Soon I will be heading back to teaching full time, which means my nearly 17-month stint as a stay-at-home mom will end. And once a week Jack will be home from day care in my better half's loving care and guidance. I asked hubby what activities he was planning with our toddler, and he gave me a shrug. "I don't know....we can go to Lowe's. Or maybe he can help me work on the car?" Images of our 17-month-old covered in diesel weilding a ratchet flashed before my eyes.

The courtyard of the Mellwood Arts Center was a great place to be last night. There was plenty of good people-watching, amongst the large, well-dressed, independent business-supporting crowd. The weather was nice, the beer was flowing, and the eardrum-shattering noise of the band inside the main hall was muffled. The bands weren't bad, they just overwhelmed the indoor space so much that the people pouring the beer could hardly hear the orders, and conversation was impossible.