In Big Time I use an extended metaphor of a circus for describing a complex life. A complex life is not inherently chaotic. You can have a lot of moving parts and still have things be mostly calm, orderly, and kind of fun.
That is how I would describe this weekend. It is May, and May is doing its May thing already. On Friday I drove to West Chester to go see my daughter’s jazz band play a concert on the steps of the courthouse (as people were walking by for their gallery walk). Meanwhile, my husband was taking our 16-year-old to go take his driver’s license test. He passed — which is good, because he was already on the driving schedule for the weekend. I had planned to take my daughter home and we’d all go to a restaurant together, but the concert ran late, so we just met the rest of the family at our favorite Mexican place in Conshohocken. It’s been nice to have all seven of us together. We don’t eat out that often, but we did twice this weekend — we went Saturday morning to brunch at place in King of Prussia as an early Mother’s Day brunch for me (people will be gone this next weekend). It was not totally relaxing but it was much better than in past years. It is a parenting milestone to be back in the “brunch era” for sure.
The rest of Saturday featured a parkour class, a birthday party, the 14-year-old going out shopping with a friend, I finished my puzzle, and my oldest went to his former high school’s prom with a friend. I went and took pictures of them and then later took my 11-year-old to a church lock-in. I was a little nervous about this but he had a really good time (he was also apparently up until 2:30 — bless our youth pastors!). My husband and I then watched the Sixers win game 7 against the Celtics (on TV – they were in Boston). That game was too close for comfort.
On Sunday I went to church with the 14-year-old for her confirmation expo — she showed her trifold poster of write-ups of 30 Biblical role models (half and half men and women). We met up with the 11-year-old who was running on fumes at this point. I still got to choir practice when my husband showed up to take over with the kids. We sat together for the 11-year-old to do the “youth step up” ceremony in church, and then I raced back up to the loft. My 6-year-old refused to go to Sunday school so he sat with my husband (who was not going to be there — he’d planned to run Broad Street, but when he got to the expo on Saturday he learned that he wasn’t registered. Whoops. But this made Sunday’s logistics easier! He did still run 10 miles on Sunday, just not in the race.).
The rest of Sunday featured the usual mix to tennis lessons, another parkour class, and my 16-year-old driving himself to Scouts (!) where he had his Board of Review to earn the Life rank. Now he just needs to get going on his Eagle Scout project and the other requirements for that. Meanwhile, I got into my derby party outfit (including a fascinator) and my friend Joy picked me up to go to a library fundraiser nearby. We hung out there for 2 hours — she won a few silent auction items but I did not — then we went back to my house and hung out in my office by the fireplace (because it was freezing for May!) and chatted for an hour. That was a nice way to end Sunday. A lot happened this weekend but there was still space for reading, finishing my puzzle, watching the Sixers on TV, etc. I did some biking around the driveway with the 6-year-old. A lot fits in a circus.
Meanwhile — Big Time: A Simple Path to Time Abundance is on sale tomorrow. This is the last call for pre-orders! You can order at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, or any other retailer. I’m hosting a virtual launch party on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. eastern for people who pre-order. We’ll have special guests, trivia, and give-aways. After you buy a copy, just fill out this form and we’ll send you the link.
If you have enjoyed reading my work over the years, I’d really appreciate your picking up a copy — and if possible, during the first week of the book being out. It really does help to get momentum going and to show retailers and media outlets (and my publisher) that demand will be swift.
I’m starting to see some of the media I’ve done come through! I was on Kathleen Paley’s The Reframe podcast today — so fun to have that conversation.
I was also on Sarah Horgan’s The Simple + Intentional Podcast — please check that one out!
