In the interest of keeping this going (and not letting the ball drop) I am going to put a little something here. It will be little as I am very tired today and not feeling my oneness with the computer. 

I am still recovering from the ear/head thing and now I did "something" to my back. I think I'm just trying to get this all out of the way before the new year for medical issues rolls around. I took 1 pain pill last night and 1 this morning and while it did induce sleep (which is a neat trick for me really) I am now just plain flat out exhausted. I do appreciate the subtle relaxing affect of the drug though as my back is in much much much better shape than it usually is this soon after one of its little fits. 

We watched the Super Bowl. We don't usually, so it was new(s) for us. We drew straws and sat on opposite couches until all the Steelers fans on the other couch decided they'd had enough and went to watch movies on the DVD player in the boys' room. I stayed here because my back hurt, I did not make the snacks I had prepared, which disappointed me really, but I did not feel up to it physically. We cheered when there were touchdowns, we didn't really care whose. We were relieved to hear that we were not the only ones who were not impressed by the half time shows. 

Maybe because we don't watch tv and have therefore not seen commercials in a very long time (we live off netflix and PBS) that we were also not enchanted with the commercials. We wanted to be, we really wanted to be enchanted too. However, they all seemed to revolve around slapstick, violence, puerile humor and or sex. Oh and cars -- lots of cars. Is there anything on the market other than cars at the moment? Is it really ok to hit people in any setting? Offices, parks, living rooms? The sporting event itself was good but not fantastic. I was impressed with the picture on my screen - other than that, eh. I had hoped that for such a massive thing that they make out to be sooo huge and so popular and such a deal - that I would have got a bit more bang for the buck. I guess the last Winter Olympics should have cured me of that notion. Maybe I'll know better next time.

While I wish I had more news than that, I don't. I am bemused that my two oldest children are so excited about camp they have set-up countdown timers on every device they own, including paper calenders. I can tell you it is 19 weeks exactly till they leave for camp. I can tell you that they can tell you that in days, weeks, months, and even minutes. The reason I am bemused is because I personally am not a fan of what I can "pushing time." What I mean by that is when you want something to be over so badly or you are longing for a future event to the point that, you start trying to obviate the time in-between. This takes the form of countdown timers, or talking incessantly about the event or trying to make time between now and then go faster. "I know, if I sleep 2 extra hours a night it'll seem like that much less time between now and then." 

They have half a school year left at schools they both love. I want them to focus on that. On how one of them will never be in the 2nd grade again and the other may very well not even be at the same school next year (cost). So wake up every morning and say yay! It is a school day! I can't wait to see these friends and this teacher one more time before it is all over. Before I am a year older. Etc.. 

I feel that I've lost time in the past. For example, once I really did hurt my back through a series of unfortunate events. I don't remember the 6 months that came next. After my mother died I was in such deep morning that I have no memory of my son's pregnancy other than maybe a week before he was born coming to to realize that I was being coaxed into an induction for being "over-due". We did not induce, and there in lies another story. What happened to the 2 year old Leif of that year? Where did he go? I want that time back now. 

So, I am hoping my kids realize that every year at any given point when they get to be my age they will look up from what they were doing and think, "ah, a year ago I was..." Because that is what happens, you blink and the calendar changes. 

So in the interest of ending this sort of melancholia post I will leave you with the latest Buttercup. 

Buttercup sticks her hand out and says "I am a penny machine give me a penny." So I had Brian give her a penny. Then, she sticks out her hand and says "I am a quarter machine, give me a quarter." Brian decides she is 3 and won't notice the difference and gives her a dime. Then, Buttercup sticks out her hand and says "I am a quarter machine and if you give me a quarter I will give you a little toy." So I said, "give her a quarter and get her to give you that little lizard toy for me." So Daddy gives her a quarter and she puts it in her pocket with the rest and puts her hand back out. Brian says "wait a minute, where is my toy?" She says "I am a quarter machine and the dime jammed me. Why don't you try giving me another quarter?"