Update From the Cornfields

  
For those of you who have been waiting for the next Be Nice to Mama post, I didn't want you to think my family and I had been swallowed up by a massive combine in one of the cornfields nearby. I have been blog-negligent. Apologies.

The house is pretty much un-packed and we are ready to roll for the school year. By the way, we live on a boarding school campus now. In about a month, the grounds will be swarming with teenagers.

I thought I'd be in major city withdrawal. But as it turns out, I am getting into this slower pace of life. So are The Husband and the two littles. As I write this with my buttered english muffin and glass of white wine at hand, I can hear the cicadas chirping and I see the lightening bugs flashing outside the window. The stars will be out in just a little bit. These are the things I missed living in the city. Oh, and did I mention there are no police sirens or mass transit buses passing nearby?

Local food is one of my favorite things about living here. We are surrounded by such great local produce, meat and eggs. This is the stuff the city folks pay big bucks for! (I forked over a lot of cash to those Amish peeps when we used to live in Philadelphia, but they promised me they raised their animals humanely). And it's right at my finger tips. We even have an organic garden on campus. I am really trying hard to buy only local and in-season fruits and veggies. And I have signed us up to receive a dozen fresh eggs each week from a faculty member on campus who has her own chickens.

What else? The Littles are good. Liam has fallen in love with camp, which is right on campus. He loves the structure and the kids and staff. I love the break. I find that parenting is just getting increasingly more difficult as they get older. I remember people telling me the opposite. Maybe I just haven't reached the magic age where they start being a little bit more self-sufficient and a little more rational. That topic needs it's own blogpost. All in all, though, both are adjusting well to the cornfields.

One thing that the cornfields are missing is moms and kids to play with. I have very little opportunity to show off my social skills at the playground. I know these people exist. They're just a little hard to find. The beauty of the city is that population density is high and, by nature, playgrounds and other public spaces are flooded with potential friend candidates. I guess they're all just hiding in the cornstalks. I just miss my playdates and playgroups.

Stay tuned for some future blog posts. A good number of my pre-baby friends are joining me in the ranks and are pregnant or have just had their little one. So, I'm in the process of writing some posts for new mamas about... breastfeeding, the post-partum truth (what the nurses, midwives and docs forget to tell you after the baby is born), etc.

If you're a current or future mama and can think of a good topic to include in this series of posts, lemme know. Don't be shy. It takes a village, and we want to help our sisters out :)

Comments

[Julie Cederbaum]

sleep deprivation and the ensuing crazy that follows it...

[Be Nice to Mama]

Oh, how could I forget THAT one? Good idea. Where are you on the sleep deprivation/crazy index today?

[Susanne Fogt]

This is a great post. I love that you are there, unwinding, and soaking in the good life in that community. I can't WAIT to hear about all the teenager stuff when they arrive! :)