Happy Friday. We've got a weekend of mostly warm and sunny weather ahead of us which I am excited about since being outdoors is the only thing that is keeping us sane during toddler quarantine. He are 5 things on my mind this week.
1. Uvalde, on the heels of the tragedy in Buffalo. What can I say that hasn't already been said? I appreciated what Joanna of Cup of Jo said about this most recent tragedy. My heart breaks for those poor families who will mourn this for the rest of their lives. I'm planning to read "When Thoughts and Prayers Aren't Enough" which is written by a survivor of gun violence.
After dropping my dancey little boy off at school this morning, fear in my throat, I came back and looked around the house and thought of the parents returning home alone last night. They would fumble with their keys and open the door. They would step over small sneakers, sneakers that probably had Velcro because tying shoes was still hard. They would see crayon drawings taped on the wall. Honey yogurts in the fridge. A wobbly stack of board games. A colorful toothbrush still damp from the morning. The little bed with tousled sheets and the half-full water glass on the bedside table and the fifth book the child had asked to read but it was clearly too late and they were being silly and sneaky and they needed to get sleep for the school day so they could learn and grow and laugh and play.
2. It feels ridiculous to even complain about our week considering the heartbreak of others. But it's been a struggle. I'm still not quite back to 100% but is it covid? Is it caring for sick and/or poor-sleeping children? Who knows. But gosh I'm tired. I took the day off when Phil had to go into the office because there is no way I can work and care for a toddler. Every other day we've traded off and taken care of Will for chunks of time. He's been waking around 5-5:30 every day so that makes the long days even longer!! I know that this, too, will pass but wow a 10 day quarantine at this age is hard. Long walks are saving our lives! One morning I had logged 10k steps before 9am. Covid barely seemed to bother Will. He was off for about a 1/2 day and that's it.
3. It's Memorial Day Weekend which always felt like the kick-off to summer when I was little since we finished school the week before Memorial Day Weekend and we'd go to the lake every weekend starting that weekend. I don't really have summer vibes this year, though. Maybe it's being an adult? Maybe it's the delayed spring? I mean last weekend I put the boys in winter hats for our walks and it was downright cold on Wednesday. If our toddler wasn't around, I would have turned on our gas fireplace. So I'm not quite in summer mode but we've got summer-like temps in the forecast so maybe if the weather stays reliably warm, I'll get into summer mode? I think the park pools open here this weekend and it's hard to even imagine taking my kids to a pool when we wore winter hats in the last week!
4. We have no plans for the long weekend since we are still in toddler quarantine. If Will hadn't gotten covid, the 4 of us would have gone out to my MIL's to belatedly celebrate her birthday which was on Tuesday. But instead Phil and Paul will test before going out there for an afternoon and I'll stay back with the crazy, germy toddler. Phil and Paul remain healthy and covid-free so far. I hope that continues to be the case as we plan to go to my nephew's HS grad party the following weekend. Worst case scenario, Will and I will go since we will be out of quarantine by then.
5. I'll end with something positive - my reading! The last 3 books I read were 5-star books! I used to be really stingy with 5-star ratings but now I am more generous because it's the best way to signal that I really loved the book. I rated Lessons in Chemistry, Notes on an Execution, and Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance 5 stars. The latter 2 are heavier, the first one deal with weightier topics but is delightful. I'm currently reading Love and Saffron and am pretty sure I will also give is 5 stars. Who am I? 4 5-star ratings in a row? But they are all excellent books that are worth checking out - but they are all 2022 publication so may have a long wait at the library.
How was your week? Are you in summer mode yet?
9 comments:
The Cup of Jo article is so well articulated and heartbreakingly relatable. The part about cutting fingernails really struck me - I am the only one that does this in my family and so I've done it 100s of times over the last decade and know my children's distinct hands and feet from this routine event, yet never really thought about it and mostly view it as a necessary, slightly annoying task. But how I'd given anything to do it again if the opportunity were tragically wrenched away from me. Somehow life feels so concrete and settled and yet in an instant it can change so horrifically.
