A Week of Heaviness and Frustation

This week was kind of the equivalent of the book "Alexander's No Good Very Bad Day." I mean, there were some good things - gardening, tidying up the yard (I really enjoy seeing the fruits of my labor!), grilled meals, hugs from Paul, etc. But there was sort of a cloud of frustration/sadness that started on Tuesday. Here are some of things bringing us down this week.

- On Tuesday morning I got a text from a former coworker letting me know that a guy I used to work really closely with at a former job passed away suddenly over Memorial Day weekend. From what we know, it sounds like he was mowing his lawn and collapsed and died immediately - likely from a heart attack or aneurysm. He was one of the kindest people I ever worked with and is someone I would describe as a total teddy bear. I hadn't seen him in well over a year, but we were always planning to meet for lunch sometime. I think he was probably in his 50s and has a daughter who will be a senior this year. I'm just so sad for his family and wish I had a chance to see him one last time. He shares a birthday with our son Paul, so I will always think of him when we celebrate Paul's birthday on March 1st.

- Unless you are completely avoiding the news and social media, you have heard about the horrible excessive use of force which resulted in the death of yet another black man. It is very hard to watch that video and see how they treated him. There is no reason to kneel on someone's neck like that and to ignore his comments about his inability to breath. Police in other cities have spoken out and said that there is no reason to use excessive force like that and that it's not compliant with police training. When will things change? I'm so tired of seeing this news story over and over again. As a result of this death, there have been protests and there was looting and fires. I hate to see that kind of behavior because it doesn't really advance their cause and does more harm than good. Plus the area of the city where the fires/looting take place is an area with primarily immigrant- and minority-owned businesses. I just felt a huge sense heaviness and sadness as I watched the news coverage.

- We found out there were 2 cases of COVID among 2 teachers in another room at Paul's daycare. I hesitate to even share this for fear of comments someone might make about how they can't believe we are still sending Paul to daycare... But the fact of the matter is that it was always a matter of when daycare would have it's first case - not if (officials estimate that as many as 70% of us will get COVID eventually). I trust our daycare and feel they are making the right decisions. They are consulting with the Minnesota Department of Health and seeking their guidance on what steps to follow. We are continuing to send Paul to daycare because we honestly can not do our jobs with Paul at home. Our work is just too demanding and I need to be able to take conference calls throughout the day. I can't take calls with a 2yo by my side. And while our house is bigger, it is not set up for us to hire a nanny and have one or both of us work from home. There is not enough separation and Paul would insist on being by my side. So he will keep going to school and we will hope and pray that the cases do not spread among the kids.

- This last complaint is really petty, but our fridge/freezer has not been working properly for a good 2 months. We have been working with a service company and they sent technicians out 3 different times. The freezer would get super cold and then the fridge temp would rise. This past week has been the worst as our fridge temp has been around 50 most days, so we have to put all the perishable food in a cooler. We had spent $600 on repairs (the fridge is about 8 years old so should have more life in it) so it hasn't been a cheap endeavor. Phil had already had many calls with the company and when the technician was here on Wednesday, he said his manager said they had to wait to hear back from the manufacturer before they could discuss giving us a credit towards a new fridge. Phil demanded to talk to his supervisor (he was kind to the technician - we know he's just the messenger and has no authority) and luckily he got his manager to agree to give us $300 toward a new fridge. This has been going on for nearly 2 months now so I am so glad this fiasco is coming to an end. I really need a cold, reliable fridge/freezer. This whole fridge fiasco has not helped with Phil's frustration level with all the things that have gone wrong with our house since we closed last November... Good times. The new fridge comes tonight at 5:30. I. Can't. Wait.


So there you have it. It was not a great week. But one great things is that Paul's appetite/palette is gradually expanding! He's slowly eating more and more. This week, he discovered salsa! He's seen me eat it many times but this time, he decided to give it a try. He basically used the chip as a vessel for the salsa and licked it off. It was medium salsa so I am kind of impressed he liked it because it does a bit of a kick to it! BTW, that pile of boards in the background is the remnants of our deck. We (Phil and his cousin) are almost done taking the floor boards down and will start assembling the new deck in the new week or so. It's been a big project.

Tell me something happy or good that happened in your world this week! Or if you had a crappy week like me, you can vent!