it's back to work for me, and i'm slowly letting go of various unfulfilled goals over break, now over. spend time with kids was number one on my list; i barely got past it. in the old days of watching young ones, I used to sew a quilt; there is a quilt I've been working on for about thirty years. and, i still have it; i'm strongly considering bringing it back.

two things i'll say about lots of childcare: first, i eat too much for about the first month of it. i'm around the kitchen all the time, and there's a lot of stress, and i can't stand being hungry. so i tend to gain weight. how do these people go on starvation diets, then hang around a stressful place without eating? i can't imagine.

second, you do get better at this stuff. it reminds me of the fact that, most of the time, i'm trying to bring up kids on a running-on-empty kind of exhaustion, which is ongoing. it's nice to bring them up on something else, even if only for a week. the weeks before and after christmas don't count, because there's too much else going on, and i'm still exhausted.

success: jigsaw puzzle, other puzzles. books from the library. playing dots in the doctor's office. tetris. castle park, picnics.

now it's back to work. sewing patches on jeans, at the end of break, i was watching kids, occasionally pricking myself accidentally as you do when you're not concentrating enough. talk about multi-tasking; i wish i could at least double-task a little better. i'd get more done. but, work is about getting stuff done. break is about, taking something you usually do when exhausted, and finally doing it when not exhausted.

except that, on some level, i'm still exhausted; and now, i'm back to work.

more later, i promise. i have a story in me, and maybe you'll see it in a few days. also working a bit on chat & its culture; would like to prepare at work, maybe clean out a few stacks of undone stuff. here's some stuff i'd like to do or look into:

1. in the old days, the telephone was considered a huge innovation. the world would end, some said. now, with the trib, p-d, and southern all bankrupt or almost, it seems we'll lose our newspapers. could be trouble- or is it?
2. in the old days, when i googled my name, i got only me and a couple of other guys scattered around the country. but now they've put a bunch of google books up, some especially about the 1600's when my namesake ancestor was around. who was he? what was he like? i'd like to know.
3. the world sits around while gaza burns. are we that used to it? somebody should act for peace...how?
4. bicycles need repaired; i promised my son room in the garage, for when he brings the drum set back...
5. would like to plant fruit trees and a garden...dream on...