I hope the warmer temperatures provide a restorative weekend, Lisa! Glad Will wasn't "off" for long due to COVID. I don't know how you wouldn't be exhausted with everything you've gone through the last year(s) but hope you get some reprieve and are feeling a bit less worn down soon <3
What a week! I am so glad your little one has had such a mild case but a ten day toddler quarantine sounds so challenging! Here's hoping everyone else remains Covid free.
I agree that it doesn't feel like summer is just around the corner -- I can hardly believe that school ends next week.
Now THAT's a week. Yes, Uvaldi and Buffalo have me down. I'm sorry you're still so exhausted and hope you can build up soon.
I had no idea it was Memorial Day weekend until Thursday. Even the kids taking off for up north on Wednesday wasn't a clue. I just thought they were doing a long weekend. I'm still wearing long sleeves and sweatshirts. It's cold out there. At least, too cold for me. So, no summer mode for me yet. I wonder when it will ever hit.
I just got Lessons in Chemistry from the library based on your recommendation, so we'll see how it goes!
Oh, boy. 10,000 steps before 9am is a feat I have never achieved! I hope everyone bounces back and you can get back to your regular routine ASAP.
It's been a hard week. It's still so hard to wrap my mind around the fact that children were killed by gun violence and STILL, Republican senators do not see a need for commonsense gun laws. It's truly despicable.
I'm glad that Will hasn't been too affected by Covid, and I hope that Phil and Paul continue to test negative! What a feat that would be!
We are firmly in summer mode here in Florida - it's humid and we're already seeing triple digits. SIGH. We're in for it this year!
It's been a tough week indeed. So much bad news and I am so furious about the Republicans that just won't do ANYTHING, who can't even care when children are killed on their watch. It's mind-boggling to me. People really need to vote these jerks out ASAP. I don't understand how people like Ted Crus and Greg Abbotts can still be voted into office??
I am glad to hear that Will has been doing pretty well, even if toddler quarantine has been rough on you guys. It's good to know he wasn't miserable the whole time... and of course I hope that Phil and Paul are staying healthy!
I am so sorry you are still feeling crappy! Looking after small children while being sick sounds absolutely dreadful.
What a sad week, full of such sad news.
Well, thank goodness for books! Seriously, when things are really hard sometimes i'll remember that I'm in the middle of a good book, and it cheers me up. I can't believe Will has to quarantine for ten days! When I had omicron over the summer, they said 5-7 days. I guess this is coming from his day care?
I'll read that Cup of Jo article, although I don't know if I want to get any sadder than I already am. Didn't we go through all of this after the Parkland shooting? Writing letters, town hall meetings, outraged citizens... and nothing has changed at all. So, so frustrating. Anyway... i hope this week goes better for you. Warmer weather and getting out of quarantine should help a lot!
I am just catching up with your posts and am starting at the bottom, so I am hoping that since I am a month late (!!) it is sunny and warm and summery there today and your long weekend is fabulous!
But I couldn't help but love your last section about books! You know that I too am stingy about five stars, so I am excited about yours. I put all of them on hold at the library and Notes on an Execution was actually available right away! Luckily too it is an audiobook, as I plan to do some driving and hiking this weekend, so will probably have over 30 hours of listening ahead of me. Hopefully I get to it soon!
I actually gave a book five stars recently, but not because it was happy and lovely and made me feel warm and fuzzy. It was Blindness and is about a society who start going blind one by one and then they have to quarantine and at first they treat the first blind people badly and then everyone is blind and it becomes very Lord of the Flies...anyway, it made me feel disgusted and scared and amazed...and it made me want to go and become a doomsday prepper! So for the depth of feeling it gave me, I had to give it five stars. It just sparked so many thoughts and conversations. I am also reading This is How They Tell Me the World Ends, which is about cybersecurity...and it also makes me want to start doomsday prepping!!! I need a fluffy book next I think.
Have fun at the lake! Happy Juneteenth!
Post a Comment