The mornings are cool enough that the kids are complaining if I don't bake breakfast. They are tired of cereal and toast. I might ignore their clamoring for another week, but Dancer is in the midst of a two-week ballet intensive, dancing five or more hours a day, and I'm a bit nutrition-obsessive on her behalf. So I made cheddar biscuits today.

Once Big Guy was out the door and Dancer's hair was done, I sat down to get some work done. Except this morning I found myself browsing books on Amazon, instead. This is a bad sign. I resort to book shopping the way some women shop for shoes. When I'm hurting, footwear is irrelevant to my emotional life; what I crave is mental stimulation. I had $68.42 worth of merchandise in my cart before I realized I was trying to buy my way into a better state of mind. So I sighed, and finally got around to sending in the order for the younger kids' school curricula instead. Then I wrote up our official homeschooling plans, and mailed them off. Then I paid some overdue bills, to hammer home the need for fiscal restraint.

It didn't subdue my inner howl, but at least I got a few things checked off my to-do list. Eldest leaves for school in less than a week. She's ready, I'm ready, and everyone else bursts into sobs periodically. To make the week more interesting, we go for a placement interview for Big Guy on Monday. It's at one of the two facilities that might be able to meet his needs. We have another important meeting about him the day before we get on the bus to Boston.


Under the circumstances, buying a good book is probably a reasonably healthy coping mechanism. I'm in the mood for non-fiction. Recommendations, anyone?