Sep 23, 2020 | What's going on |
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Yesterday I started to leave for the vet and forgot to bring the cat. Lucy doesn’t fit in her crate anymore so I put the leash on her while I carried her into the office. There has never been anyone else in the cat waiting room, but this time there were three old cat ladies. Lucy wanted nothing to do with the other cats and pulled at her leash while she hissed at them. The smallest cat was named Desi, after Desi Arnez, which seemed appropriate since he was the only one Lucy was paying attention to. One of the ladies said she had four kittens in her bathroom waiting for a new home. I almost took one but I can’t even remember to bring the animal I have to the vet so I probably shouldn’t get another. This was further confirmed when I was trying to simultaneously sign the receipt while keeping Lucy from launching out of my arms and nearly dropped the cat and the receipt.
I went to the dentist and told them my maiden name instead of my current last name. I’ve had my married name for 33% of my life but I confidently put down my maiden name. Sometimes I think I should have done a double last name because I’ve done this several times since I’ve been married. The problem with that is my initials would be SOFA and while I love a good couch, I don’t need my initials to be the same as a piece of furniture. I told the hygienist that I’ve been having pain in my jaw. She said to “avoid such things as yawning and singing.” I’m constantly tired and not singing would put a huge damper on my car ride karaoke. I don’t see myself not doing either of those things.
Clearly, I’m firing on all cylinders!
Yesterday it was a lovely 72*. It was the first day in nearly five months I didn’t sweat and I was thrilled. Annabelle was rubbing her arms and chattering. “C-c-c-an you get me a sweatshirt, p-p-p-lease?” She’s been counting down the days until Fall for months. The TINIEST bit of fall starts blowing in and she says it’s too cold. Girlfriend has been in the south too long. We went to the outdoor Y pool for one last swim. The water was so cold we only swam for about 12 minutes. It took us longer to get our bathing suits on and drive to the pool so I’m glad we put all that effort in.
She had a meeting with the school counselor today and told me they talked about things she doesn’t like. “I told her I don’t like loud noises and I am overwhelmed by raw onions in any form. I do not like raw onions.” I’m sure the counselor took detailed notes on that tidbit.
Sep 14, 2020 | What's going on |
I had the best of intentions to blog at the end of last week, but two dramatic events happened within one hour and I needed time to recover.
First, Annabelle found a frog stuck between the storm door and the screen in our back door. Lest you forgot, I DETEST FROGS WITH ALL MY BEING. I was hoping it would be gone when I got back from school drop off but it was not. I tried slamming the door to knock it off but all that happened was the frog moved its sticky, slimy leg and I nearly gagged. Finally, it jumped off and I screamed. It didn’t come towards me but I screamed anyway.
Second, I had an unfortunate doctor’s appointment. I’ve seen that doctor several times and I have all but given up on trying to uphold many modesty issues when it comes to his role in my life. I knew the ultrasound tech would also be in the room but plot twist! He asked if it would be ok if his new assistant Bethany watched as well. She had never seen it done and needed it for her resume. Ideally, the fewer people seeing me in a compromised position the better but at that point, there were already two people so what’s a third. Make some popcorn and bring in the whole office. I had a similar procedure done before and it’s not an exaggeration to say it was HORRIBLE. Google told me the recent procedure would be less painful and the ultrasound lady and doctor both agreed. They were both wrong. It was also HORRIFIC. Bethany kept looking down at the situation then patting my arm and saying, “Try to relax.” I appreciate her sympathy, but she wouldn’t be saying that if she knew first hand the trauma of what was happening. The doctor nonchalantly asked about my summer in an effort to distract me. I love the doctor and am happy to talk to him any time, but I was not in the mood for a casual conversation. When it finally ended, I sat up and thought I was going to either throw up or pass out so I had to lay back down with a wet facecloth on my neck. I drove over to Dunkin Donuts and ordered three powdered munchkins to reward myself for surviving the morning. They misunderstood my order and gave me three full doughnuts instead of munchkins. It was proof that the Lord still shines upon me.
All that to say, I haven’t had of the right frame of mind (or lower body) to blawg. But I’m back now with absolutely nothing of significance to say!
Annabelle went to a sign class at work with me. Usually she can’t do the classes as they’re almost all for16 and older, but every so often there’s one kids can attend. She made a sign we’re giving to her teacher for Christmas which makes me feel very prepared for the holidays. Bonus points that the sign was free thanks to my employee discount. Ses told me, “Mom, you can stand over there while I do it all. You don’t need to help.” Far be it from me, the personally literally paid to do the job, to give advice.
Yesterday we made our weekly pandemic trip to Home Depot. AB walked around with sunglasses on like she expected the paparazzi would chase her down in the pipe aisle.
The paparazzi did NOT chase me down when I slunk out of the doctor’s office.
