Gone

Opa and grandma have gone away for a week. We are en route to Kauai (Hawaii) where we will spend seven days and nights catching up on sleep. It's been over a year since we left town. 

While we are gone it'll be a busy week for Kara even though Matt is at home. Some of you may be thinking "So what if Kara's nanny is gone for a week? I've never been fortunate enough to have a nanny." True, true. However, it's a big change in routine for her. Our daytime routines are based on two workers and there will only be one for the next week. It's not going to be easy. I hope Kara will relax and not try to start a new project while I'm gone. 

I don't want to come back and have to dig out of big hole like last time I went on vacation. Mark and I were gone for two weeks and during that time Kara repurposed the craft room. She turned it into Lincoln and Evan's bedroom. When I came back I had to reorganize the spare bedroom downstairs to make room for all the craft supplies she displaced. 

To make space for the craft supplies I moved forty boxes of books from the spare bedroom into the downstairs family room. There they sat for over a year. It was a crazy year. We had summer guests. Kara was on bed rest. We had the interior of the house repainted. We had new carpeting installed. And, of course, we fed, nurtured, schooled, entertained, and played with Bentley, Jake, Viva, Lincoln, and then Evan. 

Despite my many valid excuses, every month or so Kara would ask me when I was going to deal with my book boxes. The problem wasn't really a lack of time (I have many free evenings), it was more of an emotional issue: I love my books! However, I couldn't deny that many of the books I hadn't read or referenced in over a decade, some in two decades. I needed to join the 21st Century and go digital. A month ago I started ruthlessly weeding through my books. I've made great progress--$300 dollars in credit at the used book store and seven boxes donated. I still have too many books, but I will persevere in downsizing until I can fit all the boxed books on bookshelves.

Have I gone off topic? Gone could refer to my books. Many of them are gone. Now I'm gone. 

P.S. Kara: No new projects while I'm out of town. I mean it.