We do Halloween big here. BIG. So big that I have yet to finish clearing up, so big that I have yet to recover. Not big in the yard full of lights and inflatable vampires big, but still big. It encompasses Friday in prep, Saturday in party and Sunday in, of course, Halloween itself.

I am still recovering. In the course of it we failed to help Lily do any schoolwork. She aced her spelling test and all five bonus words just the same. We failed to help Sam (by “we” I really mean “I”) who got cs on several assignments and a test as well, suggesting that maybe Sam had better not slip through the cracks. We developed a backlog of TTDs: call the insurance company, call the fireplace people. Do a bajillion other things that I don’t remember and, if I’m lucky, won’t lead to a calamity when I fail to do them at all. Most things don’t. My mother recently told me that I am so much better than she ever was at putting fun things first. I am not really sure she meant this as a compliment but I am going to take it as such.

We are shooting, as a result, for quiet: quiet nights, quiet weekend. It won’t happen, but we can dream.

Tomorrow afternoon Rory has her very own very first playdate coming over. All for her. Not Wyatt’s friend, not someone’s little brother or sibling, just a friend Rory wants to have over. Both seem very pleased. I am excited for her.