I am writing this before 6 a.m. Monday morning, which I suppose makes me look like the sort of productive person I might profile, but trust me, I am not up this early on purpose. Oh well, hello Monday.
This weekend’s highlight: seeing Hamilton. I’d registered for the lottery to buy tickets for the Philadelphia show. I wasn’t chosen, but then they released some extra seats, and I happened to be in my inbox when I got that note. I jumped on and purchased four. My 12-year-old had heard that it was awesome from a ton of kids in drama camp last summer — so he really wanted to go. I figured the 9- (almost 10!) year old could go as well.
It was a fun show — very inventive and upbeat — and I appreciated the focus on the music rather than flashy sets or effects. Certainly in this age of the jukebox musical or movie adaption I can see why people found it electrifyingly original when it first came out. Hamilton had quite the life story. I don’t think any of us found the show life-changing (then again I didn’t share people’s Rent obsession back in the day either…) so I’m glad I didn’t do anything like camp out for tickets, but I’m happy we saw it, and I think it was good to bring the (older) kids too. I have been humming various lines since Saturday. Now I should probably go read Chernow’s biography! (My husband is wading his way through the Washington one…which was not turned into a musical…)
What I’m actually reading this weekend: a college friend’s new book called End Times, about existential risks to the world. Volcanoes, asteroids, bioterrorism…
In happier news: We went swimming twice this weekend — fun to get a few more days’ use out of the pool! — and grilled on Sunday night. Getting the deck and our outdoor (built-in) table repaired after the wood had rotted out was expensive and time-consuming this summer, but now we can eat out there again. I hope to do this a few more times before it freezes.
All four kids spent a reasonable amount of time playing together this weekend. They’ve been filming a horror movie (mostly on our phones). I’m not sure where they got this idea, but there have been masks, giggling in dark closets, and screams that alarmed me at first, but I now know are part of the show.
The weekend low: spending much of Friday, and all Saturday morning, doing my taxes. If I wasn’t writing this at 5:30 a.m. on Monday I might sketch out some neat narrative link between Hamilton’s federal financial system and my Schedule C but…no. Going through my expenses always puts me in a foul mood. I know it takes money to run a business (and 2018 was a good year for the business) but still. The upside is that I identified a few money leaks on my credit card statements that I’ve now plugged. While I was in a frugal mood, I also had my fourth grader fill out the form online to get us a free national parks pass for the family for the year. It’s quick and easy and if you are in the US and have a fourth grader (or homeschool equivalent) you should definitely do it too.
Now I’m just waiting for the sun to come up so I can get a run in (day #996) before my husband needs to leave….
We are taking our kids to Hamilton next month. They actually had plenty of tickets left for the later shows so it worked out despite not getting chosen for the lottery or being on top of the early released tickets.
we’ve been listening to the soundtrack for years, and love it, and the boys were jealous when my husband and I went to NY to see it, so we figured we can surprise them with this now that its in town.
Taxes blech. At least its done!
@Ana – so glad you got tickets! I guess the die-hard folks got the early dates but as long as they can fill a theater why not keep running it?
Every year after I do my taxes I tell myself I should come up with a different system, but I’m not sure it would ever be less painful.
You’ve made a very mindful choice to hire enough childcare coverage to give you time for pursuit of your personal and professional goals. Have you considered adding a bookkeeper to your personal support team? A skilled bookkeeper could help keep your finances organized all year long — perhaps so well organized that you wouldn’t need to file extensions on your returns. You’d support a local professional with your business, AND you’d relieve yourself of some of the DIY pain. Win-win.
@Jenzer- it’s an idea! I’m thinking of expanding the team generally – always just a question on the most strategic skills to add. Alas, we always have to file extensions since some tax forms from investments never get sent until after April 15.
I’m impressed you had the fourth grader fill out the form. Some of us would just do it ourselves but a great way for kids to be involved, recognize responsibility and realize stuff doesn’t magically happen… like the tp roll gets replaced, the salt shaker always has salt in it and the fridge does not fill itself. Sometimes it does but I know it is the other adult in the household.
@eileen – the first box basically had you confirm that you were a fourth grader…and since I’m not, I figured my kid should fill it out! It was basically a quiz about what you might like to see at the parks, and then you got to print a voucher. So nothing like the camp medical forms I spend way too much time filling out 🙂
Still, I agree with you – it’s good for kids to see that stuff does not just happen. There is no tp roll fairy.