Mental health. The holidays are over and I find myself not feeling it the second week of January. The grind is real. Where is that fresh January energy??
In the grand scheme of things, all is as well as can be but my mood is low and my physical health is not good. Work is humming along just fine. The kids are in school and both T and I are hacking up our lungs. I may need to get on an inhaler since my cough is not going away.
Nature. Gray skies, clouds, some dirty snow, and spindly, leaf-less trees. I may need to take a hike and look for glimmers.
Connect (my word for 2024). I have been diligent with reaching out in spite of my desire to crawl into a hole and stay there in my bathrobe and my book. Also, on Sunday, I brought my kids to my Russian friend’s house and stayed there for about four hours. Her mom lives with them, and I just love her. Her mom reminds me of my mom so we had a nice long visit. So many good stories!
Travel. I bought our tickets to Italy! Flying into Naples, one week in Amalfi, one week in Calabria. Summer travel was gnawing on me since I was hesitant about… Money, time, accommodation? I was mulling around in my head the best time to go, whether I can handle driving in Italy (the answer is NO), whether to do an airbnb or a hotel. I went ahead and bought the tickets. Now there is no turning back. We are going.
Our family annual photo book (2023) has been designed. Shutterfly did a so-so job so I am in process of putting finishing touches on it and, once unlimited pages offer becomes available, I will purchase it.
Weather. Tonight New Jersey is under the state of emergency due to heavy rain and possible flooding. Our district already called a two hour delay tomorrow. Our basement is not water proof so we will probably see some water down there.
Kids. Many cute moments that I should have written down but I didn’t. L asking me to lie down with her while she took a nap on Saturday. We ended up napping together on her twin bed. R asking me (on his own volition!) to help him look for shapes in his room. R does not like homework (I mean, he is four) so this was a surprise. R creating a game during dinner and being an MC. He would hide an edamame bean in his napkin, have us guess, then give us a “trophy” So stinking cute.
Mom of Children 