How Can It Be FRIDAY?

This past week just feels like a total blur. How can it possibly be Friday? My grandmother did warn me that as I got older, time would move faster... but this week has just raced by at Warp 9!

Monday, I spent at a local Elementary school with the Writers/Artists in the schools program, getting paid to talk to lots of classes about what it was like to be an artist as your job. It was great fun, although I did sit down on the floor with most of the groups since the little kids were getting stiff necks looking WAY up at me! They all squealed like crazy when they saw the little dragon holding the heart that I put up on Cafe Press (the coloured pencil version) in my portfolio. Cuteness has universal appeal!!!

Tuesday, the whole province was under a Wind Chill Warning. The kids have actually had to be inside at school for all of this week and most of last week, so temperatures are starting to fray a bit. Attendance was off a bit in the two Weight Watchers meetings that I lead, and it was a very cold walk home, but I was well bundled!

Wednesday was completely taken up with finishing off an assignment for Dairy Farmers of Canada that took up most of the weekend. We are trying to get a Parent Piece ready for distribution, but I found it very challenging to squeeze 5 pages of a Word document into 2 sides of an 8.5 x 11” piece of paper!!

Wednesday night, Bethany had Brownies and Erin was in the School District Spelling Bee as one of the top two from her school. She made it halfway through the evening, but then wasn’t sure about the h in chronic. She was a bit teary about not going farther, but since she wants to audition for Canadian Idol in 4 years, I figure this was good practice in not always getting what you want on the first try. I was SO proud of her for just getting that far and trying her best!!

Yesterday was spent working with another local author who is trying to get a story published. Drawing a dinosaur is going to be right up my alley, but I’m still trying to encourage him to submit to a publisher in Halifax first, just to see what their response is. If I do a drawing or two to send along and they assign someone else, I still have new work for my portfolio.

By last night, both girls were cranky, teary and just feeling miserable for some reason. I decided to keep them both home with me today to see if I can get them back to normal. I don’t think it is a bug, I think that they are both just feeling out of sorts from the weather, the pace of life this time of year and in Erin’s case, the stress of dealing with 3 major projects in one month. She handed in the first this week, but the other two are due on the 21st. Next weekend, she is away at Winter Camp with her Guide troupe, so this is the last weekend to get them finished. She has finished writing her book report in French and is busy typing it in on the other computer as I write this. Bethany began an illustrated book project today as well, but has demanded to take a break “because her arms hurt” after printing sentences on 3 pages and doing one of the drawings.

Part of me is also feeling strange because for the first time in 4 or 5 years, I am not in Nashville right now setting up for the show this weekend. I made the decision months ago not to attend when I looked at what Nick’s schedule and mine were going to be like between Christmas and March Break... but it is still strange to know that the vast majority of my friends and colleagues are at the show and I am not. Not bad... just strange.

My meditation for today reminded me that each day is a new blank canvas... but this week has felt more like I am painting one long mural that just zipped past because I was on roller skates. My goodness! It really is Friday already!