Daria

life updates mishmash

This is a solo parenting week for me (T has been away for practically the whole month). Am keeping my head above water, as much as I can. Let me share some updates.

My daughter and I went to the Korean sauna last Sunday. Our sauna had a “family” weekend where kids of 7 and older are welcome to come along with their parents. We decided to leave the iPad at the house and instead bring books, crayons and paper. She went in and out of sauna with me, hung out in the lounge area and had snacks. We had bibimbap for lunch and finished our visit in a Turkish sauna.

Books. I finished Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano and started “This is a Love Story” by Jessica Soffer. It is set in NYC, and features an elderly couple, with one of partners having a slowly declining memory. The husband has to continuously retell their life together to his wife, whose memory is failing and is failing fast. It is SAAAAD. I am not sure if I will finish this book.

Still reading the Correspondent on Kindle. Am kind of liking it now.

Outside. This week I haven’t been outside as much because… it’s in the 50s! Albeit I did go to the park on Wednesday while my daughter was at her piano lesson. I made a bird friend!

Exercise. I miss it but I have not been to the Y this week. I did weights at the house so I’ll give myself credit for that.

My mood is definitely reflecting the lack of exercise. Plus, I am in my luteal phase so beware, world!

My son got another stripe in BJJ!

Sources from this week that I want to share with you all:

1. On not having a “village” as a mom- this is close to my heart because I don’t have a village. Never had. I have my sister-friends but they are not really a village that helps with parenting. T’s mom is in Maine, and my folks are in Russia. No distant relatives, no cousins. We do have two good sets of neighbors so maybe they are part of our village?

2. On how parenting advice is actually what is causing our anxiety. I don’t do parenting books or podcasts because I just know- I am the best mom for my kids. I am not a good fit for someone else’s kids but I am a great fit for MY kids. Yes, I speak to them quite sternly at times, especially when they are being little shits but OVERALL, we are GOOD.

3. Instead of journaling with words, one may want to try “reflection calendars” – I am not artistic but I enjoyed looking at some of them.

4. A journaling meditation! This practice helped me get some clarity one morning. I’d say it’s a meditation/contemplation with guiding questions to write about. I enjoyed it so much.

Hope you are having a good week!

Posted by:

Daria

Mother, teacher, partner, friend. I love coffee, books, and travel with and without kids. I dislike exercise. Nothing glamorous here but do have moments of insight.

7 responses to “life updates mishmash”

NGS

April 30, 2026

Wait..what’s wrong with 50s? Is that too warm? Too cold? That’s average for this time of year where I am, so I am befuddled by the sentence!

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kimhastheruns

May 1, 2026

The sauna sounds lovely! And gah, yes that book sounds so sad. My family has a history of dementia and that is a fear of mine 😦 I am impressed you are reading the Correspondent with your eyes! I did it with my ears and saw a copy of it in a bookstore much later and was like, whoa, props if you read this traditionally!

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kimhastheruns

May 1, 2026

The sauna sounds lovely! And gah, yes that book sounds so sad. My family has a history of dementia and that is a fear of mine 😦 I am impressed you are reading the Correspondent with your eyes! I did it with my ears and saw a copy of it in a bookstore much later and was like, whoa, props if you read this traditionally!

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kimhastheruns

May 1, 2026

The sauna sounds lovely! And gah, yes that book sounds so sad. My family has a history of dementia and that is a fear of mine 😦 I am impressed you are reading the Correspondent with your eyes! I did it with my ears and saw a copy of it in a bookstore much later and was like, whoa, props if you read this traditionally!

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Lisa’s Yarns

May 1, 2026

Yikes it’s been a travel-heavy spring for T. I hope that slows down! You should set different expectations for those weeks that he travels because it’s all about holding it together while he’s away!

I can’t say I have a village either. My MIL is 30 minutes away but he turned 75 the spring Paul was born and does not have the dexterity to help care for the kids. My parents are great but they are 3 hours away. They do take the boys for a week at the end of the summer which is amazing. They just not close enough to really help out!

The weather has been so chilly here lately. I’m ready for some warm spring weather!!

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Kari

May 1, 2026

Korean sauna and bibimbap sounds really healing right now. I got bulgogi at Trader Joe’s recently and it was so good. I love Korean food.

It’s been chilly here too—high 40s to 60s. I do love this weather because it feels like true spring, which we sometimes skip over in the Midwest, but I can understand what you mean. It really is hard to be outside for long, especially with kids.

I really relate to what you said about the village. When my kids were young, I had close friends too, but they couldn’t really help with childcare because they had their own kids. We had playdates, but it’s not the same. My parents lived far away, and my husband’s parents weren’t involved with our children at all. Long story… but I understand what you mean. I’ve been in that space too.

I love the idea of reflection calendars!

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Common Household Mom

May 2, 2026

Yes yes yes to the parenting advice increasing, not eliminating, anxiety. When my kids were small, I would read parenting magazines, but slowly realized that there was a huge undercurrent of “if you aren’t doing things THIS way, you are an awful parent.” So I stopped reading them.

I also did not have a “village” when raising my kids. It is difficult. My parents were more than willing to babysit, but lived far enough away that regular babysitting was not an option for them. My inlaws did not want to babysit, and truthfully, we would not have left the kids with them on a regular basis. One day I was absolutely desperate (I can’t remember why). I asked the neighbor to babysit just one of the kids, and she said no. I think she feared that if she said yes to this one time, I would always be asking her.

Having good neighbors is a good thing, even if they can’t help with babysitting/parenting. Our next-door neighbor helped me during the first week of us moving into our new house when the water heater burst and I had no idea how to turn off the water. One of our neighbors helped when he saw my husband fall down in the yard (he had broken his leg). Another neighbor helped me when I was home by myself and a bird got in the house.

I hope the crayons did not melt in the sauna. Or maybe the crayons did not go into the actual sauna room…

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