If I had a memory...

...My family would have traditions. Today is the last day of school for the two biggest flies and Fly 3 had her last day yesterday, so I was trying to think of something special to do after school. We have soccer tonight, so it couldn't be anything too elaborate, but I wanted to do something fun. We have already set aside a big bag of school papers, etc. to burn as an end of school bonfire, but we don't have time for that tonight either. It occurred to me to wonder what - if anything - I had done in the past. I mean, we have had kids in school for six years. Surely I have marked the end of school in some way? But no, no recollection whatsoever. This is my only - well, one of my very few - weakness as a mother. I have a poor memory. Maybe not poor, inconsistent would be more accurate. I really need to write things down in order to remember them. But I do pretty well at remembering the minutiae of my family's life, thus using my brain cells up and crowding out more important things like happy family memories.

I read posts on traditions from mothers like Chris at Notes from the Trenches, and Mary at Owlhaven, and I feel quite inadequate. It's not that I lack ideas, or even the motivation, I just simply don't remember what we do from year to year. Of course we have SOME traditions, but it seems odd that I can't recall things like previous last days of school.

Oh well, maybe this blog will help me remember. I'll at least have a place to look up what I did the prior year.

This year's solution? An ice cream cone. Seemed to be a hit.

A little shaky

Just felt a tremor here from an earthquake several hundred miles away. Very strange. It' s a bit of a shaky day around here anyway. Today was to be Fly # 3's graduation from kindergarten. Unfortunately, she woke around midnight vomiting and running a high fever. Her sister woke up this morning with the fever. So...I have two kids home with me on a day that was to be spent doing work, errands and exercising. Managed to squeeze in a quick walk this morning and have accomplished a few things on my to do list. Loving listening to the girls play Wii baseball. Apparently my Mii looks old. Among other things. Having some friends in for coffee tomorrow, think I will make this http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/06/the-best-coffee-cake-ever/. I think there is a way to shortcut that link, but I don't know it yet!

Why "The Flyleaf"?

"Flyleaf n. a blank leaf at the beginning or end of a book."

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language, 1987



Why "The Flyleaf" you ask? It all comes down to this ongoing fantasy I have had for years, in which I own a quaint little bookshop in a charming Victorian building on a cobblestone street in some lovely city somewhere. I spend my days running my little store, reading, surrounded by the books I love. And once I close this charming little store, I go home to my beautiful cottage on the nearby lake (within walking distance, ideally) where I spend my evenings and off time writing bestselling novels. Not JUST novels, critically acclaimed bestsellers. Modern literary masterpieces. Generally, somewhere in the background there is a handsome husband and some charming little children, all far too absorbed in their own books to interfere with the creation of literary masterpieces. The charming little store is, of course, called The Flyleaf. There are a number of problems with this scenario, not least of which is the unlikely combination of a cobblestone street in a lakefront village.


Now comes the reality. I spend my days caring for my family and doing some part-time consulting work. My office is in my living room, which is nice enough, but definitely not Victorian. It overlooks a gravel road, not a cobblestone street. There is no lake, unless you count the swimming pool. There is a weed-choked pasture, however. I have yet to write the modern literary masterpiece, largely due to the demands of my handsome husband (that part is real) and my charming little children, none of whom are that absorbed in their own books. This is only partially because some of them can't read yet. They are significantly more demanding than my fantasy family. They are loud, at times (well, often) obnoxious, and expect to be fed, watered, and clothed on a regular basis. Yes, this goes for my husband too. Their needs are endless. They buzz around me like flies. See, I do have a point.


So The Flyleaf represents both: the fantasy and the reality. The Victorian bookstore and literary masterpieces replaced by the image of myself as Mama Fly, attempting over and over to land on a pleasant green leaf, only to be shooed away by the demands of one little fly or another.

Is it really this easy?

I think I just created a blog. I say I think so because it seems too easy. I've been thinking of it for years, and kept putting it off as being too much work, and now it seems it really is that easy.



My reasons for writing are many: writing has always been my thing, the talent others have commented on over the years, something I do well. But now that I don't use that skill at work anymore, I worry that I will losethe ability to form coherent sentences. Don't laugh, this has happened to my verbal communication skills already. No reason writing shouldn't be affected too.



Also, I would like to chronicle various things that are happening in my life - the antics of my children, my attempts to become more healthy, including starting to run. Can you believe that? Several months ago someone asked me if I ran and my sister in law howled, answering "she wouldn't run if someone was chasing her with a gun". And I agreed. But now...I feel the need to do something drastic in terms of my physical fitness and running is certainly that.



I need to think more about my next post. It is 11:00 pm and I have had a long day.