How did I let the whole week pass by without checking in?..
This week T was traveling for business, and it was me and the kiddos.
Overall, it was fine. They both had school, they had aftercare, I had work. Nobody got sick.
However, the underlying feeling of anxiety was always there. The what-ifs. What if I am late for work when I drop them off? What is something goes wrong and I am alone with them? What if the car breaks down?…what if, what if…
The mornings were interesting to say the least. On Tuesday, we were ready to leave, butts in seat, buckled in. I go to open the gate- it’s FROZEN shut! After pouring some water on it and a few f-bombs that may have woken some neighbors up, I managed to open it.
Although I only worked four days, the week itself felt long.
I am just thankful for having aftercare for both kids. Between 3 and 5pm I have some breathing room. On Tuesday and Wednesday I stopped by the house to make dinner and have it ready when the kids come in. On Thursday I stopped by the store to pick up some groceries (milk, yoghurt, eggplant,etc).
Thursday was a loooong day. Work, pick R up, bring him to jiu jitsu, wait there, pick up L, home, dinner, baths, books, pass out.
Evenings were fine. The kids go to bed quite early- 7:30pm. Tuesday I did weights, Wednesday I had yoga, Thursday- weights. Friday- nothing.
A note on jiu jitsu. R is in a higher age class (5-6 year olds) now, and they wrestle pretty much during the whole hour that we are there. I find it very good for him, especially for emotional regulation. I see his teacher gather all the kids around, talk to them about something not always related to jiu jitsu. Plus, on Thursday evening he was out like a light!
I live in a town that has a large immigrant population and ICE raided one of community supermarkets. Newark had a raid, too, as well as some town in South Jersey. I am a naturalized, dual citizen since 2005 but I can’t help feeling sad for the families that do not have documents.
R’s preschool and L’s elementary school sent out directives for the community (which is largely immigrant) for what to do if you are stopped by an ICE agent, what rights they have and what rights people have. Feels like I’m watching a bad horror movie.
This weekend…
Tomorrow we have the regular activities like yoga, gymnastics and piano. Highlight: R and I are going to Monster Jam at the Prudential Arena in Newark.
Sunday L and I are going to the Korean spa and sauna- it’s family weekend so the kids under 10 are welcome. R will hang with my husband.
Leaving you with a side by side comparison of R and Kenny.
Lastly, I copied this from Facebook before signing out. I have no plans to sign back in any time soon.
Mom of Children 