Home Again

One of the perks that Eli and I both looked forward to when thinking of my stay-at-home status is the fact that I can take trips to Morehead without having to shuffle schedules or negotiate time off. The first real opportunity to take advantage of this wonderful flexibility was meant to be a week-long trip in mid-July that would bookend my 10-year high school reunion. Unfortunately, my horrible timing and broken ankle killed that trip. I was more than a little bummed about this, so when Dr. Maynard gave me the all-clear to drive again on the 13th, I immediately began discussing with Eli a potential trip to Eastern Kentucky. We agreed we could make it work, so Will and I will be taking our first one-on-one road trip to the Hardwood Capital of the World on August 30th to stay for just over a week.

The planning for a trip like this with an almost 11 month-old is similar to that of a minor invasion. Discipline, strategy and luck all play important roles. I have already started a master packing list (in excel, with columns to check off items as they are packed) as well as a secondary list of clothing so I don't pack too much for either of us. There is also a list of food that will ultimately include a menu for Will covering the entire week since he is not yet eating straight table food and I still make and freeze all his foods. Needless to say the list is long. My aunt and uncle will certainly feel like we have invaded, and they will not be wrong.

Despite the stress I feel when I think of all the things I am going to be handling on my own for 8 days, I am extremely excited to go to Morehead for such a long stretch of time. Most of our trips to Kentucky are split between both families, which always makes everything seem rushed. Also, I still think of Morehead as home. I realized not long ago that I have not actually lived in Morehead for 10 years (if you exclude summers home from college) but I still refer to it as home in my mind and when talking to others. I wonder when that will finally change?

I am looking forward to spending time with family and friends, going to Park Lake to swim with the little man, and going to the wedding of a high school girlfriend. I would love to visit with any of my dear readers that are still in the Morehead area, so message me or give me a call and we can plan to meet up. In the meantime I will continue to fine-tune the invasion plan and collect supplies.

Confession

I have a confession to make, and I know it is truly going to shock you. I have thought long and hard about making this public, and I have decided that I must be honest. I know that none of you faithful readers would ever guess this about me, so prepare yourselves. I have an unhealthy need for... your comments. There. I said it. For better or worse the truth is revealed. I know I started this blog with all this great talk about how it was truly for me, letters to myself that I can look back on and remember old times fondly, and blah, Blah, BLAH!!!! Who are we kidding here? I crave your feedback like a kid craves Pixie Sticks. When I post a new blog I check back on it several times THAT DAY with no other hope in my heart than to see that there are comments from my readers. I am always disappointed when there is nothing new for me to see. For the record I am the same way about posting notes and status messages on Facebook. I love the fact that when you log in you get a little red flag that tells you that someone thought you were cool enough/important enough to respond to something you had to say. I find the thumbs up to be somewhat less satisfying, but I will absolutely take what I can get.

I think any blogger, were they being completely honest, would admit that they are not just writing for themselves. I am sure that even the most successful bloggers who have thousands and thousands of readers don't necessarily take time to read every comment, but I feel certain they poll at least a few to see what the consensus about the piece was (or they pay someone else to do it since they are probably making BANK from all the advertising money.) The point is to share thoughts, and while I can acknowledge that there are some out there for whom comments are NOT the driving force, if sharing and feedback wasn't at least a factor, who would publish what they think on the web? A blog without feedback is a diary, which has its place, but not on the web.

So I am making this confession for one reason. To shamelessly beg you, dear readers, to throw me a bone here. I understand you are busy, and that you don't necessarily care about what I am writing, well, most of the time. But do a girl a favor and once in a while leave me a thought. Honestly, it doesn't even HAVE to be about what I have written, though that would obviously be nice. I have no pride here. I need your comments. I need them here, and if we happen to be facebook friends, I need them there too. I know I am a sad, attention-starved creature, but can you honestly say you are surprised?

No Internet

I want to make it clear that while my own slacker tendencies did contribute to the last span between posts, the primary reason I have been absent was lack of home internet service. The last two weeks I have been a disconnected person in a connected world. I knew that I used the internet frequently on a day-to-day basis, but until this cold turkey cut-off from the world wide web, I had no idea what an internet junkie I truly am. I suppose it makes sense. I spend my day with a charming little guy with a high cute factor but not much yet in verbal skills. I am not well-acquainted with many people in the community, and my schedule is somewhat restricted by said charming little guy's schedule. My friends and family all live a sizable distance from me. Given all these factors it is no wonder that the internet is my social (and intellectual for better or worse) lifeline.

I have to say that I find myself very lucky to have such a lifeline. I know my situation would be much lonelier if I was a stay-at-home mom in the pre-internet world. I can check in with friends regularly, and keep up with old school friends that time and circumstances might have otherwise kept me from. I speak with family regularly on the phone, but more and more I can communicate with them online as well. I know many people choose to retreat from the world to live in an internet-only world, but I find that having this connection pulls me out of the little world within the walls of my house and into the bigger picture. I love getting out with Will and visiting with people and going places, but I also love sitting here in the quiet and visiting with people from the comfort of my recliner.

So can you tell I have been without internet for a few weeks? I don't think I have sung such high praises for anything on this blog since my contemplation of the perfect glazed donut. Anyway, it is time for me to go do very important things with my remaining quiet time of the day- things like checking facebook and google reader and all my much-loved and long-missed favorite websites. More to come soon!