and I just don’t give a hoot. I better start giving a hoot, I have two assignments due on Monday.

And finally, I miss being outside. I now walk from the apartment to the van to the train station or into work. And back. I also walk from the train station to school and back on Mondays. But I don’t think it counts if I am huddled into a heavy coat and cursing the wind. Yeah, pretty much sure that doesn’t count. I want to sit on the balcony and read a book while sipping iced tea.

And I know some of you will say that this is because I live in Maryland now, and it’s colder, for longer. But I got this way in North Carolina, too. It starts with the time change in the fall and it builds and builds and builds until the time changes back to “normal” in the Spring(ish. Depending you know). By the end of February, every year, I am over life in general and ready to start slugging people. Thank God, I can flip the clock this weekend. It’ll take me a week to adjust, but then….I’ll be golden until next November. It is this weekend, right? Right?!?

So, today my daughter was going out and I asked her to bring me this planter thing I saw last night and passed up. Because Spring will come as surely as Winter now embraces us. I have no idea what I am going to put in there, but it was 50% off at Rite-Aid, and I wanted it and now I have it, for just 7.94, tax included. There are four pots total, you can’t see one of them in the pic. I think… I think since I have potting soil here already, and some tea leaves to put in the bottoms, I’m going to put aside this paper I am not writing anyway and put my fingers in some dirt. And if I get done with that, and still have soil, I may go pick up another set of these pots. But not this afternoon, because kids home because snow. Maybe tonight.

P.S. The dresses I bought yesterday are too small. I will try to exchange them when I am back there next Wednesday. That is yet another reason I want to get outside–I need to walk to get rid of some of this chubbery blubbery me. In fact, I would like to get rid of about 20 pounds of me. And bucket loads of stress and undifferentiated anxiety. I need to walk it away. I can’t do that sitting inside drinking chai latte, no matter how good that chai latte may be.

I could meditate the stress and anxiety away, if not the weight, but have you ever tried to do that with kids around? Hahahahhahhahaa, yeah, that’s the sound of my maniacal laughter.