Why are winters around our household always so completely insane? I’m beginning to think we may have some sort of seasonal affect disorder whereby the darkening days and colder temperatures cause us to pile on the projects, commitments and responsibilities. Or maybe we’re like the grasshoppers in that we play all summer and then have to make up for it with a serious bout of productivity once the good weather’s gone.  Whatever the case, winter was a blur of school applications, standardized aptitude tests, statistics (me) and physiology (Matthew) homework, plus a couple of holidays and trips out of town thrown in for good measure. But here we are on the brink of spring: the sun is shining, the daffodils are out and we are slowly returning our schedules to something resembling normal.

Matthew is just now wrapping up what we hope will be his final round of medical school applications. None of the U.S. schools were willing to take a chance on his rather unusual profile so he is now looking at schools in the Caribbean. I was accepted to a graduate school program here at the UW and will be starting this fall on a master’s in environmental health (part of the school of public health). It’s a two year program so the working plan is that Matthew will stay here in Seattle for most of my first year of school before heading off to the Caribbean next spring to start his own academic adventures. Wilder will likely stay here with me in Seattle while I finish up my second year - at least until we can find a good child care solution wherever Matthew ends up attending. Matthew has tried to sell me on the idea that being childless in the Caribbean is going to be hard work (something about starting med school and having a lot of work to do), but I remain unconvinced. If any of you would like to move to an island and watch our kid for part of the 2010-2011 academic year (Miles and Anja??) we’re entertaining all serious offers.

When I first applied to graduate school, the thought was that I would go only if Matthew didn’t get into school anywhere else. But by the time I had studied and taken the GRE, gotten my recommendation letters together and written my application essay, it was pretty hard to imagine turning down an offer. This lead to a lot of tough conversations about who was going to get what they wanted and who was going to have to wait (add those talks to the list of sucky things we did over the winter). We can thank my friend Jen for bringing in some much needed perspective and suggesting the current “two-state” solution. This was something we had assumed was off the table until Jen pointed out how many academics spend their entire lives juggling a long-distance family and marriage. Ours will only be a temporary circumstance and if we’re good at anything around here, it’s finding the positive experience in whatever situation we happen to find ourselves.

Meanwhile, we’re gearing up to try and sell our house in the middle of a recession as we wean ourselves off the yuppie life style in preparation for student life. With another round of major layoffs coming to Microsoft next month, we may get some “help” in our downsizing efforts. And we’re starting to plan out our summer adventures which so far include a lot of ideas but no firm plans. Actually, there is one exception and that is Burning Man. I’ll be returning this year and brining Matthew along for the ride. My mom has graciously (amazingly) agreed to take Wilder for the week or so that we’ll be off playing in the desert. We hatched this plan maybe about a month or two ago. Since that time, Wilder has asked almost weekly “Is it Burning Man yet?” Clearly, time with mom and dad is no match for the endless movies, play time and hot chocolate happening at grandma’s house. Wilder has also asked if he can go live with my mom while Matthew and I are in school, reassuring me “You can come visit whenever you want.” Don’t tempt me kid.

Although, really the thought of packing my kid off for some extended period of time is less tempting now than ever before. I can’t think of another time when I’ve gotten quite so much fun and enjoyment out of my child. The other morning I was helping Wilder get dressed for school and I flashed back to mornings when he was only two and I would end up literally screaming with frustration before breaking down in sobs because it had taken 45 minutes of cajoling, arguing and threatening to get him to cooperate in putting on his socks. But it’s more than his evolution into a rational creature that has me so jazzed lately. Spending time with Wilder these days is just plain FUN. He has interesting thoughts and strange ideas and likes to do cool things like build Lego ships and play Uno and ride bikes down to Market Street to get hamburgers and milkshakes. Sunday, for example, Matthew, Wilder and I went to the Creation Station up in Lynwood which is an amazing store filled with bins and bins of all kinds of random, recycled objects… everything from buttons and milk jug caps to circuit boards and defective handheld pregnancy tests. For $6 a person you get a spot at a big table and two hours to make anything you can dream up and carry home. Wilder’s class took a fieldtrip to the Creation Station last week but Wilder was the one to suggest we go as a family over the weekend.

Here is a photo of Matthew wearing my post-apocalyptic, synthetic rasta hat and Wilder wearing Matthew’s cyborg enhancement cuff. Happy Spring!