I’ll be making another to-do list after this post.

As I sat down to write this, I realized that this is my 600th post! My gracious, I have had a lot to say. I’ve been writing this since 2008, when the boys were both in preschool and the first day of school looked like this:


And now it looks like this:

And just to be sure you appreciate how much they’ve stretched:


I feel like I should say something emotional and touching about the fleeting nature of time, but damn, I’m feeling like I’ve been flung into a first-day-of-school-suddenly-huge-to-do-list tornado. How did that happen? Just yesterday I curled up on the couch to read a book for hours; currently I’m feeling like a hummingbird on speed. MUST DO ALL THE THINGS IMMEDIATELY.

Speaking of to-do lists, my husband was reading something on personality types, and he hilariously realized, after eleven years of marriage, what “type” I am.

Mr: Wow, you’re really a Type A.

Me: I know.

Mr: You and all your lists. You’re exactly a Type A.

Me: I know.

Mr: No, I mean, you have every trait on this list.

Me: I KNOW.

Mr: “Obsessed with time management”, “rigidly organized”, “want people to get to the point”, “always try to help others”, “impatient”.

Me: I’m not impatient!

Mr: *hysterical laughter*

It’s true, anyway, which is why I’m making lists upon lists about every little thing I have to do over the next six weeks and it seems like a lot right now. It’s the September rush, I guess, and we’re all into it. This happens to me every year, and it’s why I learned after Mark’s kindergarten year that I should say no to being on every single committee.

In any case, the boys are pleased to be back at school. They are in conjoined classrooms, which is nice for them – they can see each other but still be fairly autonomous. They are with the exact opposite teachers that I thought they would be with, but that’s okay; they each have good friends in their classes. So far, so good.

The dog, though. The poor puppy. He’s slumped into his usual back-to-school depression, with the realization that going forward his days are going to be spent exclusively with the least interesting person in the house. When I came home after drop off, he went outside and lay in the sun for a few hours; a squirrel was in our yard and even made it out alive, that’s how depressed he is. Not to worry, if history is any indication of the future, Barkley will perk up soon and find many small animals and/or birds to kill/ eat/ and have me pick up in various forms, crying.

Since it’s my 600th post, I feel like I should do something to show my appreciation to you, my dear readers. Another giveaway, perhaps? I do not know what the prize will be. A Starbucks gift card? Chocolates? An old economics textbook? Kidding, the shipping on that would be murder. To enter this random, prize-to-be-determined giveaway, leave a comment about any of the following: what personality type you are, what topics do you like to read about on this blog, do you prefer sweet things or salty things, or just say hi! Name to be drawn September 13! Friday the 13th….spooooookyyyy. xoxo

Comments

  1. Today was Em’s first day in Kindergarten – except that I needed to accompany her into the classroom for the whole 45 minutes (all parents were), which makes me wonder if today was her first day of Kindergarten or tomorrow when she goes alone? To keep myself covered, I took a picture today and will again tomorrow. Not that anyone will care except me, but this kind of ambiguity irks me. I may be considered Type A as well…

    Also! On Friday the 13th I have a consult for laser eye surgery. The same surgery that my husband had 5 years ago and left him screaming and moaning for 3 days. If I think about it too much, I start to feel sick. Hold me.

  2. Michelle McFarlane says

    Personality test results

    Your personality type is ENFP!
    Extraverted (E) 50% Introverted (I) 50%
    Intuitive (N) 73% Sensing (S) 27%
    Feeling (F) 80% Thinking (T) 20%
    Perceiving (P) 77% Judging (J) 23%

    These were my results…have no idea what they mean…haha

  3. I am ALL A!

  4. Why am I unknown?

  5. Our dog is depressed, middle child has left with her dog for university, after being here all summer, the teenage boy has also left for university. The house is very quiet.

  6. If those are the traits of a Type A personality then yes, I am totally Type A, and the sooner people in my life would just DO WHAT I TELL THEM AND STOP WITH THE BACK-SASS, everything would be fine.

    Tomorrow is the first day of school and I’ll have two kids there, holy smokes, and every day at naptime ALL the kids in the house will be sleeping. I will have at a minimum 90 minutes of absolute silence, and I’m giddy at the thought. GIDDY, I tell you.

    I prefer salty snacks myself. Chips. CHIPS. They are my waterloo.

