One more minute...

...one more second

to spend with you

One more minute, one more second

just to hold you

-Chatham County Line, "One More Minute"

If you've followed my blog for any length of time (like more than 2 posts), you realize that one theme is my struggle to navigate that delicate balance between the things I want to do and those I have to do. Call it work-life balance. Call it not enough hours in the day. Call it laundry overload. It's all the same - whether we're talking about the work I do for pay, the work I do to keep my home from being condemned for clutter overload, or the work I do to chug through grad school, it's the same story. All too often, there's more working time than enjoying-my-boys time.

But this weekend was different. I blew off my grad school lit review that is way overdue. I let the dishes pile up to the point they were not "in" the sink but "above" the sink in a large pile that was actually higher than the faucet. And I made time for family and friends.

Friday we got together with fellow heart friend, Ethan, for some playing in the park and pizza on the porch. It was the kind of fun that stay-at-home-moms get to enjoy all the time, but it's a real rarity for me. And it was so good to see these two little boys with imperfect hearts and matching scars having such a perfectly normal day at the park.

Then, Friday night the Foster Four braved the rain for a free concert at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham. Chatham County Line, one of the hubs' favorite bluegrass(ish) bands, was wrapping up the Music on the Lawn series, and we decided to check out this last show of the season. Jay has been begging to go to an outdoor concert all summer, and since Friday brought the last day of summer weather, it was high time we obliged.

What a blast - and what a crowd! Wow. (Note to self - get there much earlier if you actually want a seat on the grass.) But amid the mass of people, we managed to run across friends from church who were out to enjoy the show, and Gabby and fam who were nearby at the DPAC. In spite of the fact that church friends planned to have a real date with the company of grownups, and Gabby and Uncle T were celebrating their wedding anniversary, they all hung out with us and our wee ones. And although the wee ones needed all sorts of entertaining to prevent nuclear meltdown, they really did have lots of fun. It was a great show surrounded by great people.

And just to make sure that we absorbed all that we could of the last day of summer weather, we stopped by Maggie Moo's for ice cream on the way home. Bananas + chocolate = happy.

And the fun doesn't stop there! Saturday we awoke to the most beautiful, perfectly blue sky fall day I can remember. After our typical weekend morning pancake fest, we headed out to Hill Ridge Farms with friends from the boys' school.

Pumpkins and giant slides and corn pools and train rides and hay jumps ... oh, it's fall alright. I'm so happy it's October! Must obtain apple cider. Soon. Must blow off responsibilities more often. Must remember that doing things with other folks gives me energy and makes me a happy camper. Ooooh, camping. Maybe it's time to go camping soon, too! Who's in? Must squeeze every minute of fun out of my favorite season of the year.