2013!

Holy moly -- it's been nearly 2 months since I've written a post!

First, I'll post some pics from our recent vacation to Seabrook out on the Washington coast:



We've enjoyed visiting Seabrook each year on the winter solstice and saying that "we're headed to the beach for our winter vacation". While it has a nice ring to it, it's generally not what people think of when taking a winter vacation to the beach. While colder, the weather is not terribly different in December than in any other month except for August and September. On this trip, we experienced freezing pelting rain, snow, wind, sun, and typical Pacific Northwest misty rain. One day we could barely pile on enough clothes to stay warm, the next I was out of the beach in a t-shirt. Two bonuses are: 1) it is dirt-cheap this time of year to stay in a nice brand new house, and 2) the heated indoor pool and hot tub are awesome and you have the place to yourself most evenings.

Sage (5) became an independent swimmer on this trip; she was retrieving toys at the bottom of the pool, doing summersaults under water, and swimming the length of the 20-yard pool and back. Cyrus (7) is swimming well in the shallow end, but has yet to overcome his very real fear of deep water. Miles (2) just floated along in his life jacket and practiced jumping into the pool... something he does with much more enthusiasm than his older brother.

I took a well-deserved two weeks off from work at the end of 2012 and was amazed that I didn't itch to get back to work like I normally do after about the 8th or 9th day. I took the time to reflect on life a bit when I could, because 2012 seemed like a much more difficult year to me... almost overwhelmingly so. Projects and responsibilities amassed at work this year, while at the same time my family needed me more. While UW state employees have had a salary freeze for 4+ years, increasing demands both within and outside of my control have made money feel tighter. Relationships with family and friends have changed, some for the better and many (it seems) for the worse.

In the grand scheme of things, we have three great little kids. They make their mommy cranky and tired. They make their daddy lose hair in some places while growing more in others. Regardless, we need to remind ourselves to stop and smell the roses every once in a while... even when changing our last sets of diapers smells like anything but roses!

I was reminded of this in a brief conversation with an older gentleman on our last night at the pool in Seabrook. The man had been sitting in the hot tub chatting with Mandy and the kids while they rotated back and forth between me (in the pool) and Mandy (in the hot tub), being engulfed in their chaos, laughter, and 30-second 100-decible questions / conversations / sound bites. After we got the kids out of the pool, I took the two boys to shower off and get them ready for the short cold walk back to our vacation rental. As soon as I turned on the single shower, the bathroom door opened and I knew someone would have to wait a bit for me to get my proton and electron boys out of there. I anxiously hurried the kids up and apologized to the man for their noise, questions, and then for the delay with the shower. He gave us a long genuine smile and let me know that he enjoyed every bit of it. His kids were all grown up and now out of the house. He looked up at me and told me to enjoy all of these moments because they'll pass before I know it.

In an effort to better smell the roses, I (and Mandy) decided to go a month without adult beverages. I'm not the sort who makes an annual New Year's resolution, but this seemed like a good opportunity. As someone who regularly imbibes, it's been a long time since I've been a month without some sort of alcohol -- maybe since high school.

I'm treating this as an experiment... to see how I feel, if I lose weight, if I'm a better worker, a better person. We'll see...

Happy 2013!