Easter weekend

For my first-ever blog post, I'll just start where I am right now. Rainy Monday in the Bay Area.

I was thinking this morning as I hustled along the streets of the Mission to catch my work shuttle, that weekends have begun to feel like projects with too many have-to's and not enough unstructured time. It's the fate of the two-income family with a child--too much to do, too few hours. As I hurried to the spot where I queue up to get on the shuttle, I was reviewing my weekend, giving points and minuses for the good and bad. Good: Took a walk on Bernal Hill in the late-afternoon sun on Sat. (the only sun we got this weekend); found the perfect spring coat and it didn't put me into even more debt, and best of all--big, homey family Easter lunch at our place with my husband's immediate family. We cooked all day, had an indoor egg hunt, drank a little rose with the Whole Foods ham, and basically had a good day.

The Bad: My daughter had a little cold and didn't end up spending any time outside. Plus, due to our disorganization, she missed an egg-hunt in Stern Grove and didn't get to take a picture with the Easter Bunny at Stonestown (big drama). Plus, I was denied an extension of credit to finally buy a new sofa, something I've been wanting to do for like 8 years. So, looks like for now at least, the dumpy hand-me-down is here to stay. Also bad, all the cleaning we had to do pre-and post-party. Didn't get any quality one-on-one time with my husband. Well, cooking together is quality time for sure, as is relaxing in front of a fire while watching an excellent documentary on PBS about Jewish filmmakers from Germany who fled to Hollywood under the Nazis. But, not the kind of time together we really need.

But, as I walked along the streets of San Francisco in my new beige spring trench coat, I felt a little lift in spirits--amazing how a new coat can do that. In a city that can be colder in July than in April, you need the protection of a warm coat every day, and finding one that looks cute and even kind of hip made this 42-year-old mom feel a little bit better. So, i guess the Easter Bunny brought more than chocolate this year.