Catching up

Yeeks, just when I thought May couldn't get crazier, it did. Baseball, soccer, swimming, grandparents, school, extra work shifts, a trip to Denver and Ben's birthday party all kept me from blogging, or any writing at all. There's so much to catch up on ...

I survived another round of layoffs at the newspaper. I wasn't too worried anyway -- as a part-timer who can perform a variety of jobs, I am incredibly cost-efficient, and besides we wouldn't be losing that much salary if I was laid off -- but I didn't want to go out like that. And I didn't, but I feel bad for the co-workers who lost their jobs, as well as those still working under a reorganized but not necessarily improved newsroom structure.

Lori and I went to Denver last week for our first trip without the kids since we had them. The three-day, two-night excursion was wonderful. We ate at restaurants not worrying if they had a kids menu. We explored a great bookstore and took our time browsing. We saw a Rockies game. We wandered downtown Denver. We relaxed, And we were gone just long enough to feel like we got a break without missing the boys too much.

We got back for Colorado and the fun really began: Ben's birthday party. We had a day to organize it. Oh, we had three soccer games Saturday, too. But we managed to throw a fun party with an Amazing Race theme (with a race with various tasks around the block). We got to Saturday night with a sense of "Finally!"

But wait, the chaos begins again. Swim practice. Comp soccer tryouts. A much-needed hike for the dog. At least I had time to write today.

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