Disequilibrium, vast beasts and the property market.

In early childhood, transitions between stages of development are often characterized as 'disequilibrium'.  The theory goes that children are pleasant and biddable when they have mastered a developmental stage but as they start to topple into the next stage they become wild, mean and full of huge lashing emotions  (I envision these as the wild snakes of the Medusa presenting as a corona around the child's head).

So, I think I am in disequilibrium.

Frost Masters Magic
Frost isn't.  He is in the developmental stage called Obsession with Magic the Gathering.  He plays the card game at every opportunity.  Alex is playing it too.  Josh is playing it too.  Wren is playing it.  I was playing it but as they all perfected and advanced the strategy and deck construction my interest degraded into infantile stabs with pretty cards and big creatures.


Wren has a greater lexicon of Magic than do I.


Wren is farming zombies

Wren is pretty stable in his desire to play Zombie Farm on the iPad.  He also likes to run around in the garden as spring comes, wrestle big boys and draw.  He has a nasty habit of nagging and whining but I feel it is really my fault because I am now working and doing things other than playing "pigs in the maze" or "Pigs in the Zombie Forest" all day as we were used to in the past.

"YOU BE A CROCODILE AND TRY TO  BITE MY FEET!"

Look at the big pouting lip when I disappoint

Wren is growing increasingly tall and skinny

Wren climbs across a bridge over a river of crocodiles ( near Ravenna)

I am a Zombie

Okay, so raise your hand if you are a mother and have wondered whether you are getting early onset dementia or Alzheimer's?   I'm not joking!  I just can't seem to remember recent things with any clarity.

This evening, I caught Joshua saying things slowly and telling me dumb and self-evident things.  I accused him of treating me like the Aged-Infirm (the age difference between us makes this a valid concern) but he said he was just pulling my leg because I told him to click the completed sales button to see completed sales on Ebay.   Apparently, implying he is stupid leads him to imply I am stupid in retaliation but hit a nerve.

I started to think that maybe the reason I find life overly full is because I am dementia'ed and that my quality of attention is altered.   This is a change from my usual explanation - life is distracting and demanding and I am never left alone.


So, I was pondering this chicken-egg problem of my failure to remember the date, what movie we saw two weeks ago or the name of a book I just returned to the library when I hit on another explanation.  I think that I am the one in disequilibrium myself and have yet to figure out the balance between work and other jobs.  I am very much enjoying my new role as  a Work-at-Home Mom and a half-marathoner and an artist but there is that pesky stay-at-home Mom element I have going as well. You see the problem?

Disequilibrium as nobody gets enough of me.

Various other things
A few weeks ago we decided we would try and move house to accommodate the greater space needs of our bigger boys.  So far, the search hasn't turned up what we want but we have narrowed down the options and know more about what we like.  We have also come to appreciate our home a great deal, to enjoy the french doors, to improve on the already lovely yard and I have strung a rope swing, dug a firepit and variously tweaked things to make them more of what we like.

Tax Return Time
It is tax return time in the US.  April 18th is the date that all bills must be paid and tax returns submitted.  For the first time in 5 years, we used an accountant this year and were horrified to receive a bill of $1,700 - not from the Inland Revenue Service but from the Accountant!    The tax return is in but we shall be doing our own tax again next year I fear.

And a dog, too

Whether or not we move shortly, Plan get-a-dog has been accelerated.  We had planned to buy a dog in fall, after summer vacation and trips. Now, we have decided to get a dog in June. The current front-runner is a miniature shorthaired dachshund, like this:

Running
I am back to running and hoping to make a half-marathon in May.  I was off 6 weeks with injuries but various physio exercises have improved my core stability and I have run 8, 9 and 8 miles on the past three weekends.  Next week I will try 9.5 miles.  

I shall try and write a few shorter posts this week.  Sorry for the absence.  More soon..