We are in the home stretch. Last 10 minutes of the drive. It was a good trip home. Our flight was delayed, but it allowed for a leisurely morning and slow (agonizing) goodbye. The flight was good and Delta paid for a hotel for us (and made the reservations). We got to stay in the infamous TWA hotel (infamous to randal- I had never heard of it) in JFK and it was fabulous. We then had our last flight home this morning. Mom is ready to see dad. Milo will start 2nd grade tomorrow. I will rush to get my class prepped for next week. Marian will be back to the routine. Randal is scrambling to catch up on work. So, for now…. Ciao. A presto.
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I had my first class today. It’s a 3 credit hour course, so we meet two times a week for 2.5 hours each time for the remainder of the semester. It’s Stress Prevention and Management. Something that I’ve had extensive experience with… (haven’t we all?) And it went well. My students were attentive. I felt prepared. The topic was interesting. And I am grateful for all of that. Also, for the leaves. They are so beautiful right now. (I don’t have any pictures of those things, so here are my cute kids. They’re great too.)
I had a great weekend with the kids, but felt like I was moving the whole time and little got accomplished. So, today I’m grateful for preschools and elementary schools. We are lucky to have wonderful schools where our kids not only are safe, but learn so much and have so much fun. They have friends; they get to be outside; they come home with interesting facts. And also… I get time to do the things I’m working on without a chorus of “Mom?” behind me. I am just SO grateful for that. Here are the kids on Milo’s first day of first grade!
I just felt like I was failing today. I can’t stay ahead of my work or school and I’m tired and no, Milo, I don’t want to play on the playground. I want to lay on the couch. And then I got this message, out of the blue, from a Grad school friend who I rarely talk to. Sometimes the universe kicks you in the stomach and sometimes… this time… it really comes through. Many moments of gratitude today, but especially my spouse who let me vent. And Milo- when he heard me venting, he brought his bucket of Halloween candy over to offer me some so I felt better. So, all in all… it’s pretty damn good.
Today I am grateful for the completion of two big projects at work. For the last several nights, I have stayed up late doing homework or work after putting the kids to bed. Today I moderated a webinar that we have been working on for months and decided that I am calling it a day. So, I’m grateful it’s done, it went well, and that I have a nice glass of wine next to me. Cheers to Tuesday.
Friday- I was grateful for a super strong immune response to the COVID vaccine (yeesh) and a husband who brought me lunch on a tray on the couch. Saturday- I was grateful for my dad who will come out to sled with the kids and me and who will go that extra run so we can break the sledding record. Sunday/today- I am grateful that Randal has given me the time and space to complete a class paper and for the moment when i asked Marian if i worked too much and she put out her hand for me to hold and was so sweet.
Yesterday, it was just beautiful outside. And I thought, “I don’t want to work! It’s too nice to stay inside and work.” Today, it rained all day. And I thought, “I don’t want to work. It’s the perfect day to curl up and watch TV.” There seems to be a common theme. I’ll let you decide what it is. In the meantime, here is a cutie patootie.
I’m so glad I don’t have to distance myself from this walking, talking little bundle of love. She loves giving kisses and I can’t get enough of it. Damn- that kid is cute. This is an example of the 0.2 seconds that the kids entertained themselves. You can tell how much work we got done when both randal and I feel like we watched the kids more. (He got more in work hours; it was about equal when you consider waking hours.) But, they were pretty cute for those couple seconds. This picture is adorable, but if you could listen to the dialogue, it’s really just Milo counting down to Marian and then telling her that she’s in timeout. Ahhhh... coronavirus. Your effects are big and small, but certainly very present.
I can’t believe it’s Wednesday already. Life in the time of coronavirus goes so slowly (was it only three weeks ago that I was at work?) and so quickly when your life is measured in Zoom meetings. Marian has stopped sleeping well and that makes everything harder, but I continue to be grateful everyday for our sweet little coronavirus setup. The kids and their grandparents continue to mutually wear each other out. Randal and I enjoy some quiet car rides and uninterrupted work time. It feels like such a luxury. (Especially after the days when we have the kids with us AND try to work.) I love hearing from you all and feeling close - virtually, if not physically. Marian had her first Zoom call with her preschool class. It was pretty humorous. She was somewhat interested. Frankly, it was one of those meetings where they got little accomplished. We have all been in those!! Milo drew this masterpiece for his aunt Charlotte. It is “Frozen 2’s” enchanted forest, if you haven’t ...