Aug 29, 2020 | What's going on |
We were having a conversation about whether we’d prefer to work for the CIA or FBI. I made a statement about how I’ve been watching a show about Quantico so I know all about how the CIA works. Christopher said, “Isn’t Quantico the FBI?” Ok, so maybe I don’t know EVERYTHING about how it works, including but not limited to the name and which bureau the entire show is about.
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Me: I won’t be a weird cat person.
Also me: I can’t come to help you right now because my hand is supporting Lucy’s head while she naps.
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Sesame has been to see the school nurse twice since school started complaining of a sore throat. She gets a sore throat from allergies so I assumed it was either that or she wanted the thrill of going to the nurse’s office. On Friday she woke up with a sore throat again and I had a suspicion it could be related to her wanting to stay home. I took her to the doctor 25% because I thought she had something and 75% to prove that she was fine. Lo and behold she is on the tail-end of strep and has a swollen lymph node. Who made me the mother around here?
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I won’t name names, but someone around here has been failing Personal Space 101 class.
Lucy does not approve of such shenanigans.
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Every morning on the way to school I sing It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. I started this tradition when she was in preschool and I was happy to resurrect it for the first grade drive. I change the words to match the weather but it’s always a stunningly beautiful rendition. I forgot to sing it one morning so I sang it on the way home then turned on country radio and started singing along with Darius Rucker. My darling child, who appreciates everything I do, piped up from the backseat, “Can you switch to some music from the 80s instead?” That’s not the five-star review I was hoping to receive. I’ll have to add some new tunes to my repertoire.
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AB spent many afternoons watching Elana of Avalor. By virtue of living in the same house, I have spent many afternoons hearing the show in the background and have become too invested in her story. I’ve asked countless times when she would be coronated but AB had no answer beyond “she’s too young and can you please get me a snack.” I was embarrassingly excited to see that her coronation episode has finally been released. You know who has no desire to see the coronation episode? My child. You know who wants to watch it? Me. I probably won’t watch it on my own, but 2020 has been an odd year so who knows.
Aug 12, 2020 | What's going on |
This summer hasn’t felt very summery. I like to spend the summer exploring parks, playing in splash pads and visiting with our friends. None of our splash pads are open and playdates have been few and far between. The YMCA’s outdoor pool opened right before we went to MA which was very exciting. We went once and I wanted to go again before they inevitably close before the scheduled date. The first time we went they took our temperature at the front window. AB’s was normal but mine registered around 95*. The girl shrugged her shoulders and said, “That’s probably not right but at least you don’t have a fever.” I might be dying from an unknown infection and my body be seconds away from complete failure but I don’t have the ‘rona! Let’s go for one last swim before I die.
Annabelle starts school on Friday (I am already wearing my traditional mourning outfit) which will limit our days together, so yesterday I was determined that we’d have a good summer day. It would be Water Time Extravaganza. Extravaganza was a bit of a stretch but why use an ordinary word when you can use a word that really pops. We bathing suited up, slathered on the sunscreen, and rolled into the parking lot just after the Y pool opened. AB couldn’t wait to swim. Alas, the internet had lied and they were closed. We made a new plan which involved powdered munchkins and making a water park in the backyard. I turned on music and added soap to make the slipnslide more slippery. We had a picnic and popsicles. It was the best time.
I’m still mourning that she’s going to school but I’m so glad we had one good day of summer fun. And I’m thankful that I don’t appear to be in danger of major organs failing after all.
PS. You can take the girl out of New England but you can’t take New England out of the girl.
Jul 18, 2020 | Quarantine Diaries, What's going on |
I am over this stupid virus.
OVER IT.
I really reached a breaking point with it last week. I so desperately want life to be normal again. I don’t want to worry about visiting family because I might get my grandma sick. I hate going to the store with people who stand a mile away at check out like they think one of the other customers is about to explode. I remember back in March, at the very beginning of quarantine, saying to Christopher that if “they” could promise this would all be over by July 1st I’d stay home and do whatever they asked so life could get back to normal. July seemed so far off and I needed to hold onto the hope that it would be over by then. Young, naive Sarah. When all the protests started, I kept thinking, “If only we could go back to only having the virus to worry about.”
I haven’t had a wedding or graduation canceled, but it hasn’t been a walk in the park either. The beginning of the virus coincided with the beginning of my ectopic pregnancy. I spent weeks going to the doctor every few days for ultrasounds and blood tests. I’d slink out of the house praying that the neighbors weren’t watching and judging for me leaving again. At the time, our town had the third-highest number of cases per capita in the world but I had to go to the hospital for a shot in the midst of it all. The nurse didn’t know where to put me so I sat next to the nurses’ station while the vice president of the hospital and several high ups stood three feet away from me and planned how to turn that wing of the hospital into the new covid-specific emergency room. Two hours later, they started bringing positive cases in, walking them right by me.
