Vamp O'Daddy 2008

Happy St. Patty's day to one and all! Sorry it's been quiet around these parts, but things have been -- well, they have been.

VB continues to do well, and has adjusted nicely to attending 2 different "schools" -- one his normal daycare, and the other the special education program at our local school district. What we felt was a gargantuan transition, full of unknown and anxiety, has of course proven to be the highlight of his week -- because he gets to take a bus between the programs. While the idea originally filled us with dread, Vampmommy's keen ability to stalk the bus gave us the assurance we needed to know he'd be safe and taken care of -- particularly when the bus driver reported being followed by someone with a camera to the school.

Meanwhile, VM continues her quest for a new job. There have been a couple of leads and a promising interview, but for now we wait with fingers crossed -- while anxious Sundays pass without a whole slew of new opportunities appearing in the paper. All I can say is, thank goodness for family -- and being able to deduct medical expenses from one's taxes. These have kept a roof over our heads for the moment.

I, however, have a job -- and I think it is taking me to the brink of insanity. Finding your "life's calling" is a gift, and I count myself lucky that I am not in some mind-numbing quest to line the pockets of "the man". However, the trade-off is that my work requires insane hours, with long periods of begging people for money to continue doing the work -- periods where I could actually be doing "said work" if I wasn't having to strategize about the next grant or fundraising scheme. Thankfully I have a great staff and colleagues that keep the fire's roaring, but still...

I have had some respite from the madness in the form of The Manny, who came to stay for a few days in what turned out to be a fest of music-listening, Candlepin Bowling and a tour of the region's finest Asian cuisine. However, while I think I can go a few months without anything containing MSG or duck sauce, a few hours back at work left me already longing for more time away.

When I was in graduate school, my thesis professor would live at a monastery for two weeks out of the year so she could reflect, read her students final products and do her own writing. While monastic life doesn't immediately attract me, the idea of the quiet and solitude does. I think that was what I was hoping for during my December, before VB's seizure's got in the way. Given the level of chaos we've been through in the past year and a half, and the normal state of chaos that comes with life, an afternoon of eating teriyaki beef sticks while listening to A Taste of Honey just isn't doing the trick -- no matter how enchanting.