hello? it's me

Hello there~

Remember me?

Come on, just give it a second.

Is it coming back to you? Oh, please tell me it is.

Please please.

Because I have missed you. I really, truly have missed you.

I don't know how I came to be gone for so long. Oh sure, life has gotten busy, wrapping up our summer, soccer season, back to school shopping, travel to distant lands. Okay, so maybe not distant lands, but the midwest seems rather distant some days.

And then there is my little shop. My poor, sad, neglected little shop. She has missed me - of that I am certain. And it isn't as if I haven't spent hours and hours making linen flowers. Hours on the plane. Hours at the airport. Hours while visiting my dad. And yet, I don't seem to ever have enough to complete all of the things I dream of completing. Back-orders keep me up at night. They weigh on my mind. Guilt has become my constant companion. I don't like my new friend much at all...

And don't even get me started on my house. Please don't take this the wrong way, but I am sorry - I just can't have you over for coffee today. There is no way you can come visit when this house is so dreadfully dirty! It simply won't do~ My cleaner, whom I adore, has decided to take the summer and visit her family in distant lands. Real, true distant lands. And no matter how often I dust. And vacuum. And wash. it is never really clean. Not like it is when she leaves. You know, that first five minutes after she is finished, when you lock the children outside, so that you can enjoy your perfectly clean house, by yourself, before it all goes to hell in a handbasket again. That five minutes. Oh, I do love that five minutes.

And you will notice I haven't even mentioned cooking. Or baking. I am hoping this is a byproduct of summertime. Life outdoors. Gardening. Bon fires. BBQs. Croquet. I have been so bad about actually feeding my crew this summer, it is embarrassing. Truly. Mortifying really.

Or what about Francis? If she was a child, CPS would be here by now. Probably the lady that cornered Kasey at Trader Joe's. Francis would have been carted off to a proper foster home, due to lack of attention, neglect, under-use. The poor girl - the only time I seem to pick her up lately is to shoot a photo of one of the boys, and that is only because I feel guilty (look - there it is again - GUILT) that I have so few photos of them from this summer. What sort of (camera)mother am I?!? What if she never forgives me? I could be destined to awful photos for years to come...

Honestly, I wish I had something that I could toss all of the blame for my absence on. I wish that I could use a serious head trauma, or a dead laptop, or, or, or, oh, I don't know - alien abduction. But really, I got nothin'. No reason at all. Don't get me wrong, I have wracked my brain for some reason that I have been so INCREDIBLY. UNINSPIRED. or inspiring for that matter. Computer burn out maybe? Month-long PMS? Un-aligned stars? And please, if you have a diagnosis you would like to offer, I am all ears! Truly.

So I am really, truly hoping that things will return to normal around here soon. Well, soon as in as soon as my husband, whom I really haven't seen for nearly two weeks comes home next Tuesday. And as soon as my dad, who comes next Tuesday as well, with #2, returns home the following Monday. Oh, and as soon as these little monkeys go back to school on the 2nd/3rd of September. So soon. Really soon.

xo