1. I think the more things change the more they stay the same. When Cal was newly born, meaning we weren't even out of the hospital newly born, I got an immediate glimpse into how our overnight parenting was going to work. After our birthing all-nighter and those initial feeding all nighters, Neel was incoherent, nauseous and quite literally walking-into-walls tired. I was tired too, but not that tired. The two parent system works best for our family, and we learned pretty early on that for Neel to be the most effective father he can be, the man needs his sleep. Fast forward almost thirteen years to a bout of Fifth Disease accompanied by an itchy rash. For three nights this week, Callum has crept to my bedside, scratching his torso and unable to sleep. Nothing, not lotion, not medicine, has worked. Neel's been under the weather this week, so each night Cal and I eventually came downstairs to watch a bit of SportsCenter and finally fall asleep on the sofa in front of the TV. Not ideal, but desperate times and all that. Last night, before bed, I asked Callum why he always came to my side of the bed instead of Papa's. He knew his dad hadn't been feeling well, but also, "Papa gets grumpy in the middle of the night!" Ah. The more things change... Last night went a bit better. He still got up, but we tried a different lotion, and he managed to fall back asleep without coming downstairs. We're all tired though. Here's to the weekend. And only two weeks left of the rash.

2. I think I can't believe that today is the last Friday of sixth grade! Callum has had early dismissals all week making it feel very much like the end of school is near, near, near! Getting up in the morning is hard (read #1 above), homework feels superfluous, and the weather is glorious, calling us all outside. We're all ready for our week days to feel more like weekend days, I think.

3. I think I can't believe that Callum will be graduating from Lower School in less than a week. His school has a beautiful ceremony for the kids who are moving up to Middle School, and all of Callum's grandparents will be here to celebrate the event. I can't tell you how thrilled I am for him about this; it will be wonderful to have everyone here to celebrate. I'm not a little stressed about everything we have to do to get ready for an influx of company, and a party, and lots of juggling both before and once everyone gets here, but it's a fun kind of stress. I expect there will be a post about lists sometime next week. Fortunately I've been up a lot at night so I can worry about things like, will anyone be able to come to the party we're having for him and a friend next week? Fun times!

4. I think you really can't have too many lipsticks, but my new favorite purchase might be this.

5. I think it's almost funny that Tina (Happy Blogging Birthday, Tina!) and Annie didn't realize that we lived near the beach. Positioned as we are between the Atlantic and the Chesapeake Bay, we have our choice actually (between "waves or no waves"), and living blocks away from a tidal river, the water is very much an integral part of our lives. I've written much about this beachy life and how it impacts me and us and how... significant it feels to me. Newer readers might not know that though. Summer's here now, and Cal and I will hit the beach at least once a week. The photo above is from our first bay day of the year, and from here on out, we'll have our toes in the sand often enough to take it for granted. Don't worry, though. I know how lucky I am.