Hiatus

The summer is over.

This is my final chance to blog in the month of August. I kept meaning to put up a post, but I was on vacation mode, and this is why.

The Liberty Bell– unviolated

I was away for three weeks in August. During this trip, I managed to stalk and capture the most wonderful and engaging Pup Fan from I Still Want More Puppies. Two bloggers captured, at least three more to go. The girls and I went to Pennsylvania and Manitoba to visit friends and family. We were tempted to lick the Liberty Bell, but refrained. I didn’t want to embarrass my tour guide, another friend I had only known on-line until we met up in Philly. (To my amusement, The Eldest spent much time explaining to me how any or all of these on-line friends I insisted on meeting could turn out to be Psycho Derek from One Tree Hill.)

While we were away, Glory moved in to care for Our Best Friend and our adopted kittens. (What adopted kittens, you ask? That post has been in the draft folder for months.) Our Best Friend adores Glory, but she reported that he refused food while we were gone, unless she kept him company while he ate. Further confirmation of what the vet said; if we asked him if he’d rather have me, his caretaker of four years, or the best of homes where he gets frequent exercise, he would choose me.

Back at the beginning

And I never put up a post about the kittens. In June we took in a family of feral kittens. As I said, that post has been in my drafts folder for months. Things change so quickly, the post keeps getting outdated before I can put it up.

So here I am, on the eve of September, and my hiatus is over. This Tuesday I start what I pray will be my final year of school, along with a new internship. The internship is not here; it is in the same town as school, and thus I will staying two nights a week away from my kids. (And my pets– not sure which I’ll miss more. I know which will miss me more.) I’m not happy about this– I will be gone Monday-Wednesday, with classes Monday and Tuesday nights, and the internship Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I won’t be home until Wednesday night. Housework and homework will have to be squeezed in Thursday and Sunday. I don’t expect to have a social life at all. And let’s not forget that all of September will be eaten up with Jewish holidays that stretch from Wednesday night to Saturday night three of the four weeks. Panicking? Just a little.

So my goals for the new year are simple. Continue the one post/month I’ve managed to write for the last number of years. Try to maintain my connection to humankind outside school and work. Not kill and eat my young when I come home to shambles on Wednesday night. And try, try, try, to find time to relax. I think that will be the hardest goal of all. At home I will be in a constant frenzy of homework/shopping/laundry/cooking/exhaustion. I can’t even enjoy the Labour Day long weekend– I have to cook for Rosh Hashana and do laundry and tomorrow I hope to take Our Best Friend to the dog park. I have no idea when I’ll have time to do that again.

If I survive until April, I will be a Canadian Certified Counsellor, and the job hunt will begin. Most of the friends I started with are done; some have jobs, some are still looking, but their post-school lives have begun. On the cusp of a new academic year as well as the Jewish New Year, I hope to be where they are one year from now. And still blogging.

This post is part of the Saturday Pet-Blogger Hop, hosted by Lifewithdogs.tv. Hop on here!