The Work of Not Working

One minute Aeli's in the middle of the blanket covered mat in the center of the room, and the next he's underneath his crib jamming on the (silent) keyboard. And he's not even actually crawling yet! I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for never being able to sit down again.

Meanwhile, taking care of my little scooter is an incredibly full-time (and fulfilling) job. I was eating my bread-and-cheese lunch in line at the post-office the other day when I thought to myself, And I'm not even working! I don't know how we managed the second half of last year. I'm proud of us, anyway.

Last Saturday at the farmer's market, we obtained a twenty-five-pound box of tomatoes for $8. A couple of juicy hours later we had:
about 12 pints of tomato sauce, some chili, and a pan of tomato paste I used the next day to make tomato-okra-barley stew. Yum! Now, our house is again tomato-neutral.

We've also been hanging out at KIPP a lot lately. Stefin started teaching again yesterday, so he's had a lot of work to do, and I've been helping out by adding to their wall decor with a mural. Aeli's been providing lots of emotional support.
It's great, though, being home. At one point in my life I would have thought it almost anti-feminist, but I am loving my time focused on my baby. My partner and house and personal projects get the next most attention, and I am a thousand times less stressed than when I was still teaching. I even suggested we have folks over for dinner during the week (a proposition I would not have made during the last school year)! I know I will go back to working in some capacity in the coming months, but for now, this is so wonderful. I couldn't ask for much more.