In~tention

Six weeks in, eight to go to the end of the first semester. I've learned that Sundays are the critical day of the week, and that I can start the week organized or rested, but not both. I teach a class every other Saturday so on weeks like this when I've worked 6 days in a row, it's pretty tempting to take Sunday off. Really tempting. Almost irrisistable. But if I do it, the rest of the week goes to hell. Really. Here's how it goes: "I'll go to bed early and make lunches in the morning.... Morning comes and I'm rushing about, making breakfast and lunches, etc. so we're late for school and I don't have time to think about what's for dinner. As a result, when we get home, I have to figure that out, and by the time I do, and cook it, and help with homework, and put to bed, and do dishes and tidy up, I'm too frapped to make lunches, so I decide to go to bed early and make them in the morning.... Dishes pile up, laundry is clean but piles tip over

I'm not a morning person, though I'd like to be. They always seem to be a struggle. Most days I'd rather sleep through them, emerging for coffee around eight or so, and easing into the day slowly, ready to leave the house by around 10. Instead, the alarms drags me forth at 6:08 and into the bustling day. If I pause to breathe into the day slowly I'm mired in my pool of smooth, timeless, gradual awakening. This ALWAYS results in a frantic rush to make up for lost time and my daughter counting down the number of minutes we're going to be late for school if we don't make every single light (there's only 3). And so... Up. Stumble to kitchen. Attempt not to wake child. Tea/coffee. Lunches made. Wake child. Cajole into shower. Dress. Make suggests for child's clothes (soundly rejected despite pleading me to help 'choose'). Cajole child to breakfast. Eat (maybe). Gather a mountain of gear required to get child and self through day. Walk dog. Gear to car

Okay, so it was way too ambitious to think I'd actually write every day, let alone take and post a photo. I'm way too busy living this life to write about it... On the positive side, despite a frantic week last week, I got away for a long weekend with a long-time (but not old) friend who spoiled me all weekend. Too busy hashing out life to think about work or the finer details of managing at home. Took some decents shots and the muse returned with a bit of breathing room and some prodding from someone who actually makes art rather than just thinking about it. On the flip side, hubby came down with pneumonia the day I left so he had to bash through the weekend being a parent on his own while fighting to stay verticle. He did survive (what a trooper) and is now nearly back to normal. Life at work returned to its frenetic pace, preventing me from actually acting on my creative ponderings, but at least they haven't disappeared entirely. House is a complete disaster, which I'