Danke.

Turkey Day is around the corner and on Thursday, while I have much to be thankful for I am not doing a damn thing. And for that I am most thankful. We will begin a Turkey Day tradition of going for a run and later in the day head to a friend’s home for dessert, but those are the only two items on the Vaughn agenda. I love it.
The last several weeks have been exhausting and overwhelming but now that the Dallas Opera season has quieted down for a bit, I was able to enjoy a full two days off over the weekend. Nana flew in from New York to meet Marigny for the first time and we had a wonderful time. It is amazing to think that Nana was meeting the daughter of her son’s daughter. Three generations of Draper blood were sitting pretty in the Vaughn house and the feeling of family and connection that it sparked in me was astounding. I have decided that one of my projects over the next several months (years) will be to put together the family tree so that Marigny as she gets older will know exactly where she came from and so that I may learn where I came from as well.

Aaah! This sentimentality is a strange feeling for me to experience, but it makes me feel warm and fuzzy.
Truth be told, I am not totally escaping from Thanksgiving, the food beckons me too strongly. Friday Mom flies into Dallas and we will be doing a day after Turkey day feast and will be setting up and trimming the very first Christmas tree Zach and I will have had in our home. I am so thankful to be able to share this moment with mom as she shares it with Marigny. Plus I am just so happy that my mom will be in Dallas for a few days so that we may hang out. We get along really well, warped humor and all.
What it all comes down to is that there is so much to be thankful for that thank you does not fully express the feeling.
I am thankful for (in no particular order):
Abita Amber
The Saints
Warped humor
Good friends
Munch
Running
Thundercats
Scrabble
Family
Amazing step-kiddos
A truly spectacular husband
Marigny

A Woman on the Verge

2010-2011 The Dallas Opera Opening Night
photo credit Amber Starling Photography



Shame on me, it has been awhile since I have posted anything. Life is a bit crazy right now and upon returning to work from my non-maternity leave maternity leave (I’ll spare you the details), I was faced with a massive undertaking also known as Opening Night. Holy moly, I thought last year’s opening night was difficult, but in all honesty it had nothing on this year’s festivities. It shouldn’t have been as much of a trial as it was, but there were a few elements this year that made it quite challenging.
I will stop with the work chatter, but here’s the deal: working and having an infant and two step children is really really hard. Harder than I ever imagined. I am sure you are thinking how hard can it be? You only have Grayson and Avery every 1st, 3rd, and 5th weekend, it’s not like they are there all the time. But that is just it, they are not here all the time, so every time I get into a rhythm with Marigny and work that rhythm gets broken up by the weekends we have Grayson and Avery, and once they leave it takes a week to re-establish said rhythm and there is no recovery from the amount of work that the weekends with the kids require. It is a never ending cycle of attempts at and interruptions of a routine and I am exhausted.
I am a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown and I think I need help. Usually running would help me out, but I have been sick since October 6th and my energy levels are so depleted that some days I can barely go up and down our stairs. I intended to run this morning and woke up, fed Marigny, went to get dressed in my running clothes and could barely lift my arms over my head to put my dri-fit shirt on. Pathetic. I am a sad and sorry case at the moment and I am not sure that there is anything that can be done about it. I will try to run this afternoon, but by the end of the day usually whatever energy I did have is completely depleted. My sanity needs a good strong run, not so sure my body or lungs can handle it…
Here’s a positive: I am flying to New Orleans tomorrow to celebrate Mom’s 60th birthday (November 5th) and I could not be more excited to go. I am sorry that Zach and Marigny won’t be joining me, but thrilled at the alone time that I will be able to have with Mom. Well, until Billy baby starts a-callin’. But I will take whatever I can get!
I would be remiss if I did not mention what a tremendous day November 3rd was as it was Zach and I’s 3 year anniversary. He is definitely the best of me and I could not be more thankful for all that he does for me.
Sorry for the depressing blog post…but here is a picture of Marigny which is something that always cheers me up.