Funny thing about being in Rettland, there seems to be a lot of good and a lot of crisis. Still, somehow, there seems to be this vast gap that I get caught in between the two. The daily life of it all. Living in Rettland is hard. Exhaust your socks off hard. When there is no crisis and nothing over the top exciting is happening, that “normalness” is really hard. At least that’s how I’ve been feeling lately. Maybe it’s because I am still spoon feeding my 7 year old and our 4 year old is jealous that she doesn’t get that kind of attention at the table. For that matter, I’m still doing everything for her that I did for her as an infant and have been for nearly 8 years now. That’s a hard normal. Perhaps that’s why I prefer being awesome but I just don’t have the energy to do that all the time, who does. I’ve been noticing a few of you out there in Rettland and how overwhelmed you are. I just wanted to say hi, I’m overhwlemed too and it just helps to say that out loud. I miss all the people that would smile at me when I was with Claire over the summer. People would freely smile at the both of us as I pushed Claire around town. Now, without her, I am nearly invisible. Who smiles at a clearly overtired stranger, not that many people. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest, I feel better now. Here is a smile for your Monday, because you can never have enough smiles.