The Internets Were Broken.

I might have a problem. With the household internet acting up, and the wireless crapping out entirely for a few days, I began to get the shakes. When I logged into bloglines I had something like 200 new entries to catch up on. I caught up on my must-reads, then gave up and hit the "mark all read" button. It was all just too much to process.

I sepnt most of this week getting ready for Jack to start preschool next week. He has his first honest-to-goodness "school supplies" list, and I had a little moment of nostalgia as I stuck sticker labels with his name on his box of crayons, glue sticks, baby wipes and plastic snack cups. My handwriting even looked like my mother's to me.

By high school, I was begging her to please, PLEASE not label every notebook and pack of pens with my name. I think, though, that after 30 years of labeling kids' school supplies ... well, it was a hard habit for her to break. I still smile every time I look at the lid of the laundry hamper I've had since college. "Melissa R." Some habits are hard to break. Others, you don't want to break; they're your only coping mechanism for learning to let go.

Jack will be in preschool 5 days a week this year, in the afternoon class. This will be Toby's first real time alone with me, since last year half of our "free" time was spent driving to pick Jack up from his old preschool - 45 minutes away. The new school is just down the street, through the "downtown" part of our little town. I have visions of Toby and I dropping off a cheerful Jack at school and heading to the coffee shop for a bagel and a little face-time. Once I finish sniffling.

I think I need to find more things to write his name on.