Mommy Life: My life - full speed ahead, but some CyberBumps

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June 18, 2008 10:13 AM

My life - full speed ahead, but some CyberBumps

While my life is hurtling past at the speed of - well, at the speed of life - my CyberLife has slowed to a crawl. Maybe this sounds weird, but since you all are an important part of my life, this is very disturbing. It's like being sick and watching life go by without you -

which come to think of I just got over.

To sum up the last month: I went to Kansas on assignment, came home and got sick (still writing and getting published an important piece on inclusion), had the deadline for my Kansas article bumped up from July 1 to June 16. Worked like crazy to get it done, enduring incredible weather patterns with lightning, thunder and hail storms taking out our power and crippling our modem, finally permanently.

Monday I was just putting the final touches on my 3000 word article, watching the next storm come up and worrying that I'd better send it almost-finished to my editor in case we lost our Internet service again - when my editor called to tell me that the article is probably going to be killed because of some unforeseen legal developments standing in the way.

The scheduled issue is going to press in the next couple days and they just didn't have time to resolve the matter. Unfortunately, it's also a time-sensitive issue so the article needs to get out before the end of July to have any impact.

I'm sorry I can't explain more right now - but I will as soon as I can. I will tell all here at least - but right now we're shopping for another publication without the same legal constraints that might be interested in running my piece.

If worse comes to worse, I'll publish it here. I'm being paid for my work anyway, so that's not the issue. I just want to see this story brought to light.

Anyway, I was looking forward to getting back to blogging full throttle yesterday - which was my kids' last day of school - but it turned out my morning was full of appointments and in the afternoon I learned from our ISP's tech person that our modem is completely fried. Our modem is apparently in a satellite on the edge of our roof which points to our teensy-tiny server in the village of Waterford. I think it just couldn't take the incredible lightning we've been experiencing on the hill we live on. It has been a pretty spectacular show many days around 4:00 as the sky turns black and the fireworks begin.

I gave up, picked up the kids from their last day of school and we went to see Kung Fu Panda - which I would have skipped except Rotten Tomatoes gave it an 87%. It was pretty amusing. Not deep, and a little too much action for me but it was a harmless way to spend a few hours. Way too scary for little kids, though - in my opinion. I still don't think it's good for kids to be seeing all those swiftly-moving images of violence, even if they're cartoon.

Today there is nothing on my calendar, but since the kids are home I won't be spending too much time online. I do have an update from Melissa Barton to publish and a couple product reviews.

Tomorrow Sophia graduates from high school. Since she is Number Seven, this is a low-key production - but she prefers it that way anyway. Because it's a couple boring hours in the sun on bleachers, I have a babysitter for the little kids. Jonny had a choice and I think because the babysitter is gorgeous he chose to stay at home. So Tripp, Zach, Sophia, Maddy and I will go out to lunch. We seldom go out to eat, so that will be a real treat.

Friday Maddy is being confirmed in the Catholic Church at a noon Mass. She has not done this under pressure from us, but after studying and asking a lot of questions on her own. Funny, like Tripp and one of my other kids who is on the verge of announcing his conversion, she says she thinks she was always Catholic at heart. I see her changing in the same ways I feel myself changing – kinder, gentler, more surrendered and at peace.

Saturday night we have tickets to see Gilbert and Sullivan's The Gondoliers at Wolf Trap - which is very fortunate because Loudoun Valley is planning to stage The Gondoliers next year and Jonny and Maddy will be auditioning for it. While Jonny chose Beautiful Babysitter over graduation, he did not choose her over a night at the theater :) so it will be the six of us.

Sunday I drive 10 hours to take Jonny, Jesse, Daniel and Justin down to Easter Seals Camp for six days. This is a wonderful, wonderful place they went to three years ago and where I stayed with them for Family Camp two years ago. Last year we couldn't fit it in, but this year the boys got a grant from a local foundation to go. We are so grateful for this opportunity.

Sophia starts her summer job Monday, directing for Growing Stage. Zach is already working – quite happily and productively – as an intern for a software company. Ben is away in North Carolina for the summer at a Christian growth center. So Maddy and I will be home alone next week – except I think Maddy’s best friend who’s been living in China for the past year will be home for a visit.

All by way of saying that I plan to blog a lot next week. I’ll still be blogging a little each day before then. But next week I’ll be catching up on emails and some really big things I need to share.

Oh, by the way, I set up a Facebook page because I decided it was the best way to stay in touch with my kids :)

Love,