The Hazard Chronicles

I don't usually work on Mondays, and they have kind of become my "selfish day," when I can do whatever I want whenever I want and not have to run plans by anyone else. Well, yesterday (Monday) was Memorial Day so everyone else had the day off too, and it kind of messed with me. Summer vacation is just around the corner. We have a lot of competing interests and desires in our family, and I think we're going to have to figure some things out. That should be interesting.

We didn't go on any big road trips or anything for the long weekend, but we did go camping at a new place that was absolutely gorgeous. We did some hikes, watched some sunsets, and did a lot of play around the campsite. It was nice. At home we got some things done around the yard- we finished our garden and I finally cleaned off the workbench in the garage. The kids' rooms are pretty much all done with new paint and furniture. We got our carpets cleaned and the lawn fertilized. We also went up to the Wallace house for an afternoon where we finally finished our basement project of installing a ceiling. Soon we will be starting the conversion of the attic into a bonus room which sounds super daunting, but with no deadlines or anything it's more manageable.

It's funny how we get used to things. A few months ago we were skiing every weekend, often times going on long road trips and staying in hotels. It's not uncommon for us to do the same with climbing trips, backpacking trips, long bike rides, or just spending time in new cities or with extended family. But whatever we are doing, it often feels like we were living two parallel lives- the weekday life of school, work, programs, and schedules, which ends at roughly 5:00pm on Friday when the "weekday us" goes to sleep. The "weekend us" then wakes up and does all the things, is carefree and adventurous, and often doesn't go bed until the wee hours of the night before starting the cycle all over again. It is actually very nice- a situation where I personally feel like I can sort of have my cake and eat it too, lifestyle wise.

But there is a downside, because if you read the second paragraph it actually talks about a lot of things we did this weekend. By most accounts it was a good, fun, productive weekend. But there was never really a day when the "weekday self" got to rest. We had a lot of home projects. We had kid and friend schedules to manage. And even though we had significant time to just relax, it wasn't all in a big block. As a result, it feels like something was missing about the week that I can't exactly put my finger on. But I think that as we come into summer, and especially as kids get older with increased focus on extracurriculars, friends, and summer jobs, that things might be changing for our family and we (I?) will have to adapt. I'm sure that whatever that time brings, it will be great, but a part of me just wants to hang on to what we have for as long as possible.

Anyway- here are some pictures of our week.

Have a good week!

We got together at the invitation of some friends to do a sushi night. I have never done anything like this and it was super fun. There was a pro chef guy showing us how to do it and besides the good company, the food was excellent. Great night.

We went to see "Beauty and the Beast." Though most of us went, this photo of Addy and her friend who was a part of the cast will have to represent the night.

Just a nice photo out of an upstairs window at Wallace. It was a pretty wet day.

This was kind of a cool little hike. It's not really a cave because it doesn't go back super far- maybe 100 feet- more of a big room with a little entrance. A cavern? I dunno. Pretty neat though.