So today has been the last day of the 4-day weekend here in the Polay household — except for me… this is not a work holiday for Ottaway.

It has been like a bee hive around here for much of today. Sure, the usual household multitasks conspired to pull me away from the laptop — changing Ben’s diaper while on the phone with an employee, and later building Ben a Cranium Super Fort while on the phone with another co-worker. But the landlords on one side also decided today would be the perfect day to burn all the brush in their backyard (they had quite a bit), causing me to worry enough to check the fire height against the wind direction from time to time. Meanwhile, the neighbor on the other side hired a crew to take down a tree right near the property line, maybe 150 feet from our office window.

Ah, the soothing sound of chainsaws and a wood chipper… especially now that the washer and dryer in the laundry closet behind our home-office desk have gone silent. For a while there, it was a real mechanized concert.

All that said, I am not complaining. I am a lot more comfortable in here with our space heater running than either of the crews working in the neighbors’ yards. It’s currently 25 degrees in Sandwich, which a 12 mph wind wind knocking that down to about 14 degrees.

Oh, and that wasn;t the only distraction. First, the mother of one of Sam’s friends who is due any day now dropped by to pick up Mason and Ben’s old crib. Later, Sam was picked up by another friend’s mother for a 3-hour Destination Imagination practice session. And later still Mason’s friend was dropped off for a play date.

I love the boys. Really, I do. But I, and my employer, will be quite happy when they all go back to school tomorrow!