So I was rushing between seminars today, feeling  on the surface sort of elated, but also mostly exhausted, overwhelmed, inadequate, and anxious, and I thought to myself, that is a strange cocktail of emotion to add up to elation. Wherein lies the alchemy?
      I realized that this Master's program, while challenging and delightful in many ways, is only part of it, that the real amazement comes out of the wider context of having my kids call me every day, having my husband be the glue to hold everything together while I am gone, and knowing that, when I get back in a week, they will have missed me like crazy but they will be fine.

independence

I listened to my iPod today. I never, ever listen to my iPod. Having things in my ears means I cannot hear when my children are trying to kill each other or the housepets.

Being in a different state also means I cannot hear them, so I might as well listen to my iPod.