What I've really been thinking about lately

My catch phrase for everything these days is "When we get into the new house..." For example: "Starflower, you'll be able to have a friend sleep over without infringing on Mom and Dad's privacy." As if we have any. And I tell myself: "You'll have a place to play music, do yoga, even umm...have some fun with your spouse!"

It all hinges on that. Living in small quarters with children (not to mention dogs) without indoor plumbing has got to be one of the most chronically stressful situations I have encountered. College dorm life seems comparatively attractive. I feel like I'm about ready to lose it more often than I care to admit. We need that space!

But, since that has been the situation for four years and counting, I have found other things to divert my attention. I have, I've decided, been overly obsessed with my health. True, I have gained more weight that I would like to these last few years, but I find myself obsessing over every little ache, taking more supplements than I probably need, spending hours on the Web reading what is mostly nonsense.

But can a woman who is as hopelessly out of shape as I keep tellimg myself I am, hop into the pool and swim forty laps in an hour after years of non-swimming? And even push myself into interval training? And meticulously avoid refined sugars, trans fats and high fructose corn syrup, the Evil Trinity of the modern diet?

Maybe I have more inner strength than I give myself credit for.

There's more. But it's late.