How do I know it’s time for me to start baking again?
It’s pretty simple- if I label one more thing in our house, I think my boys are going to lose their minds!!
This summer was total chaos. I loved every second of it, but we were moving at such a fast pace, nothing seemed to be put back in its proper place. Then packing up for vacation, packing up the girls to head back to campus, and fall sports starting so early…..there just hasn’t been time to get organized.
Last week, Lance took Boeden to Maine and I stayed home, virtually alone, since Bensten started high school. I cleaned almost every closet. I threw out so much stuff. I donated even more stuff. I even filled two big tupperware bins with toys/puppets that I want to save for our grandkids and put them up in the attic for safe keeping. (I know, I am certifiable! There are no serious boyfriends in the equation, so I am putting the cart in front of the horse BIG TIME!)
Speaking of certifiable, I think I have been pretty transparent about my need for control. Hence why baking is such a joy for me. I can control just about every element of the process, and that brings me so much comfort. I now know that dropping my girls off at school is the ultimate relinquishing of control. It’s not that I need to know what they are up to. I just really really enjoy them as people. Having them at home makes me so happy; everything feels right in the world when I have all my people under one roof. Sending them back to school leaves a ginormous void in our house- and I HATE it, even though I LOVE the amazing opportunities and experiences they are having. This year, within 5 days, I dropped Lil back at Davidson, dropped Izzy back at BC, dropped Boeden and Lance at the airport and dropped Bensten off at high school. I was definitely bracing for my own mental breakdown….
Shockingly, I was okay. But I think I circumvented my breakdown by taking control of my house. Getting organized was all consuming and super soothing. Making labels was definitely extreme, but I want my boys to keep up my new organization system….so it seemed I should be as clear as possible. (Over/under on how long the organization lasts?!?!?) But if I label one more thing, I am pretty sure they will revolt.
Despite my new found love of clean clear bins and labels (pictures attached to prove my degree of crazy!)- I have missed baking for you all. So starting this week, we will move back to our Friday drops and baking on most Fridays. I will have to switch to Thursdays on weeks that we go visit the girls, and when the boys’ need me….but I am hoping to have a somewhat consistent baking schedule! And trust me, I need the consistent baking more than anyone. Having a son in high school is keeping my oven on…. partially because he eats 24/7, but also cause he joined the Flint Hill cross country team. It’s been a super positive experience so far, and Bensten loves it. But one day this week, the coach handed them the attached map and sent a bunch of boys into the town of Oakton on a 6 mile run. No phone, just a good old fashioned map which I am pretty certain no one knew how to read. And yes, kids got lost. I offered to buy Bensten a fanny pack so he could take his phone on these runs. I’ll just let you guess how well that went over. The stress I tell ya….
Hope you all are doing well!
Xo,
Heather
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