Well, all in all I'd give my first week back a B-.

Good things:
--I am happy to be back. I feel a sense of excitement rather than dread when I walk into my office (I really want to start calling it a study, which is more traditional and theologically appropriate, but "office" is a hard habit to break).
--The Divine Miss M was a trooper of a PK all week, charming staff members and little old ladies alike.
--Note to self: It's just as easy to work on one's to-do list while walking the church halls with baby in sling as it is to sit at one's desk and do it.
--Senior Pastor is open to a 3/4 time thing. I wasn't planning to bring it up but I kinda blurted it out the other day in the context of talking about a parish associate who might fit the bill for that other 1/4 of the job. SP also brought up the possibility of her taking some of my administrivia in exchange for me preaching twice a month instead of once--the thought being that the preaching/teaching/scholarly stuff can happen from home, while kids are asleep, and so on. Tempting. We're going to see how things unfold.
--Our angel of a cleaning person came this Wednesday. She is a minister of pastoral care as far as I'm concerned.

Hard things:
--The conundrums facing the church are still there--the kooky characters, the puzzling growth issues. That's comforting in a way--"they will always be with you" but also not.
--C has been a little off this week. That snuck up on me since her schedule did not change while I was on leave, but she's obviously still feeling the change. We had a fun day today though--went to the mall where she picked out some new shoes from Target, rode the carousel, and had lunch. Now she is "reading" in her room. Please don't let her be giving up her nap...
--M has also been off. I can't decide whether it's totally the transition or something else. She is drooling and biting like mad. Teeth at 3 months? It isn't unheard of. Or it could be nothing. Wanting to nurse all the time. Growth spurt or wanting to be near Mommy? Stuff like that.

Of course my knee-jerk reaction to clingy children is to want to resist and pull away, but that is the exact wrong thing. So today it's all about them, which means once M wakes up I'm posting this, even if I'm in mid-senten