a third door

finally writing to you from my hamster wheel on fire

There is a dry erase calendar hanging on my kitchen wall that I take the time to update on the first of every month to see what’s ahead in our household. Alone with the calendar in front of me, combined with various scheduling apps and emails and my Google calendar, it is a 20-minute exercise that gives me some sense of control, even if it’s false control. It is a monthly habit that’s either adorably quaint and analog or pathetically out of fashion, depending on your perspective. I have most of these dates and occasions somewhere on my phone, but having them in one visible location on the wall is helpful for me and for my kids if they want to take a look at our schedule for the coming weeks.

As I wrote my current obligations on the calendar last weekend, I realized this month holds a mandatory parent meeting for marching band, a birthday party, a band concert, a Friday night school fundraiser, a chorus concert, AP Exams for my son and my own students, state milestone tests, two dance r…