Annabelle’s emotions have been up and down. Some days she’s fine but everything in her little world is topsy turvy. She’s desperate to see friends. Every time she asks to play with a new friend it’s a dance of “Are you ok getting together? I am but if you’re not, that’s fine! We can see you in 14 weeks if things have improved!” By now we know who is and who isn’t fine with visits so at least we have that. We can’t go to splash pads or library activities. She put a tiny paper mask on her doll and it made me tear up. I don’t want her growing up in this new world.
I want to go to the store without worrying. Our TJMaxx was open for several weeks before I went in. I didn’t want a visit to my favorite store to be ruined by masks and directional stickers on the floor. Some of the arrows were pointing in opposite directions in one-way aisles so it was impossible to follow. We went to Bath & Body Works but we had to call first to see if they were open because we can’t assume these days. They were, but only allowed 13 people in at a time. Trying to keep us separated seemed pointless when we were all standing next to each other to pick up and smell candles and lotions. The cashier told me to put the items on the counter so she wouldn’t have to touch them, but she touched them anyway when she put them in the bag. At Publix, their new thing is to make the customers stand so far away from the card reader that it can’t physically be reached. Once the bagger is done bagging the customer is ”allowed” to move forward and pay. Meanwhile over in produce, Elmer is chatting with everyone while he restocks peaches and peppers a foot away from shoppers. Kevin is restocking crackers right next to customers. I know everyone is doing the best they can and none of us have gone through this before, but I don’t understand some decisions.
Don’t get me started on having to make educational choices for this year.
On the very tiny bright side, there’s a small part of me that likes that literally everyone in the world is being affected by the same thing. I used to say delivering a baby was the great equalizer and I’m going to add global pandemics to the list. We used to talk about the weather when there was nothing else to say. Now we talk about what has become the new hot commodity at the grocery store. It’s fascinating to read articles and watch videos by people going through the same thing in other countries. High School Musical was ahead of the times when they sang, “We’re all in this together” back in 2006.
I know we’re very fortunate and that millions of people have it much worse, but it’s still hard. It’s like we’re living in a snowglobe that’s been shaken, thrown against the wall, shattered into a hundred pieces then stomped on by a bull. But let me tell you how I really feel! I’m so thankful that Annabelle doesn’t know the full extent of what’s happening. Last night at bedtime she prayed, “Thank you that everything is going so well.” I’m glad she feels that way!
Jul 8, 2020 | Holidays, What's going on |
The kitchen remodel project is nearing it’s end and I love how it looks. Painting the walls has been harder to do because Belle Belle has been very clingy and we had to establish a schedule of when we can play together and when I need to work.
I had a friend’s 13yo daughter come over as a mother’s helper for one afternoon. She had never been over before and AB was a little nervous about it. I checked on her in bed the night before and she was holding her little mirror and practicing what she would say. “Hi, Reagan. Would you like to play with clay? Hi, Reagan. Thank you for coming over. Mom, I don’t think that was right. Did I sound friendly?” At least she always got her name right. Our neighbor’s name is Kennedy and I kept calling Reagan the neighbor’s name. I knew it was a president’s name!
When Reagan did arrive, Annabelle had so much fun. She loves any new person to entertain with her endless stories and ridiculous questions. Reagan had just finished a safe sitter class so she asked me all the questions the teacher recommended. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to being on the mom side of the fence instead of the babysitter side. Her mom was thrilled that I asked for Reagan’s help. She texted me and said, “Thank you for giving Reagan this opportunity!” You’re thanking me? THANK YOU for giving me three hours to paint without disruption. I will be happy to give her the opportunity at any time. It’s crazy to think that in 7 years, AB might be the one I’m dropping off to be a mother’s helper. I need to go breathe into a paper bag.
We watched one of AB’s little friend’s yesterday. They get along fine but have vastly different interests. He can explain Minecraft and legos. She asked him if he knows what types of food they eat in Bulgaria then several hours later asked if he wanted to waltz. He did not. It made me laugh so hard.
The fourth of July has always been one of my very favorite holidays but this year but so different. I know it wasn’t normal for anyone and it didn’t seem like a celebratory day. We did a few things at home and I did grocery shopping like any normal Saturday. There were no parades, no cookouts, and no big fireworks displays. We have no family nearby to visit. We did make star and flag sugar cookies while listening to patriotic music which was nice. Christopher and Annabelle picked out sparklers and little fireworks so we had a little show in our driveway. Our favorite was the one that shot out a little parashooter.
AB gave me a lesson on how to do the throw poppers so they popped properly. She called them “popper-its.” She knows how to waltz and set off fireworks. There’s nothing she doesn’t do!
