Holidays and stuff

I always think I’m going to have more time on holidays to get stuff done, but in the end I always have less.

Although, come to think of it, I guess it depends on how you define stuff. If you define stuff as spending time with family and friends, eating ice cream and brie, and shopping for essentials like children’s books, baby toothbrushes, bed sheets, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, then I’ve been getting lots of stuff done.

(After only having cheap Chilean wine available in Laos, this is how we feel when we’re getting stuff done in the liquor store:)

(This is how we feel when we’re getting stuff done in the supermarket. I mean, seriously, does any civilization really need 547 different brands of toilet paper?)

If you tend to define stuff more narrowly as professional activities otherwise known as work then I’ve been getting less stuff done. Although, now that I say that, I must admit that this blog post is being written on a day when I’ve already checked the final formatted files for the print version of Love At The Speed Of Email, sent off the spine size for the cover, finalized the contract with my agency for the e-book, and spent time research the pros and cons of Createspace and Lightening Source as printers.

Thanks, Mike, for putting aside your own stuff to play with our baby a lot this last couple of days.

Speaking of our baby, he’s crawling. It’s outrageously cute. And his preferred method of letting me know he’s done feeding at the moment is biting me. That’s a lot less cute. Also, he’s lobbying hard to be officially recognized as World’s Worst Sleeper (Class 0-1). I don’t want to brag, but I think he has a really good chance at the title.

I know Mike and I have recently gone to special lengths to set him up to excel in this area – what, with the dragging him halfway around the world and putting him in a new bed every couple of nights and mummy (and the boob) disappearing for three whole days – but we can’t claim all the credit, I don’t think. He’s invested a great deal of time and energy in cultivating shocking sleeping patterns, and we’re so proud of his consistent dedication to excellence.

We’re also exhausted. This morning at 5am after I’d already fed him three times throughout the night and been up with him several other times beside, I lay there and quoted Adam Mansbach at him until Mike took pity on me and carted him away.

I hope you’re all having a good weekend, getting lots of stuff done, and maybe even spending some time in green places. Love from the US …