Dancing with Daffodils

My friend are doing daily blogs and now I understand why; the days have sure blended together and I'm not sure what even happened last week. Every day we have done jobs, a bit of school work, piano practicing and outside play time. Curtis keeps trying to beat Josh at soccer and then he usually plays some basketball with Brandon for a few minutes. Emma and I beat Josh and Brandon at a quick basketball game last week and that was fun. I've been bike riding and even a bit of running, which I can't stand to do but at least it is something. The problem is I get terrible shin splints and it really slows me down. Then I feel so heavy and clunky and my legs give out way before my heart so it just doesn't end up being a good cardio workout for me. But, I did a lap around my neighborhood and it at least got my heart pumping and gave me something new to do. My gym classes are now going to be online so I might try one out. Without the weights and people around it won't be the...

Josh has especially been trying to encourage our kids to be creative and learn to do new things with all this time they've been given off of school. I make sure they get their cleaning jobs done and that they brush their teeth and play outside so it all balances out. I really love his creative and artistic side because it is something I just don't have. Lily has spent days drawing pictures of a ballerina and today she turned it into these 11 seconds of awesomeness. I am really proud of her and love that she used her time to create something new. Maybe we have a future Disney animator here?

What a week it has been. Yet, I feel like I have nothing to write. My experience is like just about everyone else I know. Last week was a bit emotional for me as I adjusted to the disappointment of cancelled activities and social time. I was most concerned about providing food for my family when I thought we weren't going to be allowed out or at the grocery store. I went to BJs to get milk and eggs and half the store was empty and it really freaked me out. I kept going back and forth between feeling queasy and stressed to feeling like things were going to be fine. The next day I really wanted to get some fresh fruit and vegetables and a few random things I needed and I was too nervous to go to Walmart and their grocery pick up was booked. So I prayed and asked for guidance as to where I could go to get what I needed. I ended up feeling good about Harris Teeter and even though it was busy, I was quick and got what I needed and got out of there feeling much calmer and more peaceful. ...

Well, sometimes you look at the calendar and think that March is going to be a long four weeks with not a single day off and you hope you'll make it to April when there is spring break. Then in one day schools close for two weeks, minutes later you learn church and all church activities are cancelled world-wide until further notice, then suddenly major theme parks are closing and all sports and dance classes are cancelled and the nail in the coffin, the library will be closed for two weeks. All this was happening last night and I felt like the rug was being pulled out from under me. I'm really not affected too much by any of it, other than our spring break trip is up in the air. We were going to drive to my sister's house and so we would probably still go except now the kids don't have a spring break so they would have to miss a bunch of school. But if we don't go, then I won't get to see my friend who is moving to Japan mid-April and we don't get to see m...

I read an interesting article lately about what the author called emotional labor. She talks about wanting to get a cleaning service for Mother's day and how her husband handled the situation, which mostly led to him just doing it himself because he misunderstood what exactly it was she wanted. The true gift was going to be the work of researching different cleaning companies, talking to friends and vetting companies and then making the appointment, relieving her of the time and energy it would take to make it happen. She said a clean house was just going to be a bonus gift. But instead he thought she just wanted a clean bathroom, did it himself and then was frustrated when she wasn't grateful. While he is a super helpful husband, he has to be asked to do anything, making his wife the one who bears all the emotional labor burden. It goes on about how to discuss emotional labor with your spouse, how frustrating it can be to wives when their husbands don't have equal initia...

February is always such a tough month for me. I don't know why but it is so dreary and everyone seems to get sick so there are many lonely days stuck at home or if we make it out, our friends are stuck at home with their sick kids. It always seems to be the toughest month for me to be happy; probably a lack of vitamin D or something but this year has been no exception. First, it started off with my daughter being sick and home from school for four days. She can be drama so that was a long time for me and I was very happy to send her back to school and have a break. My in-laws came to visit for a weekend and it was nice to have them here but it took a lot of emotional energy (still haven't discussed or resolved my very negative feelings about their move and my kids were disappointed that it was such a short visit) and then wouldn't you know it, I spent all the next week sick myself. That Sunday night I went to bed shivering and totally layered up and then Monday I could ha...

2019 was a good year of reading. I made my goal of reading 30 books and there were some I really enjoyed. I would say the best two books of the year were Where the Crawdads Sing and The Good Neighbor (about Mr. Rogers). I enjoyed both of them so much and have talked about them with many people since I read them. Where the Crawdads Sings is so different and it really draws you in with the murder mystery but I loved the other side of it too with all of the character development and life story of the girl. I loved learning more about Mr. Rogers and his unique approach to child development. It was truly fascinating to me and such a great read. I tried to branch out a bit this year and read something other than historical fiction but that really is what I love best. I am a bit tired of sad WWII stories, but Refugee and Salt to Sea were both excellent. I continue to go to book club every month and we have had some great discussions lately. 2020 is already off to a great start: I read B...