Hi Meg, I've popped by your blog for many years now, though I rarely leave a mark. I just wanted to wish you well with the transition. We've had similar changes in our family, and I understand very well (as a former freelancer married to a former grad student, with a small child and elderly family living far away!) what a big sigh of relief can come with a regular pay check. Your family will adapt to its new rhythms soon enough. I wish you all the best!

I'm glad that ended well! Sometimes enjoying the process is a valuable lesson, but of course it's easier to enjoy things that are going the way we want them to! My mother has practiced Chinese brush painting since she was a child, and I spent many evenings with her patiently trying to copy those careful strokes. I never got far, but I have her beautiful paintings hanging in my home. Enjoy the rest of the summer!

That is so true! Even simple things feel hard at first, but even though you have special challenges this time around, I'm so sure everything will settle into place soon. What lovely, happy photographs!