Q: "Where Have You Been?" A: "Nowhere."

So, in the midst of working with four different schedules, I stopped writing. What a silly thing to do! People have been asking where I've disappeared to, and the answer is nowhere. I've just been tangled up in the chaos of these schedules. My husband is a globetrotter, so there's one schedule. My daughter is in kindergarten, and the school is rigorous with its messages and timetable. My son's daycare schedule? Completely forgotten. Bless the second kid's heart... Mom's got no clue what's needed for his class!

And then there's my own schedule. My department at work offered a reduced work schedule. It happened the same week I wrote my last post. Funny thing is, you'd think I'd have more time to write. But what did I do? I filled the "extra" time with activities, mostly for the kids. Swim classes and gymnastics. I eventually moved swim classes back to the weekends because, surprise, it doesn’t matter if I have 2 extra hours a day, getting both kids to swim classes on different days is bonkers. My brain can't handle it!

And the weather down South has decided to go all chilly on us. What does that mean for me? Well, in the past two weeks, I've had the 24-hour stomach bug and now what seems to be the onset of bronchitis. Just for fun, throw in an unplanned root canal two days after the bug left the building, and it's been a wild ride. Thankfully, I'm the only one in the house who's feeling like a zombie.

And time? It's just slipped away like a bar of soap. I've swapped out the Halloween decorations for Fall/Thanksgiving ones. The coats and sweaters have been liberated from storage. I freed up 10 hours a week on my work schedule, yet it feels like I still can't catch a break. Maybe that's the big revelation?! It really doesn't matter how much time you save. When you have kids, the clock just keeps ticking, and you're always playing catch-up.

--Amber