A) I lost weight + B) I’m starting a new job = C) I had to get a new wardrobe

One might think shopping for a new wardrobe would be fun, exciting, invigorating even. But, it’s not and here’s why.

• the fashion folks make so many different varieties of cuts and styles that navigating your local retailer is a daunting and tiring task; try on “sits just below the waist” in boot cut, straight leg (which is never truly completely straight leg), trouser, flare like it came off the set of Grease (sure, they don’t call it that), classic fit, natural fit, modern fit, traditional fit, and so on
• after 5.5 years of your closet staple being comprised of $8 to 10 dollar Target t-shirts (which there is nothing wrong with, mind you), the sticker shock that comes from investing in a more substantial wardrobe is… as you would expect, shocking; so after your initial perusal through your local department store, trying a few lower priced options on, and leaving empty-handed, you then end up returning for round two after realizing you need to increase your shopping budget
• after moderate success, you realize you have all tops and no bottoms, requiring more trips to more stores to try on more styles/cuts/fits of pants – your worst nightmare. On the bright side, you repeatedly try on the size you think you wear, only to find you actually wear one-size down. It’s about time there is a silver lining in this process.
• Now, to focus on shoes. Your friends tell you to branch out and try different styles. Flats? those are so yesterday. Try a wedge! (I’m thinking, “wedge”? Isn’t that a salad?) Nevertheless, shoes found. A wedge pair, even. Wore them today and the verdict: I LOVE THEM.
• Now, to focus on the pile of new clothes, still with tags on them, piled up on your always-up ironing board. Sort and read labels. Some are easy to care for, but some are fussy. I don’t like fussy laundry. Alas, I wash, partly dry and hang. Sweaters? Delicate cycle? Lay flat to dry? We’ll just bypass wash-before-you-wear altogether for these so I can delay their fussy nature.
• Tags removed, laundry done, clothes ironed and hung…where? Oh, there’s the closet half-filled with clothes I don’t wear or haven’t worn in years. Literally. (Sigh) Remove, examine, sometimes try on, fold, form another new pile which will take up real estate on the always-up ironing board.
• First day of work? What to wear? Not the hum-drum decision you’d normally anticipate. Instead, the wow, look at all these new clothes. Which of them am I going to wear!

 ³His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

 ⁵For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. ⁸For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

Jeremiah 9:23 -24

 ²³ This is what the LORD says:
       “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
       or the strong man boast of his strength
       or the rich man boast of his riches,

 ²⁴ but let him who boasts boast about this:
       that he understands and knows me,
       that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
       justice and righteousness on earth,
       for in these I delight,”
       declares the LORD.

For the past two years, I can count on one hand the number of times Andrew has packed. This year, he’s packed twice, and it is only the 5th day of school. Josh has also packed twice in his 3 days of school. For Josh I am little more lienient due to him being a slow eater. So time not spent in line getting his food is time saved for him to eat.

Nevertheless, I am quickly growing to loathe this entire process:

• Buying extra foods to have on hand for them to pack.
• Negotiating what they can/can’t take. (Peanut butter is obviously out due to Andrew’s allergy. He only likes ham. Not cheese, not turkey. For Josh, I have to steer him away from eating cheese for lunch every single day.) (And I should note, this falls within a couple of hours of having just gone through the dinner routine where most of the time they complain about the food served them, so adding one more stress on that already thread-bare nerve of mine is risky.)
• Making their lunches prior to the bedtime routine (so, cook dinner, clean up, help with homework, have a small break of free time, then pack lunches, give baths, get them in bed – it seems nonstop).
• Assembling their lunches in the morning after breakfast (gathering cold items from fridge, get their ice pack and put everything together and put it by their back pack, then go help them get ready for school)

$2.50 seems a small price to pay to offset this extra work; Where most parents want to save money and only allow them to buy once a week, for example, I may very well fall on the other end of that spectrum, allowing them to pack only once a week.

Either way, though I cannot control what they actually consume of either their bought or packed lunch. Hunger will have to be their guide.

We were out of town over the weekend visiting Bob’s family. But back to the week we go with Monday morning (I hit snooze a few too many times). Shopping plus lunch with a friend, and repeat tomorrow, different friend.

