The last couple of weeks have brought us face to face with 2 deaths, a cancer diagnosis and the bittersweet activities of helping friends from our closest inner circle prepare to move to the other side of the country. And, if it weren’t for the fact that people regularly get fired for writing about workplace shenanigans, I’d be able to tell you about things. Things that may finally allow me to check job stress off my list. What I am trying to say here is that if it weren’t for the constant distraction of keeping Stella from trying to stuff her brother in the dryer, I don’t think I’d successfully be able to pull myself out of bed in the morning. Distraction therapy – as opposed to my usual vodka-tonic therapy.

Over the weekend we traveled to the Bay Area so that we could leave the kids with my sister while attending Monday’s funeral. Due to some warm springtime weather, it ended up turning into a mini-vacation for the kids, who got to swim, go to the SF Zoo and play at the neighborhood park which, incidentally, makes even our nicest park look like a weed infested dirt lot with a rusty swingset. I guess when you live in the epi-center of upscale San Francisco suburbia a park isn’t considered a park unless it comes complete with an elaborate water play area and condo-sized play structure.

Click here to witness the reason why Stella routinely asks me why we don’t live closer to our families.