Lent 2012

A few years ago, my Lenten resolution was to turn off all computers by 8 PM. It was a shockingly difficult challenge, but one that helped me realize the depths of my technology addiction.

As my iPhone creeps ever closer to my bedroom and the number of screens that fill my day grows, I think it might be time to take this on again. It's harder now - when else do I have time to play Scrabble with Friends, or write blogs, or check Facebook a million gazillion times? But I also think that I need to (re-)establish some boundaries. So I think I will have to turn off my iPhone, my computer, and my blackberry at 8 PM every night, and only reach for it after 7:30 in the morning. Exceptions are inevitable (last minute Diapers.com orders cannot be ignored), and I am sure I'll fail somewhat regularly.

But if Lent is meant to be a daily sacrifice, then this might be a good challenge for me.

The Day

Dear Alice,

Today is the kind of day I hope to remember forever. Today you and I went off on an adventure. We spent the day at the Central Park Zoo, FAO Schwartz and Toys 'R Us. The highlights of the day:

• Seeing horses wearing "jackets" all along the southern edge of Central Park.
• Laughing at penguins diving through the water.
• Watching Gus, the Polar Bear, sleep, lift his head, and fall back asleep again.
• Eating our packed lunch of PB & J sandwiches and yogurt in front of the sea lions, soaking up the sun, and smiling.
• Watching a cow eating hay, chewing with eyes shut and mouth open, laughing constantly.
• Feeling you grab my waist as we watched the Dinosaur from Jurassic Park at the Toys 'R Us at Times Square.
• Buying you your first real girlie doll - a Dora with a hair brush - breaking all of my rules just because you were so freakin happy to have her.

These are special times, my love. I'm so grateful for this kind of day - a morning of adventures, an afternoon of naps and household chores. I pray for many more of these together, my sweet special babe.

I love you!
Mommy

The Best

Single Motherhood

It's Michael's turn to travel. He's in San Diego for the week, discussing assessment in all its lovely forms. Hopefully he's also enjoying some quiet time, pool time, workout time, and some solitude.

We're holding down the fort in NYC. Alice has been talking about how Daddy is at work, but he's coming back. We have been coloring a huge box that I'm now reluctant to unload. We have been laughing and having fun, but missing our whole family.

Sweet

Crowns

Solitude

I'm writing tonight from another hotel room in Atlanta, a mere two weeks after my last trip to this city in the South. I'm not complaining, though. Given the type of work I do, it's unlikely that all this traveling will continue. I have one more trip on the horizon - California in March - and then work will happen only in Queens.

I'm down here for a project I've been working on for several years now. Every week we chat on the phone to discuss the evaluation, to move things along just a little bit more. But I'm always surprised how much I learn when we meet in person - it's shocking to see how frequently I zone out on the phone, but how clued in I am in person. The "charms" of modern professionalism...

I am always overwhelmed with how to spend my personal time on these trips. I want to squeeze so much into my two hours alone every day --- yoga and reading and blogging and sleeping and reading and thinking and sleeping and working and walking and sleeping... The list goes on. So now I will say goodnight, and fire up my kindle...

Missing You

Traveling, Cont.

Laundry - 10 am

Starting the Day

Bedtime Chaos