1) The long-awaited grocery store and cafe opened up across the street from us this weekend and we’ve been 4 times in 5 days. The downstairs is kind of like a small Whole Foods (but locally owned!) that has everything I buy regularly (coconut oil! Amish happy cows butter! tempeh! all the hippie yuppie foods!) and the top is a restaurant that serves fair trade organic coffee, fresh smoothies, and stuff like loaded truffle fries with coconut bacon.
It’s so close I could check in on Yelp from our living room.
You can see the building through the widows:
So, basically, I’m not moving because I LIVE IN THE PERFECT PLACE NOW. I can walk to amazing food, great coffee, a library, and several parks. Sorry, Mike. I’m sure Massachusetts is great. I’ll visit.
2) Let’s talk about work life balance for a minute. I’m a little torn right now. Should I be hustling so I can double or triple my income and provide for my family? Or should I take on less work so I can spent more time with my kids, which is the reason I started down this crazy path almost 6 years ago? I vacillate back and forth between wanting to do it all and earn as much as I can and thinking, “Maybe I’ll just take one client a month and have plenty of down time and not feel overwhelmed by trying to do it all.” I have no answers for myself. I’m so grateful I’m able to control the flow of my work…faucet (I love metaphors. Perhaps too much.) But I get to choose if I want to turn it down to a trickle or crank it full blast like a firehose. I’m just not sure which I should be doing.
3) Yesterday was Gabe’s preschool ‘graduation’ (he’s not really graduating since he’s not starting kindergarten this fall for a number of reasons) and it’s amazing how much more courageous he’s gotten in the past year. The little boy who hardly participated last year in the end of the year performance was the first to jump up and happily shout the lyrics when it came time for his moment to shine. Afterward, his teacher came up to us to tell us what a leader Gabe has become this year. As much as I love the baby stage, man, it’s such a treat to get to see this little boy grow up. I never knew how wonderful it could be, truly. I don’t blog much about Gabe these days because…oh, I don’t know, he’s getting older and I don’t want to share his life totally with the internet, but I’m so enjoying him.
4) I might have cried a bit after dropping him off at his last day of preschool, though. Not because I’m sad he’s getting older, but because knowing it was his very last day at this lovely little school he’s loved for the past two years made it more real that we’re going to be moving. Since it’s almost 3 months away, it feel far away, but the reality just felt harsh. I imagined saying goodbye to my parents and…moving just sucks. I’m sure my period of excitement and eagerness for a new adventure will have its turn eventually, but it was just a moment of realizing it’s happening.
5) Tomorrow I’m paying a mother-daughter team to deep clean our apartment. I’m practically giddy about the idea of coming home to a pristine apartment. It feels so luxurious. If only they could work magic to rid our carpets of all the terrible baby-toddler-preschooler stains. I’m also a little nervous. Sometimes I don’t feel like an adult enough to do stuff like this. I’m 30! When will I feel like a legitimate adult?
Oh, I’m so curious to hear more about your decision to wait on kindergarten, if you’re up for talking about it! This isn’t a decision I expect to have to deal with because both of my kids were born a few months (or in Annika’s case, one month) after the cutoff so they’ll be on the older side of kids in their grades as it stands, but it’s such an interesting, personal decision, and I always want to know more about how parents get there.
The move will be great! It will! Cruel of Akron to taunt you with this new grocery store, though.
Dude I feel you on the work/family balance. I’ve been taking on more clients to make more money but at the same time I wonder if I’m neglecting Riley when I do it. Seriously, adulthood is hard.
Also, Gabe graduating preschool!? Stop it right now. Time needs to slow down!
I hear you on the work/life balance thing. I currently do two jobs from home (medical transcription and freelance writing) but my transcription job is ending in July and I’m debating not looking for another job to replace it. With more time (and hustle!) on the writing side, I’m confident I can earn enough to make ends meet – but then again, if I spend more time on work, it’s less time with my family (and my poor, neglected husband, who I feel like I last saw on Thursday!). Sigh. I have no idea what to do!
Topher has five classes of preschool left and then he graduates too – I can’t believe how much he’s grown up this year! How are our boys so old already?!?
It is SUCH a hard decision to make, truly. Good luck with figuring out what to do!
Aw, Gabe- I love that kid. Isn’t he not old enough to start K anyways? I thought he turned 4 this school year… but maybe I’m imagining things.
I wouldn’t want to move if I were you either! But hopefully you’ll like it more than you think :)
He turned four September 1! Which is apparently the actual cut off date for MA kindergarten? :)