Good: I’m finally feeling sleepy. At times tonight I’ve felt like a kid at Christmas. Bouncing up and down with excitement. I can’t wait to go! Then I said good night to my girls, in their pastel pajamas, big eyes looking back at me. I let them stay a little longer in my arms as I hugged them and tucked them into bed. The sky tonight was a mix of blues and green tones as the sun set behind black evergreens.
And I felt a mix of emotions as I got ready to leave on a plane early tomorrow morning. On the one hand I am looking forward to going somewhere where I won’t have rice stuck to my socks and a kitchen sink to scrub constantly. On the other hand I can’t believe I won’t be able to cuddle with my husband and kids for a few days.
Why I’m going
When I saw Lisa’s invitation to BloggerCon back in February, I thought it would be fun to go and spend some time with her and others I’ve met through the blogs. To get some real time dialogue to go with the posted version.
Ted encouraged me, taking time off from work to watch the girls while I’m gone. Hey, why look a gift horse in the mouth?! Three days all to myself! (well, I gotta share them with my fellow passengers and BloggerCon registrants…:))
Flying solo
I can’t believe I’m going to Boston by myself. Without Ted. So much of our relationship is rooted in that city. I close my eyes I can see The Coop. The MIT Press. We had our first family date there with Ted’s brother and his then-girlfriend.
And to go to this conference without my geeky guy? If anything, Ted functions as a cute sounding board. That’s how we got along in the first place years ago. We’d sit and talk for hours. I appreciate his patience, his explanations and his acceptance of my thoughts despite my lack of knowledge and experience. The other night we were bouncing back and forth ideas pertaining to one of the BloggerCon talks. Bantering about Technorati. It’s fun. I’ll miss him.
I’ve decided that my answer to all technical problems will be “Chandler will solve it! OSAF will fix that!”. But I guess that sounds like a (banned) commercial. 🙂 Oh well.
But maybe he can show up in IRC. Sometimes virtual is better than nothing. 🙂
Marriage has corrupted my man – or is it me?
I’m at the grocery store on Tuesday, piling the cart high with cheese sticks, snacks, easy-peel mandarins, cans of frozen juice, boxes of cereal, apples and sausages. Looking at all the food I see the effect of my family: I am such a Mom. Smothering the man with food. It’s not as if this is Armageddon. The end of the world. An earthquake coming.
And it’s not as if Ted can’t cook. Or that he can’t drive the van to the store to get his own groceries. Or get the girls a pizza. He was quite a chef when I married him, serving sweet and sour fish, curried chicken, drumsticks stuffed with pineapple. Although it has been a while since he was following recipes on a regular basis, I’m sure he can figure out how to feed the kids. Has marriage corrupted him? Or is it me who’s changed, wondering what he’ll do while I’m away?
The other night the girls were asking Ted what they were going to eat when I’m away. He said eggs. Steak and eggs. I think he was kidding. But to be sure, I bought him eggs. Three dozen. They were on sale. And I bought steak too. It’s in the freezer. With the bacon.
And hot dogs. I bought stacks of hot dogs. He didn’t like the no-nitrate chicken ones I bought last week. Looked too anemic to him. A shade of unsightly gray. So I bought buffalo hot dogs too. I think Ted should be going to Durgin Park for dinner tomorrow night instead of me. Maybe I should bring home a doggie bag for him – filled with salad 🙂
The Daddy effect
He’ll have plenty of time to cook. More time than I do. He has an easier time managing the girls than me. All he has to do is walk into the room and tantrums cease. I’m not exaggerating. Much. It’s amazing the power a father can have over his children. Dads have instant Celebrity. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. If anything. 😉 But I think he and the girls will have lots of fun together.
Still I’m stocking up. Making banana bread and scones for breakfasts. I’ve made two big batches of the girls’ favorite foods for supper. They should be set. It’s only three days. Worse case they can eat peanut butter and jelly beans until Monday. And I’ve done tons of laundry…
What Mommy’s doing this weekend
The girls are giddy that I’m going. Sitting at the dining table they roar to each other, rolling over in their chairs: “Mommy’s going to BloggerCon!” I’m not sure that they have any idea what I’m doing. Of course, we’ve talked about where Boston is on the map, and we read a book about airplanes. So they know How and Where. But What and Why remains mystery.
The other day I overheard them playing in the living room. Michaela said to Abigail: “After you go to BloggerCon, you need to come back for an appointment.” So it sounds like this BC is some kind of disease. Perhaps medicine is required for recovery. Or just therapy. Afterwards.
The effect on me
I do feel I’ve learned a lot in the past couple months since I’ve planned to go to this conference. And I don’t mean that I learned how to set up a travelocity account. I’ll write more about this after the conference. If indeed I’ve learned anything at all. Time will tell.
At the least I’ll have three days to breathe and catch my breath away from kids. But I wonder what they’ll do while I’m away. What paper creation Abigail will shape. What funny sayings of Michaela’s I’ll miss. What skill Elisabeth will master next. I’ll miss our baby’s first gymnastics class. I’ll miss the kisses and hugs. I know that already. And I think I’ll have a new fresh perspective as a wife and mom after being out there on my own. Never mind how I’ll feel about my own blog…or even being back in my own bed 🙂
Technical notes
If you would like to email me between now and Monday, please use my yahoo address (harrowme). I am hoping I will at least be able to access that email, although my need for an electrical outlet as well as the possible lack of enough wireless may make it difficult. If you really need to contact me – go to Ted’s site.
Yes I’m not planning on blogging that much between now and Monday. I hope I can but I’m not sure. But Ted promises to have some Mr. Mom entries over at his blog. Please go take a peek! Maybe I’ll at least leave a comment on his posts if nothing else 🙂
Thanks for moving with me
While I’m talking about blogging…
Two weeks ago, this blog moved to julieleung.com. Thank you for moving with me here. Having my own site has helped me better know who is trying to talk with me. When Ted and I were sharing statistics, I missed some links in our referrer list. Or I saw ones that I assumed were linking to Ted when they were linking to me. It’s been fun to find out more about who’s reading Seedlings & Sprouts. Thanks for coming along with me.
Another reason I’m going to BloggerCon is my passion for blogging and bloggers. Although I’ve only been at this for nine months, I am grateful for what I’ve gained in my interactions with others. What people have written in posts, comments and emails has changed how I see and live my life. It might sound silly perhaps, to say this hypertext could have such effect, but I think it is true. Blogs – both mine and others – have been an oasis for me at times, places of inspiration and information, humor and encouragement, a place to laugh or get a much-needed distraction for a moment – but also places where I’ve been challenged or changed. I’ve stretched myself. I feel I’ve found many friends. A few have familiar faces but many I might not recognize. I’m grateful for everyone reading, commenting and linking here. Some have been dialoguing with me for a while and others stopped by here recently for the first time. Thanks for the conversations. Thank you for blessing me through blogging.
