Two things collided this past week. Cecilia will soon graduate from middle school which led, naturally, to conversations about what she will do this summer and how she might need to start thinking about college prep. This led, naturally, to stress and unhappiness.

Talk of the approaching summer also led to discussions about what we, as a family, are going to do with my sabbatical time. Are we going somewhere? Doing something? Experiencing something? How will we maximize this rare opportunity? This led, naturally, to stress and unhappiness.

I realized later (while not sleeping because I was stressed) that no family is happy all the time. It’s impossible and probably not healthy. Happiness is like a wheel, we cycle through it. It comes and goes, but it doesn’t exist for us in the past or the future. Happiness only exists in the present. So we shouldn’t let the future come at the expense of what is right in front of us.

If we want to be a happy family, we should prioritize just being together. It doesn’t matter where. It’s sort of that simple. And that attainable.

The trick, of course, is holding onto it, because just as you grab it, the wheel keeps turning.

Mother’s Day weekend? Psshaw. 5:30 a.m. Everyday she’s hustling.

It’s the final dance competition weekend of the year. But it’s local(ish). And her dance isn’t until the afternoon so no pre-dawn bun needed. She could take her time with her usual wake-up routine.

After almost a month of maladies, Dash is now mostly cone free! Which means…

He’s back to being able to do one of his favorite activities. Drinking out of human cups.

Does anyone else’s dog do this? He has plenty of fresh water in his bowl but he vastly prefers a chilled highball glass.

Before you think he has upper-class, champagne taste, he second favorite drinking vessel is a muddy puddle.

It wasn’t just a dance competition weekend, it was also a puppy sitting weekend. If we had had nachos for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, it might have been Ally’s version of heaven.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, prep was underway for Mother’s Day brunch.

The secret ingredient for banana bread (besides a few chocolate chips and jet black bananas) is definitely a little bit of almond extract. You’re welcome.

Dash was diagnosed with seasonal allergies. Join the club. It means more frequent baths and monthly meds that cost more than my own.

Three years ago, most people looked at me like I had three heads when we came back from PEI with a hand pie obsession. Now they are in Trader Joe’s.

Feel like I missed my opportunity for domestic culinary riches.

Morning or afternoon, there is also dance bun prep drama.

Or maybe it’s just sister drama. Hard to tease out the difference sometimes.

Day 1 went well as far as this dance Dad could tell.

First stop of the year at The Black Cow to celebrate on the way home.

I can confirm that this year’s vintage of Mud Pie is excellent.

We ended Saturday with 50 years of great Broadway performances. I’m hopeful that one day this experience will come in handy during trivia nights.

I’m also thankful the Celtics game is on Sunday night. Would have been a bare knuckle affair for the remote.

We finished the night together. Ally finished it with a song and dance of course.

Happy Sunday! Happy Mother’s Day!