Ever notice how things seem to get worse before better?!
It's been VERY busy lately, and at points in recent weeks I really wondered if they would ever turn around, but at least they did!
A few weeks ago, spent a week of vacation sorting through virtually every toy we ever purchased or received as gifts for our kids, who are all teenagers now and have little need for any of it. The organization of our house was quite literally destroyed, as I scattered things to sort on our dining room table, kitchen floor and office floor... I have some advice for parents! Do NOT purchase beads or hair elastics! You will find them in EVERY bin or box or other organization container you keep in your home. So glad to be through that sorting, and managed to sell about 2/3 of the stuff and make a little cash, and there is a bit more space in our home now as well, though more to be done "someday" soon!
After that, coming back to work was usual.. 317 email messages in what was a 0 inbox when I'd left the week before. Gah. Managed to catch that up now, just as I intend to go on vacation about a week from now again for a week. That cycle will be rather vicious all summer I think, as I have booked quite a few weeks here and there to try to get my brain some seemingly much needed rest.
Next, there was a day trip to the children's hospital with our daughter, to consult about latest advice regarding best practices to encourage teenagers to eat healthy food. A few weeks ago, after consulting a dietician because our daughter still refuses to eat meat (except bacon) and veggies (except fries) and she has low iron and thyroid issues now, I was led to start reading a book which is quite intriguing, recommending practically the opposite of all advice we've received in the past... "Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family", by Ellyn Satter. At the hospital, the doctor encouraged us to continue on that path, getting "back to basics" with eating (cutting out all the processed crap we seem to eat) while trying to get at least a tiny morsel of meat or veggies into her with every meal. I'm about half through reading that book and hope to get through it soon. Let's just say I'm still reading and struggling with all this, but getting ideas and working on increasing how often we eat together as a family. My daughter is at least going to school more now, and I have just 2 more lunch packing days for school this year, so there is that bit of good news!
Of course, other "life" events were in the mix recently. Our boys wrote exams this week and are waiting to hear their results. People keep lamenting about how much death and illness seems to be around anymore as well :( Glad to hear today that another family victim of stroke is heading home at least!
This week has been heavily focused on making plans at work to adjust our approach. It's been quite stressful and frustrating at times... On Wednesday night, I decided to aim for some distraction by going to bridge and then watching "Babies" on Netflix. This is quite cute and it's very interesting to see in this documentary how very differently women around the world handle their babies... Thought especially cute to see one baby sitting in the dirt, getting completely filthy, and then reaching out to another to make his lips vibrate... This baby was SO happy. Another simple reminder that maybe we all could benefit from getting back to basics!
After that, woke up yesterday with a song in my mind... "This is the Day" LOL - church music on a Thursday! Indeed, we all need to try to "be glad" and "rejoice" in what we have though! Still, thought it a funny song to be thinking about, given how intense our discussions at work have been this week. I pushed on through the day yesterday, though very tired and quite grateful for the progress we made.
Pretty sure I'm Pinky (insane), and the folks around me are more like Brain (trying to take over the world at work)! We sure have a lot to do!
Grateful for fantastic colleagues and friends to help me through when things get challenging as they have been lately!
Continued discussions today, and we are getting through some of our challenges, plus the sun is shining, so life is good!
Time to do the typical 5 loads of laundry for the week, which can be strangely relaxing! May also continue watching "Father Brown", which is a pretty good mystery series if you are into that.
Enjoy your weekend!
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