Tonight I was asked I ever intended to blog again. As this is not the first time I've been asked in the last several weeks, I feel compelled to dust off the old keyboard and reconnect.
The answer, of course, is yes. Yes, I miss my Mama Duck musings, yes I'll get back to it. Sometime. I was reminded of one of my favorite posts ever from a friend whose blog I used to follow religiously. She wrote a post outlining all the things in her life that she neglected--the top of the list being her blog. Not long after that (to my everlasting dismay) she stopped blogging altogether. So, at the risk of following in her footsteps, I am shamelessly going to snag her idea. Because my list of things I neglect is every bit as long (likely longer).
So, the top of the list, of course, is this blog. I enjoy it, it connects me to the duck I used to be, and I am glad to have some documentation of our lives for my little ducks. But, when push comes to shove and the lice come to a head (so to speak), it has to give.
Scrapbooks. I'm still holding onto the stickers and fancy borders for my wedding book. Chad and I will celebrate 10 years in February.
My eyebrows (this, I admit, I stole directly from my friend--but please, werewolf queen that I am--it is completely appropriate). If not for the date with my tweezers last weekend (made by the tweezers, which finally said, "Lady, seriously. We either do this or I'm hiding again for 6 months") I might seriously have achieved a unibrow.
Most housework. Okay, all housework. If it weren't for my sweet cleaning lady, Darlene, and her courageous return week after week, as well as my sporadic, but remarkably thorough cleaning husband we would seriously be living in a filth I shudder to imagine. I live by the motto "A clean house is a wasted life," and stick to the old management axiom "staff (or outsource) your weaknesses."
Physical fitness. Although I did make it to the gym for the first time in several weeks this morning. In keeping with my sporadic attendance, however, I forgot a towel, a comb, and hairspray. It was a creative hair day in the locker room today, I assure you.
My children. Okay, not really, but sometimes. A little bit. Take for example tonight--we came home from swimming lessons and Claire refused to change. Or even put on a sweatshirt. Please note the date and our latitude. It was a bit of a chilly evening to be running around in only a swimsuit. But I'm just not the kind of mom who insists on warm clothes. I figure if its not cold enough to bother you, its not cold enough to bother me. I was a wee bit abashed to find her playing with her little neighborhood friend whose mom I once heard described as "over protective." The little friend, of course, was wearing sneakers, blue jeans, and a sweatshirt. And her mom was hovering nearby, having promised to walk her daughter around the block. Her daughter is 2 years older than Claire. Claire has walked around the block (barefoot. in a swimsuit. In late September) by herself for going on two summers now. See? Neglect.
My mail. It can typically be found in piles, all over my kitchen and Chad's office, overflowing the tidy "in boxes" I have stashed here and there in sporadic attempts at better organization.
The newspaper. I WANT to read it. I swear I do. But it just keeps coming and coming. It never lets up, never lets me catch up, and, avid reader that I am, I always struggle to just breeze through it, skimming an article here and there. I have this need to try and read every dang word. It does not lend itself to a very consistent reading. Instead--more neglect.
Most of my friends. Sad, but true. Were it not for facebook, texting, and lunchtime at work I would likely lose all contact with anyone I hadn't either given birth to, was paying to educate or babysit for someone I had given birth to, or was depending upon for my monthly salary.
Flossing. All mouths in my care. Please see earlier post on this subject.
Spa days. A tragic thing to have to neglect, but, sadly--it is always the first thing to go. So much the first that I don't think I've ever even had a single one. *Sigh*
My toenails (at least from October to June).
This list, of course, could go on and on and on, but as I type, I am neglecting my dinner making responsibilities and since I took the pizza option on Monday (stupid stupid stupid--you don't play the pizza card on the first day of the week!!), I must get to it.
But, I assure you, devoted readers who've waited so patiently. I'm back. My little duck stories are starting to stack up and between that and the newspapers, if I ever hope to dig back out, I better get cracking.
