The weather outside

Let's just say it has snowed a lot this December. To be fair, a lot did melt the last few days. Thank goodness. We couldn't see out the end of the driveway. Thanks to the monster dumping of the white stuff, even Eric is dreaming about points south, so there is hope for me yet.

(I took this picture in Madison last week.)

Who put the stump?

I may never look at our Christmas tree angel the same way again.

In the moment

Today is a gift; that's why it's called the present.

Sometimes I get so caught up in distractions that I forget the things I really want and need. I hope today can be more focused.

I can't wait

I'm in full-on freak mode. I have a 10-page paper due Tuesday at 5 p.m.

I haven't actually started yet.

What a duh.

I thought I'd be out of college before my kids started. Hmmph.

Kayleigh registered at MATC this week. It was a little weird signing my kid up for a college class while she's 14. High school and college at the same time sounds challenging, but she is very excited. She said it's different taking a class she really wants to take instead of stuff she has to take in high school. She also likes the idea that she'll be in class with more mature students. Even though it's open enrollment, she still had to apply and be accepted into the program. So she has a college email address and ID, which I think is pretty cool.

We told her if she was getting too frazzled or wasn't able to keep up with her regular high school stuff we'd pull her out. She said that was OK, but she doesn't seem to think that will happen. She has a study hall next semester, after all.

She's taking web programming, of course. HTML. In the fall, if she continues, she'll take javascript with dear old dad. That will be especially weird.

I hope she has a good time, learns lots and kicks some serious collegiate booty.

Her dream is to become an animator at PIXAR. Not a bad goal at all. She's been interested in storytelling, movie making and special and visual effects since she was 3, when she figured out people were creating reality, not recording it. For all my frustration with her living inside her head and being so wrapped up in fantasies, I can only support her now that that separate life is becoming a tangible part of this one.