inklingfair After a week of thinking we finally got the hang of things and perhaps could afford a date or two, everything fell into pieces once more. Or into place, depending on how you look at things.
I came upon Cherry a few days ago weeping in the bathroom after helping Amy wash her hands. I asked what the matter was, and if I could help, and she said she missed her little sister badly whenever she had to take care of Amy. She was also stressed out with school requirements, since she was taking units in modular learning. My heart went out to her, and I offered to let her cut down on hours and let Diane take on a bit more so she could focus on study. A day later, she said she wanted to leave already, less than a month from when she started. Diane, not wanting to be left alone, followed suit, and they packed their bags the very next day.
Sigh.
So here we are again, both full time parents and part time workers. We’ve decided to focus on the two important things: take care of the kids, and make sure we get food on the table. I may have foolishly decided to try cooking everything for a week, but something tells me we’ll probably be ordering in more than a couple of times, which isn’t that bad since we’re celebrating two birthdays this week, mine and Amy’s.
I’m only thankful I’m not in one of my ruts, and have some energy to write a bit. Noticing wins is a win, after all:
- I realized we’ve passed Daniel’s hundredth day! He’s now rolling over on his tummy like nobody’s business and is endlessly “talkative”, making funny cooing and gurgling noises at us to catch our attention. We’re now taking the crib out to the living room so he can keep us company while we work and take care of house stuff, so he doesn’t feel lonely by himself in the room.
- Amy got into both schools we applied for! She handled the video interview for one like a pro, and I’m massively proud of her. I can’t believe she’s moving up soon! She even got a major speaking part for their online class Christmas program. She’s also paying more attention to Daniel and is becoming such a sweet big sister, assisting with diaper changes and running to him saying, “I can handle him!” when he starts fussing. She’s whining less and getting better at coming to the table when called (she hates meals with a passion, except for eggs and cereal). She’s still bullheaded as ever, but she has her good moments, so I wanted to remember those now.
- We’re now 100% cloth diapering at home. Josh wanted me to switch back to disposables while we don’t have help, but stuffing and folding diapers is a great stress reliever. I love doing baby laundry (almost as much as I hate doing the dishes). Daniel’s a much heavier wetter than Amy is, so I’ve switched from the standard microfiber and bamboo charcoal inserts to cotton fleece flats (plus the hemp inserts at night). This makes his butt look extra fluffy, but hey, it does help him roll over easier! Plus, we have extra rags now.
- I sorted the groceries all by myself for the first time in six months, and wow, does it feel satisfying now that we have a ref that cools and freezes properly. My veggies are pleased (and crisp).
- I made fluffy scrambled eggs and still haven’t lost my touch, thank goodness. Amy wolfed them down at dinner, and that’s something for a preschooler who hates eating almost everything.
- We have new pothos rooting, and my welcome plant has a teensy new shoot!
- For some reason my social life is a lot more active now everything’s virtual: Steph and Pochoy got married last week in a beautiful ceremony live online; it’ll be Joan and Sam’s turn this Saturday. My college YoF friends got together in a video call reunion a few days ago; we showed each other our quarantine plants, cooed over the kids, talked about Joie’s weekly hikes in NC, dissected Yvette’s, Wennah’s, and She’s love lives, and had Yakult soju/cookies/what-have-you together. It was lovely.
- Finally got to see the Chus – in a cemetery park, but at least it was outdoors (they all tried Luis’s and Josh’s electric bikes) and everyone was wearing masks. Amy played and ran and strolled around hand in hand with her cousin Marc and they were a joy to watch.
- My comm strat skills are rusty, but the muscle memory is coming back.
A new year is upon us. Rejoice!
Photo by Tatiana Rodriguez on Unsplash
