Settle down, settle in

Aug 24, 2009

Tomorrow is the first day of third grade for Anna; Malia starts kindergarten two days later. Both are at a new school near our new home, and the start of school means this long summer — and spring before it — is coming to a close.

Since January, Erin and I and the girls have been going full out. We moved: sold our home in Durham, and took up residence in a new house on a new street. We traveled: a friend’s wedding in Ithaca, a Shaughnessy family cabin gathering in the Smoky Mountains and the huge Zuiker Family Reunion in West Virginia.

We painted rooms, planted flowers and wondered why we were so busy we couldn’t get to the swimming pool across town. We shuttled the girls to various summer camps, and hosted a few dinner parties and weekend guests.

All this during Erin’s first year as an attorney, and my second year at Duke Medicine.

All in all, one nonstop journey. And so it’s time to take a breath, settle down and settle into this house.

The routines of school and work, once synchronized, should channel us to family bike rides, homework help and weekend gardening. We moved here for the schools, yes, but also so we could set up a long table and invite friends and family — and strangers — to our home for good food and leisurely conversations. That’s one part of a new initiative I’m about to kick off, called The Long Table (background here. First event will be Sept. 20 at 3CUPS (details to come tomorrow).

I’d like to ease back into my blogs, too, so The Coconut Wireless (this blog) and Zuiker Chronicles Online and Storian.org reflect more of my activities and readings and musings.

What else? ScienceOnline2010 is in the works, and Science Communicators of North Carolina (SCONC: we say “skunk”) is planning a busy season of meetups and social events.

What’s that? How am I to settle down with a full slate of activities? Ah, my lifelong challenge.

Anton Zuiker ☄