The start of every school year is different, and this one has been especially interesting. Over the past week:

• Jared (H20, our 5th college student) started classes at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, KS on Monday
• Colleen (H12) started middle school (7th grade) and spent four days trying out for the volleyball team on Tuesday
• Lance (H16) started his Junior (3rd) year of high school with a schedule that we completely overhauled the week prior on Wednesday
• Hectic Grandson began cutting two molars on Wednesday, leading to more drooling that I’ve ever seen!
• Maddie (H18) became our 6th college student as she began her first year at the University of Kansas on Thursday
• We coordinated, long-distance, with Hannah (H21) on her move into her apartment in Maine to start her last year of college
• On Friday six of us piled into our crossover vehicle and drove 450 miles to Dallas/Fort Worth Airport to pickup Jenni (H23B)
• Saturday we spent the day together as a family and then attended a wedding
• To close out the weekend we piled back into our crossover plus sent two kids with my brother-in-law and drove back to Kansas

If you follow me on Twitter, you already know that Thursday’s drive up and back to KU was about 450 miles, so I was either driving or sitting in the car for nearly 1,325 miles since Thursday…only to end up standing at the same desk that I was at much of last week. Just a couple of normal drives for our family. We were fortunate that the roads were mostly clear of construction, and traffic at the times that we drove was fairly light. We zipped from place to place without a lot of friction.

On the other side though, the house tumbled into disarray. As each college student prepped to leave, piles of everything for college living took up residence in our front hall, dining room, and great room. In the midst of all that, the windows that we’ve been waiting to replace after a hail storm two years ago finally arrived and were installed in the great room.

In addition, that funny sound in the ceiling of our pantry presented itself as a leak from the tub & shower combination directly above. Since it was the only room available, our entire pantry has moved into our computer room (we call it the Nexus because we are total nerds. Don’t judge!), making for some interesting meal preparations.

I’ve been trying to redesign my office since just before Jenni (H23B) took ill and I went out to Colorado for three weeks. That break in the action left my office a complete disaster, including piles of in-transit materials that are going to find new homes in my office. Unfortunately, my office has expanded outwards into the front hall, making that area even more congested and disorganized.

Today starts a new week that closes out the month of August. While I struggled quite a bit last night, I was able to setup themes for all my days. This morning I planned out today, with a focus on getting our financial info caught up. There are a couple housework and yard work items on today’s plan that just can’t wait, but other than that, I’m going to be standing at my desk working away much of the day. The disarray around me is very distracting, but that is going to have to wait until I get some of the other items in order that are of higher precedence.

The one place that isn’t in disarray is my bedroom closet. Some months back I spent an entire weekend reorganizing it, and it’s become the model for what I’d like to achieve in the rest of the house. As I got dressed this morning, I realized how at ease I felt standing in there. Everything was in it’s place, and every place had a thing. That feeling was quite refreshing.

So, if you’re looking for me in the house and can’t find me, check my closet. I may be sitting in there, sipping a cup of Cognitea, listening to FocusAtWill, and working to clear my mind. The closet isn’t much, but it’s a start at getting the entire house back under as much control as possible.

Make it a great week!