Beginnings, Endings, and In-Betweens

Wednesday night was the final push after two very busy weeks for JP and me. I was up until midnight along with every other member of our review team to meet our next production deadline- our goal had been to finish on Wednesday and at 11:58 p.m. we were done. JP was also up late studying for his last final, so when we got in bed at 12:30 we were exhausted. Landon of course chose that moment to wake up every half hour until 2:30 -- something he hasn't done in nearly a year. It was a horrific flashback to what life was like with a newborn.

On Thursday I ran around like crazy wrapping up the production set and JP finished his first year of business school. Landon and I wanted to make him a special meal to celebrate so we picked up a loaf of freshly made bread, meatballs, marinara sauce, provolone cheese, and a giant cookie cake that said "Congrats Dada!" JP was surprised and very pleased with his giant meatball sub. For the first night in a long time I didn't work and we relaxed on the couch drinking wine and watching our Thursday night shows. It was really, really nice.

And today I left work early to attend my sister's graduation lunch. We couldn't make it to the 10 a.m. ceremony, but I was glad to be part of the celebration with my brother, parents, mom's parents, and a bunch of my sister's friends I'd heard about for 5 years and never met. She now has a Bachelor's in Accounting and will be starting her job in a month. It's possible my parents are even more excited about this than she is.

So lots of things were finished in the past few days, but as always, plenty more are about to begin. JP has a company to start and is probably taking a one-year leave of absence from the M.B.A. program to do so. I have another deadline to meet and three new contract attorneys to train and supervise. The summer associates have arrived at the firm and it's been strange and rather fun to be on the other side of that whole process. We stopped at Lowe's tonight to pick out paint for Landon's big boy room- I'm hoping to finish that project this weekend.

Life is good and crazy and full of new challenges, but I think we've found our rhythm. It's hard to believe a year ago I was still in law school, a month away from graduation with barbri breathing down my neck, and preparing to embark on a cross-country move (remember this? yeah, that was a fun time). You know it's funny, I set out to write about all these endings, but all I can think about is everything I plan to do this summer and fall and next year. We've got a lot to look forward to as a little family and while some days can be overwhelming, I couldn't be happier with where we are right now.