A Fallen Angel Under A Dark Moon

Things have been so amazingly busy in my life lately, I don't even know where to begin...

Let's start with my foster-daughter Kit: Having spent a little over a year in a mental health facility (she attempted suicide) she was released on the 30th of last month, and at 18 is free to do as she pleases... She chose to come home to me... *soft smile* After a welcome home party with all her friends (and at which the boys and I played an impromptu gig), we started looking for an apartment for her, which turned into a bit of an adventure... The first place we looked at was an easy price for her to make each month, but the security was near non-existant and there were obvious rat droppings everywhere... (Can you say "ewww!"...? I knew you could...) So it was back to the drawing board... Eventually, we settled on a loft style apartment that was a *little* pricey but do-able (and rat-free...!) and had the joy of running about town looking for reasonably priced furniture... Her place is still a little empty looking, but it's livable...

Second thing that came up was this: I've been running myself ragged taking care of everyone *except* me... I was mothering the boys, and mothering my roomate's children, in addition to being mother to Kit - and it was breaking me... I had no time for myself, and no time to focus on the things that I really want to pursue... Add to that the high volume of work I was shouldering for the band, and it was a disaster waiting to happen... Finally, after a night of agonising over what I was going to do, and crying a little about the pressure of it all, I finally called a family meeting... (But I cannot take complete credit for this... My Beloved helped me through and insisted I call them on this situation and let them know in no uncertain terms that I just couldn't take it anymore... I think I might have let it go on until I broke if not for him...) So, once I aired my greivances, we re-assigned alot of the tasks I'd been shouldering to others, most especially having Jair take up some of the songwriting duties, which were really bending my brain into a pretzel...

Now having gotten my house in order, I decided to limit my ceaseless schedule with the band and free some time up for other pursuits... One of the most important was that I've taken a part-time office job with a law firm... I know I can't stay in music forever, no matter how much I'd like to, and I need another job history base to build from if (when) I finally decide to switch careers... So there's a little planning for my future going on here... (On a related note, Kit is working at the same firm in the same entry-level position I am, but full-time...) I've also freed time for private interests, one of which is cycling, which I've gotten into a bit seriously lately... (I've even signed up for a charity race - go me...!) And most importantly of all (to *me* anyway) time for my Beloved... (Though with my current job training and a small bout with a cold, that's been a little difficult... But things have cleared considerably in the last 24 hours... Ironically, just in time for him to go away on business...! *soft wry laugh*)

So that's what has been up with me, and I'm sorry if my absence alarmed anyone... (But thank you for the e-mails...!) I'll be back tomorrow with comments for you all and another post (maybe two actually)... Until then, I'm going to try to catch my breath after this whirlwind...