It's that time of year, when a grad student with some scholarship money will suddenly email me, asking if I have the time for an editing job.

I have yet to say no.

However, I had forgotten just how much these derail everything in our house. Due to the natures of the work and the kids, I can only truly focus when D is here to be the full-time caretaker. Even then, I'm often needed for short-term Hurricane Watching (She Who Cannot Be Left Alone for Long), family appointments (this time it was a 3-times rescheduled photo session), and general information (questions that mostly start with, "Mom, where is..."). It is amazing how often I find myself saying things like, "ReaderGrrl can't eat that. She thinks she likes it, but it makes her stomach ache." Planning for all sorts of 'surprise interruptions' means I start the work earlier than I would like, take breaks throughout the day as needed, and finish up at bedtime.

And what havoc that wreaked on the changes I'm trying to incorporate into my daily life. I tend to have spotty eating habits when working and neglected to stock up on healthy munchies. I didn't work in specific times for exercise or PT, and I forgot to make an hourly trip to the kitchen for a glass of water.

By the end of the day, I was tired and disheartened, both with the editing work and with my efforts to eat healthy, and this seems to have carried over to today. For now, I'm holding on to the fact that I made some good choices in how I used my energy today and I am trying to trust that tomorrow, it will all click back into place.