I think I'm going to hit the couch

Man. My throat hurts a lot today and I've got a weird, barking cough. And because this is my life we're discussing here I also have no less than five major things on my schedule today not including pre-school/school/carpool and the regular feeding/care of my children.

So today's a really convenient day to feel craptastic.

But after the baby I was watching left this morning I realized I had a little bit of time before I needed to go anywhere. I have a choice to either hunker down on the couch and watch PBS with the kids or I can keep pushing myself and get the beds made and the laundry folded.

I don't know when this happened, but over the past couple of years I've slowly become a person who just can't sit still. If I know there's something out there waiting to be done (laundry, dishes, floors needing to be swept or vacuumed, children's rooms to be reassembled, etc., etc.) I just can't stop until it's done. And if I do sit down it's all I can think about!

As a result of this my house is generally pretty clean and tidy - something I've had to work at for awhile. But also as a result of this I'm pretty good at saying, "Just a second, honey. Let me finish [insert task here] first." And guess what? The tasks are never, ever ending. I have to wonder how many books, deep conversations or cuddle sessions I've missed out on in those moments. But really I don't want to think about it because it would make me sad.

So maybe my word or theme for this year is going to be BALANCE.

And these are the cats who are going to help me achieve it.

 

And look at this! I blinked and Cameron went from

THIS... (circa Jan. 2005)

TO THIS...

(and I'm not really sure how it happened)

So here's to 2011. The year of not missing out on the good stuff.