This blog post is late. Four weeks late, to be exact. I had such great intentions at the beginning of August to put all of my blog obligations on a calendar, complete with topics for each post, intending to work on them in advance so I could not only fulfill all my obligations, but get them submitted in advance of their due dates. I was going to be Super Blogger. As is said, though, "the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray." And when my son Tim, who has a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, started to destabilize in mid-August, my plans most definitely fell by the wayside.

Summer months…don’t you (mostly) LOVE them? For many this may be the last time your child lives with you at home before heading off to college in the fall. For others it may be the time your child returns from college and you know things have changed. They come with dirty laundry, exhausted, and not used to the “rules of the house” after living independently for nine months. For young adults with bipolar it is often a time to rejuvenate, relax and sometimes repair. It is also a time to prepare.

Im a planner. Long term could easily mean two years from now. Hey, it's never too early to start planning, right? In my pre-BPmom life one of my professional positions was an advance person; the staffer that gets to an event prior to the Big Guy to make sure everything is ready to roll, key people identified, exits marked. I was born for the job. No detail too small, having Plan B, C or D, mapped out and thinking 20 minutes ahead of anyone in the room (that's why they call it advance work). Now my idea of long term is this weekend.