We're all still here, and that's a great start after almost 2 years of Global Pandemic. We have jobs and school and interesting things do do and learn - what more could we want? Everything else is icing.
Updates on the Fam:
The Eldest is still working for the State, and is now vaccinated and back in the office, which he doesn't enjoy as much as working from home, but he's adjusting.
Middle is in Sunny California where it has been 85 degrees (compared with 45 here), and although he is working hard and is somewhat stressed balancing research, teaching and classes this quarter, he is still making time for friends, lifting weights, and an occasional day trip to the beach or a communal meal. UCLA has been a good experience so far, and I think the sunshine will be a welcome change from dreary State College this winter.
Not-so-Little is still enjoying working at the cafe and spends his days there, at PT working on his back and neck, or hanging out with his two besties. Grateful for him, and for them, and savoring these last years of easy parenting.
Savageman and I have our same day jobs, but I have also started a tutoring business and have a small tribe of 4th/5th graders and 9th/10th graders who rely on me for weekly or semi-weekly help with their areas of difficulty. I'm constantly moving, going from the office to the library to different homes as needed, and my "downtime" is now spent catching up on shopping / cooking / paperwork / and of course reviewing and studying the HS math and science material for which I will be needed. These are activities I enjoy anyway, but it's especially gratifying to be doing it with a specific purpose and an increased level of accountability behind it. Nighttime is relaxing and we stay up way too late, crashing on the couch to binge a show (sometimes while I'm still doing math). Savageman rubs my feet, which makes me very happy.
In the last few weeks, I have opted for a normal night's sleep rather than waking at 5:20 to go to BJJ. I moved the spin bike upstairs to where I practically trip over it in my family room, so I'm still getting good exercise, but I miss my friends. Maybe this week I'll try to go to bed earlier and start up again. 4 hours of sleep was do-able when I could take a nap after work, but not when I have tutoring appointments throughout the afternoon and evening. It's a good level of busy right now, but add that extra 90 minutes or so and subtract 2 hours of sleep and I'm spread too thin. I'm also trying to lose the 8-10 lbs I gained during Covid shutdown mode, so planning and eating regular meals is a priority.
It was a good Thanksgiving overall. I still worked and tutored Wednesday and Friday, but I also got to do some meal prep with the Guru and I made my own turkey yesterday. We had a nice Face Fone visit with Middle on Thursday, watched the parade and the dog show as usual, and I made an apple pie. Dad always does a good job with the foods, and I fixed my mom's computer while Savageman and my dad watched Sportsball. I'm on a kick lately about wanting them to write down some tales from their youth, as it seems odd that I know more about my friends' backstories than those of my own parents. My suggestion was not met with much enthusiasm; maybe I'll try something more structured when they leave for Florida after the holidays.
It's Sunday night now and I'm gearing up for a new week; looking forward to having Middle home in less than a month. Grateful for him, for airline points we earned that covered his flight here and back, for his brothers and dad, for my parents and all of my friends, for my business and all of my students, for learning challenges and opportunities and the fact that we live in a world where someone can access on YouTube or the web any number of top experts in any field and can learn from them, without the obstacles of time or distance or expense. I'm grateful every day for the resources I've been fortunate enough to have access to, and I hope I can put them to use to make at least my corner of the world a bit better for a few people.
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