I’m in the glider, a little after noon, on M’s 40th birthday. T is watching tv, waiting for one of his friends to arrive. S and N are upstairs with one of S’s friends. I’m not sure what they’re doing. M is off shopping.

So far M’s birthday is going well. I’m tired, exhausted, even, as I was awake on and off from 3 or so because I wanted to make sure I rose early enough to set up the kitchen (see picture below) with M’s present. I needn’t have worried. She didn’t wake until seven. M liked the presents, at least, so getting up early, even earlier than usual, was worth it. We watched last night’s Dollhouse, M took the boys swimming, and I knocked out an hour on the elliptical while watching the Christmas episode from Gossip Girls’ first season. I needed the workout, too, as I’ve been eating M and M’s and ice cream all morning. After a quick shower I made tofu and vegetables for lunch and caught the start of UCLA/Villanova. S’s friend’s mom just called…he’s getting picked up soon. I don’t like interacting with other kids’ parents, but I guess it’s inevitable. Oh well.

I hit a heavy exhaustion wall Thursday. I had planned on working through some DPI proposals but didn’t have the energy. Instead of writing I slept, read (at the coffee shop, even), and cleaned. Friday was better. Through the morning I cleaned up my email, organized my schedules, and after lunch I observed a student teach a Science lesson at a small Catholic grade school just outside of Milwaukee. She did really well.

Maybe later I’ll sneak back to the coffee shop. Maybe I’ll wait until tomorrow. We’ll see. The sun is out.