Busy Week Ahead

Hiya!

Hope you all had a relaxing weekend. Mine was absolutely wonderful - full of enjoyable moments playing with my kids and hanging out with my hubby. It even started to feel "holiday-ish." :) Down here in southern California, we don't usually get much of a winter. Thus, it was very exciting when we had a big drop in temperature...we even were able to light up our fireplace. In a nutshell, my weekend was almost magical, with firewood crackling in the living room, Christmas movies constantly running, much dancing with my munchkins, and even a few quiet moments of reading by the fire. :)

Just checking in to let you know that my week is already packed full of things to do even though it's barely begun. On top of several deadlines keeping me busy, I am taking an eight hour drive with Hubby and the kids to go to a very dear relative's funeral. Did I mention that we're going mid-week? Needless to say, there's a lot to be done, and I'm not quite sure how I'm going to manage it all. (Maybe I'll glean some great productivity tips out of this frenzied week. :)

I had some great post ideas planned for this week, but I just might have to put them on hold until at least the weekend. Anyway, I hope that you all have a productive and rewarding week!

Coping With Loss

Parenting:

So I have already failed miserably at keeping my blog updated.  Thank goodness I started with the plan of taking baby steps forward!  I mean, can you imagine if I had planned on taking any giant leaps toward a writing career?!  

In my defense, a close family friend just passed away this week, and it's taken a big toll on everybody.  My kids are too young to know what's going on, but my eighteen month old son burst into tears the second my brother (who was obviously heartbroken) walked in the door.  He hardly ever cries so it was obvious he knew that something was wrong.  Besides my being devastated at the loss of my friend, I also feel horrible that my baby boy - who does not understand what is happening - is obviously aware of our pain.  I have just been trying to be extra cheerful for him with lots of smiles and extra hugs.  

Now comes the big question: do I take him to the funeral?  I know the family could really use my support at this time, but will it be too traumatic for my little guy?  My husband and I have not had a chance to discuss this yet so we'll see what happens after we think this through.  Any thoughts on this?  I'd love to hear them.

Writing: 

Well, there's my spiel on parenting.  In regard to writing, I must shamefacedly admit that I have not been productive at all this week.  I was on such a roll, too!  I had hoped that the emotional high I experienced after calling the editor of my local (monthly) paper would carry through to this week.  Although, I think that experiencing the loss of a friend is as legitimate an excuse as any. It really has been a tough week.  Oh well, I am determined to have a very productive weekend.