I'm Just Not That Into Me

Hello, blogosphere. Believe it or not, here I am.

I'm having a hell of a time getting this blog back into action on a regular basis, but I've at least figured out the reason. The reason is that I am possibly the most boring human being on the planet. Seriously. I can prove it.

Let's take a look at Exhibit A: The routine. My day-to-day life over the past few weeks has fallen into a fairly predictable routine. Who am I kidding? I meant to say over the past few months. Let's call it a year. But the past few weeks are a pretty good example. Here's what it looks like:

• Up at 5 a.m.-ish to run/work out
• Wake up Tornadoes around 6:00. Enter the hellish vortex of getting them packed up and out the door to school. Or, right now, camp.
• Go to work. Work.
• Leave work 5 p.m.-ish. Collect Tornadoes. Enter the hellish vortex of getting them fed/bathed/whatever the hell else happens to be on the agenda of things-that-must-be-done before tomorrow, plus maybe fold a little laundry and wash a few dishes.
• Go to bed. Alone. Sleep.

zzzzzz...oh, I forgot to mention that occasionally I am too tired to wake up at 5 a.m.-ish, so I skip the run and sleep until 6. This is called "variety". I try not to do it too often because I at least have the wherewithal to not want the running/working out to become the "variety" part of the equation. If I'm going to be the most boring human being on the planet, I'm at least going to be in shape.

I've left out all of the "fillers" that you already know about - the gymnastics practices, softball practices, meets, games, school functions - because they are all on a bit of a hiatus at the moment, this being summertime. It's kind of a shame. Because without them, frankly, I have no life to speak of.

Which brings me to Exhibit B, further proof that I am completely boring: I am jealous of my children, who get to go to camp every day and do super fun stuff. I actually feel pangs of jealousy. First, let's consider Third Grader. Third Grader is all about the acting this summer. She is currently in the middle of a two-week session at a local theater, and her performance is Thursday night. She spends our drives to and from camp practicing her lines and songs and working on her accent (it's a Western this session), and it thrills me. I want to go to theater camp! Then there's Fifth Grader, who is currently attending Adventure Camp. Yesterday she went hiking, today she went kayaking, and tomorrow she's going mountain biking. She spends our rides to camp in a state of happy anticipation and our rides home in a state of happy exhaustion. I want to go to Adventure Camp!

And while they are at camp, I am at work. Working. Don't get me wrong: I'm still loving the new workplace. (How much longer do I get to call it "the new workplace", do you think?) It's challenging and rewarding in many ways - so much so that I am currently in the middle of three different books, and two of them are work-related. And I don't mind that, because I love what I do and want to get even better at it. But I'm not much of a "one thing at a time" gal. Work is lovely, and it's nice to be able to pay for all these super fun camps. But Mama needs a little stimulation. A little fun. A little spice.

So here's the thing. Next week, the Tornadoes are going to the Camp of Camps: a week long, super-turbo gymnastics camp several hours away from home. They're pumped; I'm freaking out a little bit. Without my vicarious lives to live, I will have to find some other ways to amuse myself, and possibly not completely torment Boyfriend in the process with my Tornado-missing whininess. I am open to suggestions.