Video conference calls have always been prevalent, but in this new norm of coronavirus, it is the only way we have meetings. Today was a day full of meetings... five different zoom calls. And one fabulous Zoom tutorial where Mom learned how to zoom conference call with Alicia and I. It was nice to come home to real face time with family tonight though. Milo greeted us with this drawing (actually, he greeted randal with the drawing, but he added my name later). It was a picture of Bogey - our cat who died last fall - for Milo’s dad and also for mom. It was too close to dinner, so the “s” became quite problematic and tear-inducing. And here are the babysitters. In the time of coronavirus, one has to learn to do without. I didn’t think that couch cushions were scarce, but when it’s fort time, I guess they are. Well, we make do.
Weekends are different when you're all working from home. Randal and I both got to work today so that we have more flexibility tomorrow. We are trying to watch the kids while working from home - as many parents are already doing. Wish us luck. If I were to run the credits for working from home it would be for: my parents, Disney plus, frozen peas, and ziploc bags full of crayons. Each one of these has entertained Milo and Marian for longer than I would have expected. She might looks distressed, but was actually thrilled with her lunch. Running "as fast as a "cheetah."
Randal and I were reminiscing about what we were doing ten years ago and how we marked the end of the first decade of the 2000s. I thought back to where I was in December of 2009 and then remembered that I had done a blogpost to close the decade. It was fun to look back on it and the one constant of my life... I have no idea where life will take me in the next ten years. So. Ten years ago, I had recently moved to Phoenix. I was lonely, but working at my first job that really paid well and I was really a grown up. I filled my days with reading, educational activities, and actively seeking and securing solid friendships. I embarked on self-improvement projects and worried that I would never meet the right person and would never get married. And today? One, it will be a miracle if I get through this blogpost in one sitting without a kid calling me.* But, as for the rest.. We have relatively recently moved. I...
A year ago today, I was getting ready to go sledding. The snow was falling so heavily and it was beautiful. I took pictures of the backyard because it was so impressively gorgeous. Randal and I had intended to go to Ashland for the night to celebrate his birthday as we had every year that we lived in Klamath. I had ordered a surprise carrot cake for him from the co-op. But, the snow kept falling and the drive looked increasingly more treacherous and so Randal and I decided that we were going to have to cancel. While Milo was napping, I cancelled the hotel and the cake. And then, I prepared for a snow day. When Milo woke up, I began bundling us both up to go outside and enjoy the beautiful day. This year, it has felt like my life has been split into two parts. Before the accident and after the accident. Before the accident, I had spent an idyllic Christmas with family. I had had two restorative conversations with friend...
This month's 30-day challenge is a 30-minute walk each day. You would think on the weekend that it would be easier, but I missed it today. (Unless you count grocery shopping, in which I was walking for more than 30-minutes, but not at a clip, certainly.) So, I am making it up for it with a blog post. This photo is from last weekend. This weekend has been much less exciting. Sing with me now... On the second weekend of December, Klamath Falls provided me: Several wintry cocktails. Three friends over last night. Two poopy blowouts. One one-year old birthday party. One medical director candidate dinner. And some chickens and some fake Christmas trees. (Three mini ones to go in the front yard. We're not doing a tree in Oregon this year.) So, it was busy - too busy, and I don't feel quite ready for the week ahead. But, it was a weekend with love and sunshine, so I'm pretty lucky.
Well, it is the end of this 30 days. I made every day but one. That was the day that I found out about Glenn's health issues and put myself to bed at 7:00pm. I think that it's okay that I missed that one. As my reward for this challenge, I will order a photo book of one photo from each day. Some days, I struggled to find a good photo. Some days, there were too many from which to choose. It will be a good snapshot into our lives this November of 2017. There were difficult moments, but the sweet ones far outweighed the hard ones. Christmas time is upon us and it is my favorite time of year. I love the music and the lights and the love. And it is a time of reflection, which can be good and difficult. I am in a very different place now than I thought that I would be. A year ago, I was submitting grad school applications, and Randal and I were mentally preparing for a move. But, today, as I watched the buildin...
I have been working hard for a month on a series of three presentations by Dr. Dexter Shurney- a celebrity in the field of lifestyle medicine. Tonight, he presented to the community and while the turnout was not as large as I had hoped, we did have some people brave the cold and listen with interest to what he had to say. Ideally, it will drum up more business for the Wellness Center, but if nothing else, it presents the idea of lifestyle medicine as treatment (as opposed to medications) to an audience that isn’t as familiar with it. It went well, but, whew... I’m glad it’s over.