  7. I am a type B with a little Type A when it comes to organization and lists but only enough to create a little stress but not enough to have panic attacks lol as someone who doesn’t have kids and who mostly socializes with other people without kids I love reading all your blogs about life with kids…you always make me laugh and I love how you sum up all the emotions you feel when faced with the day to day challenges..its very refreshing and in so many ways takes the “scary” out of it for some of us contemplating starting a family even if we are a bit “late” getting started lol

  8. I don’t know what type I am. I know I’m not Type A, but I’m not familiar with the letter types OTHER than A, and I’m afraid if I look them up I’ll just find the other ones depressing. I’ve done the Myers Briggs personality test multiple times, but I can never remember what the results are. I did an aptitude test in high school and scored in the ninetieth percentile on imagination, sensitivity and creativity. As for logic? Zero. ZERO. No wonder I’m a shiftless character who hangs around libraries shelving books for free. Sigh. Hannah, can you pass the chips?

  9. warriorgirlca says

    UMM, Type A.

    Tom calls it OCD. Yoga notwithstanding, I AM IMPATIENT GODDAMIT. What is WRONG with everybody?? Don’t people know how to DRIVE for starters? Who gets in their car and doesn’t have anywhere to BE???

    Now if you don’t mind, this blog post and ensuing response was not on the schedule, it was simply supposed to be a two minute facebook check.

    Peace out from sunny California sister, see you at shift change at The Yoga Shala at 7:01 ion September 16th.

    SMOOCH

  10. I am also not type A. I am also not familiar with the other letters. Can I be type K? I like Ks. But I also like lists. But just because I have to organize other people, if it was just me I might not make as many lists. Also as a domestic engineer, I am eager to achieve things in a day and nothing makes you feel like you achieved something more than crossing it off a list.

    Oh boy that’s all pretty sad.

    Chips. Yup.

    I like all your topics, especially the way you weave all the stuff from your life into very amusing anecdotal-like stories that are always tied up nicely at the end.

    AND HOW CUTE ARE THOSE LITTLE CHILDREN. Aww.

  11. PS I just googled type K personality and came up with this http://www.timeswellness.com/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=126&contentid=2012021720120217114738146e7dad4ef
    …and I think that is not me. I mean it’s me with the curly hair and the greasy skin but that’s about it.

  12. Back before husband and kids, I was seriously Type A. Husband and kids have broken me, however, and now I’m probably more like Type a. Still the back to school period always brings the Strong A back probably because I’m inundated with information from Oldest’s school and sports team about what is happening when. And I idiotically volunteered to be the VP or programming for the PTA this year. Seriously, I work FT already, what the hell was I thinking? This is . . . not manageable. So, when April rolls around and the PTA is asking me to do some other job I will be saying no for the first time in three years because next September Youngest startsK and Oldest goes to middle school and I won’t have any brain space left to do anything other than attempt to track the activities and schedules of two different schools. ACK!

    On a totally unrelated note, I got caught up with Breaking Bad over vacation and hoooooley crap. This show. It’s killing me.

  13. I am closet type a. Like Maggie, broken a bit by type Z husband. (I assume Z would be the complete and total opposite of A?) I probably would sleep better if I actually wrote lists, though, instead of having all that mundane but necessary info floating through my head.

    Also, used to be sweet, but shifting to salty. Maybe it’s my approaching middle age? I dunno.

  14. 600? Well hot damn. I don’t even know how many I’ve written and I kind of don’t want to because then I’d be reminded that I probably should get a job or something like that.
    I’m not saying that you need to get a job. I do. We are doing renos and I want some new boots. Ahem.
    I’m type a.
    Totally.
    Right down to my matching bra and panties.
    I can’t believe your boys grew so much in such little time. Sigh…
    I like combining the two. Can’t have a milkshake without French fries.
    Don’t judge me.

  15. Um, Type A, to the MAX. I must have a plan. Everyone else must have a plan. You WILL YIELD TO THE PLAN. Amen.

    I demonstrate my Type A ness by being additionally obsessed with the Myers-Briggs personality codes. I’m an ISFJ. Which I think is code for TYPE A, JESUS.

  16. I’m just here to sigh over how big your boys are. *sigh*

  17. “Ohmigod. What did you just eat, Fogo. Spit it out. SPIT IT OUT! SPIT IT — actually, nevermind. I don’t need to see it.” I said this to Fogo today during our walk. In my defense, I talk at length with her while we walk because I read that bears will usually leave an area when they hear human voices because they are a distinct sound and bears equate it with DANGER! “What is your point?” you may now be wondering. And indeed you should be wondering because this is a very long comment and has nothing to do with your post. Or so it may appear. My point is: I can only imagine how disgusted you — as a vegan — feel about Barkley eating things. I’m an omnivore and I find it repulsive.

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