Superwoman. That's me.

Traveling. Mothering. Moving. Each one is a challenge in and of itself. So what do you get when you combine all three of them at one time? You guessed it….You get a very busy me.

When I originally planned our two week trip to Virginia I thought it would be a nice opportunity to escape from my stressful obligations in New York and enjoy some quality time with friends and family. That was the plan. But life has a habit of taking my plans and turning them into a jigsaw puzzle- cutting them into tiny, almost unrecognizable pieces, throwing them into a cardboard box and giving them a vigorous shake, then dumping them out onto the table and saying “have fun trying to make sense of it now!”

Three weeks ago I called a property manager to discuss options about our house. (For those of you who don’t know, we have been unsuccessful in selling our house because we owe more than its current worth. Curse you, housing market!) We came to the agreement that since the economy is not conducive to selling, that renting would be our best option. A few days after our initial meeting, we had our first showing to a couple interested in renting. That same afternoon I got a call from another prospective renter. Two days later we had a second showing from a different couple. And in that same week I entertained my sister who was visiting from California and I packed our bags for a two week vacation.

The day after we left on our road trip I was contacted by the property manager, who wanted to show the house to another prospective renter. I had gone to a lot of work to leave the house in showable condition for this very purpose and if nothing else about this post impresses you, that simple feat should. The next day I received word that this person was sitting down with our property manager to look over a lease agreement and the day after that I was given the “go ahead” to find a new house in Virginia. I immediately started searching online and making dozens of calls, trying to find a new place to live. And in that same week I visited with my three sisters, my niece and nephew, kept my three kids out of trouble, went shopping and swimming, attended a massive playgroup, and went on two sightseeing trips.

The next week I began avidly searching for a new home in the Norfolk area. I went to see a house and a town home for rent in Newport News but both of them were in dangerously scary neighborhoods. I made more calls and did more online searches than I could count. The next day I went to two more houses and I finally found one I wanted to live in. So I began the application process and even had to ask a friend in New York to find my hidden key, go into the house, tear through the cupboards in search of important documents and fax them to the rental agency. The next day our application was approved and I drove to the bank for a cashier’s check to make a deposit to reserve our new home. And in that same week I caught up with some old friends who I haven’t seen in years, played with 8 little kids, went to the beach, and then visited my in-laws and drove 10 hours back home.

I often have people say to me, “Jennifer, I don’t know how you do it all.” The prideful side of me wants to dramatically rip open my button-front blouse and thrust out my chest to expose the large “S” emblem of my Superwoman suit. But my more humble side usually replies something along the lines of, “I do what I have to do.” However, I want to give credit where credit is due. None of this would be possible without the Lord Almighty watching over me every step of the way and giving me patience, guidance, and strength. I also rely on an amazing network of family and friends who helped me in an array of capacities- from pet sitting while I was away to caring for my kids when my focus was elsewhere to sorting through my mess in search of an important piece of paper. Thank you all! Superwoman would be no one without the help of her loyal sidekicks.

That's me, dressed up as Supermom for Halloween '09