Hello!
Sorry for my lack of input lately; I got a notice that my stack of library books were overdue and some couldn't be renewed, so I was frantically making my way through those in my free time. Disaster averted. 
drjen--I'm so sorry that it's been rough saying goodbye to your patients. It's hard for them to let you go, and they will probably remember you and speak of you fondly, but they will figure out what to do about their new doctor situation. Don't let yourself feel guilty for doing what's right for you.
tjsmama--Congrats on the job! Things are moving right along for you, huh? It's great news that you were able to find something, even if it's not exactly where you want to be right now.
The school discussion is interesting. My kids are in first grade and preschool, with no signs that they will be outside the academic level for where they are, so grade-skipping will likely not ever come into play for us. However, DD, my first-grader, has a July birthday and the cutoff for school here is September 1. She is young, which we didn't really know when we registered her for school. In my town there's a program called "Transitional," which is kind of a gap-year between kindergarten and first grade. It gives kids that extra year without the stigma of being left back, since it's a separate classroom and not kindergarten all over again, exactly, but something different to do for a year before moving into first grade.
DD could have gone either way, since she's young and she didn't like to hold her pencil correctly, which her kindergarten teacher seems to think is a much bigger deal than I do. We decided to send her ahead to first grade, but are now constantly second-guessing ourselves as we hear more and more people who have gone through the transitional program. Apparently sports is a consideration, too, especially for the boys who, if they take an extra year before first grade, would then have an advantage when they get older and are playing against classmates who are younger and smaller. Who even thinks of that? 
My main concern is the social aspect. We've always been a bit concerned about DD, as she has a huge birthmark on her face that attracts attention like crazy. And I was young for my grade, too, a November birthday with a December cutoff. I didn't turn 18 until my freshman year in college. I was always academically advanced and never struggled with the schoolwork, but I had trouble socially. I remember in high school just being really uncomfortable with the boy-girl banter and not exactly figuring out how to participate in flirty conversation. Would an extra year have helped me be more comfortable, or is this just a personality issue? I keep having to remind myself that my outgoing, center-of-attention, bossy DD is NOT me and will probably be fine with the social thing.
Ah, running! I've been running this week. I did something on Monday--five miles? Then yesterday I was planning on doing my long run but it was colder than I anticipated and I let my brain get in the way of my plans. I wimped out and did three fastish miled on the treadmill at the gym, which meant that today I was locked into my long run even though it was still chilly and drizzly.
It felt decent. I did just over twelve miles, and it didn't feel as awful as it did last time and the time before. I can definitely feel improvement in endurance and mental fortitude on the horrible hills. I didn't feel like killing myself, and I only stopped once around mile 8 to drink some water, eat a Starburst candy, and fix a wardrobe malfunction (sweatpants that kept sliding down) that had been plagueing me since the first mile. I'm pleased with how today went, although I'm waiting tables tonight and I have a feeling that today's running choice might feel like more and more of a bad idea as the evening progresses.
This weekend DH and I are attending a wedding four hours away with NO KIDS! It's been seven years since we have traveled without kids. We're dropping them off with my parents on Friday night, going to the wedding Saturday night, and picking them back up on Sunday. It will be a truly fabulous weekend away, and I've been looking forward to it for months. 
No running to report, and the day was full of one massive melt-down after another. UGLY.
We salvaged it by heading out for a quick run around the neighborhood, so all was not lost, but I was kind of bummed to miss spin class.
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