I admit my anxiety level was higher today than it was on Josh’s first day of school (today was his second day due to staggered start for kindergarteners). The fact that while in line for the bus, he stepped one step over to me to hug my leg, only amplified my feelings. While sadness overlooked my morning, I have to remind myself the same advice I would give him were we having an actual conversation about his adjustment to kindergarten: Let’s just take it one day, or even one hour at a time.

They will be home in a few short minutes.

I enjoyed a 2nd breakfast with a friend who was then kind enough to spend the lion’s share of the day with me shopping for clothes.

Andrew was a responsible big brother, standing in the hall watching to see Josh make it two doors down to his kindergarten class.

Josh commented that “it is SO tiring there,” but loved riding the bus and seemed to enjoy his day. Andrew enjoyed music. Josh enjoyed a tour of the principal’s office (with his class on a tour or scavenger hunt of some sort.) Josh enjoyed his first time in gym.

A good day.  And a good day to have behind us.

To enjoy Andrew & Josh, to soak them up in all their uniqueness and value them, their thoughts, and their personalities.

We are dining out for lunch to celebrate the end of summer/start of school. And with my new job around the corner, I’m excitedly anticipating greeting them in the afternoons when we both get home from our days and learning all about their new experiences. In fact, I think today’s thought will become my ongoing daily thought of the day.

Big changes are happening in the next few weeks. The kids return to school in two days! I’m excited for them, and the new experiences they’ll have and all that they will learn. Josh will be learning to read. Andrew will be learning cursive writing, and that’s just the tip of the iceburg.

In two weeks, I’ll be starting a new job. A job. Yikes. I’ve not worked in 5 1/2 years. That is a long hiatus. As a software developer, I’m more than a little rusty. So I’ve been trying to brush up on my skills in order to not feel so ill-prepared day 1 that I feel like I just stepped out of college. (No offense if you have just stepped out of college… it’s a fun, exciting time, too. Really!)

While all of these changes will bring adjustments to our home and house management, they are exciting changes, which brings me full circle to… I feel blessed, content, thankful, grounded, and loved.

I have usual household chores still waiting for me, with laundry topping the list. I have multiple resources online and books staring at me here, to review and study up on before returning to work in September.

I have a grocery list and menu to plan for the next week starting with tonight.

In other news we officially have a baby pumpkin growing, which I helped pollinate (couldn’t take a chance that bees would do it). We had more than this one, but they didn’t make it. And we have more starting to form, so we’ll try to keep an eye on them and help mother-nature along come pollination time.

We also, to our surpise have a baby watermelon. We’d given up hope on this vine, that although has been growing, took a late start in doing so. I’m not holding my breath for it to mature and give us an actual watermelon we can eat. But we’ll enjoy watching it grow for now.

The coffee is done brewing. If you’ll excuse me now…

Appointments to keep. Errands to Run. Two kids in tow. “Don’t get loud in the back seat. It distracts me and I’m trying to drive.” (Repeat a few times.) “I SAID, DON”T BE LOUD!” Then I ramble something about safety and don’t want to wreck, and blah blah blah. I’m not sure they heard me. I mean, oh they HEARD me. But I’m not sure they listened to the words as much as my volume.

This seems to be how yesterday went. It was ok enough, and yes, I’m focusing on the negative. Because I just wish I could have one day (okay, several days once in a while) where I feel I can relax and enjoy my kids, not having to wear the mom hat as much, but just wear the family hat and be together.

Like,…

• allocating space for their homework to be “parked” somewhere visible but not on the kitchen table. I cleared the top shelf of their art shelf and made a pile for each of them.
• hanging a strip of hooks at their level to hold their book bags. This way they don’t need my help unzipping, filling, and zipping.

Ok, that’s all I have done so far, but the idea is a pleasing one, and has me seeking out other ways to put them in more control of their school lives. We can still instruct and coach, but don’t have to be as hands on.

This year’s start of school is going to be doubly challening, because not only am I getting both kids up and ready for school, I’m also returning to work, part-time (more about this soon). While my hours will truly be part-time, and while I’ll still be getting them on and off the bus, my planning of meals and other home duties are going to need a little revamping. So any way I can free myself up, turning their responsiblities more and more over to them, the better.