Happy Friday. Below are random thoughts on the past week, interspersed with pictures of some tree ornaments.
1. I am slowly slogging toward the winter break (December 23 is last day of 2025) and very much looking forward to not having to wake up and go to work. I need time, rest, fun, hobbies, movies, and books.
2. I was partially alone with the kids this week since T was traveling. BUT! He was back on Tuesday night. On Wednesday and Thursday he took the kids to piano and BJJ so I had the luxury to actually come home after work, AND stay home after work. Usually, I come home and go back out.
I slowly tidied up, made a dinner, and read some blog posts. It was lovely!
And, that was T’s last trip for 2025!

3. Tuesday was a real DOOZY of a day.
In the morning, I got myself ready and got the kids ready. Then->
School drop off. 7:15am.
Rush to work to make it by 7:45. Thankfully, the traffic was not so bad.
Work: 7:45 till 3:00pm.
Picked up R and came home with him. Him and I had snack (for him) and afternoon tea (for me) 3:30 to 4:00.
Left for jiu jitsu: 4:00-4:20
Jiu jitsu class, R got another stripe on his belt! 4:30- 5:15.

Picked up my daughter at after care around 5:45.
We had parent-teacher conferences scheduled for my son, at 6:15, then my daughter, 6:30, at their school. It made no sense to go home then come back to the school. Thankfully, when my kids’ teachers saw that we are at the school, they bumped the meetings earlier. Whew.
We came back home by 7ish… As you may have guessed, I had nothing left in the tank. We had a quiet dinner of tacos, took showers, read some books, and went to bed.
When I crawled into bed at around 8:30, I couldn’t even read, I was so tired.
This Tuesday confirmed yet again how hard it is to be solo parenting while working full time. The “make it by the skin of your teeth” situations are real and bring me stress.

4. Theater tickets! I love theater, especially world music and dance performances. I cheaped out for September-December. Then I waited so long that there were no good seats left.
After listening to Monica Packer’s episode on hobbies, I was determined.
So in January and March, there are three performances:
Sa Dance Company- Indian dance (with my daughter) January, 2026
Hervé Koubi Sol Invictus – a French choreographer but dancers from different countries. Will probably go with my daughter again. March, 2026
Drum Tao– Japanese taiko drums, only one ticket left so will go alone. January, 2026
It feels nice to have something to look forward to AFTER Christmas.

5. Tonight, T is at his company’s holiday party and the kids and I are at home: exactly where I want to be. We will have dinner, showers, and watch Elf.
This weekend is gonna be a cold one!
How was your week? What did you listen to, read, or watch?
