Sick

I want to start by saying that after an angst riddled weekend, I find myself feeling increasingly angry and frustrated that my anxiety was needlessly triggered. 

 Robby had initially planned to return to the dorm yesterday in anticipation of his first final exam on Wednesday. By the time I came home from work his fever was matching Timmy's, and both were little mucus factories. Sigh. The Chenoweth Brothers are fighting the first cold of the season, and they are miserable.

I made their favorite 'soft' dinner and tucked them both into bed for the night. I'm hoping that they will wake up feeling better, or at least not feeling worse. Robby has three finals tomorrow and simultaneously fighting a cold is not advantageous. Of course there is nothing I can do about it except medicate them, hydrate them and worry over them. Good thing I can multitask!

 

 

Turkey

 This past weekend was our Thanksgiving family re-do. Because Scott went to Ohio for the holiday we missed our family dinner. I spent the afternoon on Sunday in the kitchen, chopping, prepping and cooking another full Thanksgiving dinner with one exception. This time Robby put dibs on cooking the turkey.

Enticed by cooking videos, Robby has been exploring his culinary skills. He asked to spatchcock the turkey before rubbing it with his curated spice blend. Happy to let somebody else take the lead with the protein, I let him take the lead. 

While I spent the afternoon working in the kitchen, Robby spent his time fretting over his bird. By the time the turkey was ready to go into the oven, it had already been spatchcocked, buttered, spiced, flipped and repeated. The final step, an olive oil drizzle, was all that was standing between us and roasted turkey perfection.

Almost as soon as the oil hit the turkey I smelled that something was off. It took me about 5 seconds to identify and process the mistake that had occurred. When we cleaned the classroom on Friday I reclaimed many of my household supplies, among them my olive oil. I didn't realize that it wasn't my olive oil anymore. It was Timmy's science oil, a mixture of olive oil and rubbing alcohol. 

Robby's prized buttered and herbed turkey was immediately taken to the sink where I furiously rinsed away the science oil that was coating half of our bird. While I'm confident that we removed the oil, I also removed all of the butter and spices.  Our beautiful turkey looked like a wrinkled, waterlogged mess by the time it was pushed into the oven.  

Despite the mishap, we thoroughly enjoyed our half turkey Thanksgiving dinner.  And I learned to always smell the oil! 

Advocate

 Describing this week as frustrating would not do the past few days justice. It has been a long time since I have felt this frazzled and stressed because of work issues. It feels like I say "This is a hill I will die on" a lot more than the average person, but I do not take the sentiment lightly. 

I cannot stand seeing abuses of power within systems. As much as I try to keep her tempered, my inner advocate always comes to the table. If you know me personally or have been reading this blog for any amount of time, you already know that staying silent is not one of my strengths. 

So yesterday, after much internal angst, I spoke up.  I don't regret it at all although I am a tad weary about the ramifications.  We will see how it all shakes out, but please send me some positive energy today.

This weekend I'm going to try to put work issues to the side and focus on Christmas. I am going to bake cookies and start to infuse more holiday spirit into our lives. I think we could all use a little sugar and glitter about now. 

Ice

 After several years of being completely unimpaired by the decisions, yesterday Scott and I were glued to our devices waiting to learn if the school system would delay or close due to the anticipated weather. To our collective delight, a 2 hour delay was issued early enough in the evening for us to stay up later and turn off the alarm. Thankfully it appears that the freezing rain is already melting away, so hopefully we will just be dealing with wet roads by the time schools open up.

I love my job, but I am not looking forward to performing my job during inclement weather. I abhor ice, but I know that navigating slippery sidewalks and stairs is part of the gig. I'm sure I'll figure it out, but I do miss my work from home attitude during winter storms. 

 Of course, it would probably be easier if I was transparent about my ice and snow walking worries. At this point, I've been working for nearly three months and, so far, none of my coworkers know that I'm an amputee. After living my life so publicly, it is oddly empowering to completely and totally blend in with everybody else. 

Start baking your cupcakes today. Tomorrow is International Day of Persons with Disabilities! 

 

Thanksgiving Wrap Up

 Another Thanksgiving week has come and gone. It was wonderful hanging out with my Mom. Although she is still in the immobilizer and tethered to the house, she is moving and getting around better every day. Hopefully she will only have a few more weeks of healing in the immobilizer. I know that she is chomping at the bit to start weight bearing and to resume her life.  

This was the first Thanksgiving in 25 years that Scott and I spent separately. He went to Ohio to visit with his mom and siblings. It was strange not engaging in our pre- and post- Thanksgiving traditions with Scott this year. Of course, everything else has been strange this year so it makes sense that our Thanksgiving would be wonky as well.

Although I didn't do anything spectacular over Thanksgiving break, I did manage to secure haircuts for myself and the boys. We also did some winter clothes shopping so everybody is set for the colder weather. Timmy was especially delighted to now be wearing a xs men's size from Robby's preferred store. For the first time, Hamlet picked out all of his own clothes alongside his brother. Needless to say and much to Robby's chagrin, we now have a lot of matching outfits. 

Of course, I couldn't let Thanksgiving pass without mentioning the traditional Turkey Trot. My sister and Timmy have made this event their Thanksgiving tradition. While I'm not a runner, I was happy to tag along as a cheerleader. I was proud of my Turkey Trotters!

 

Driving

 Happy Thanksgiving Week!

Keeping with the theme of shaking up our traditions, this year we are celebrating a little differently. Scott is packing up the car and preparing to drive to Ohio. He has not been to Ohio for Thanksgiving for nearly 25 years. Surviving a heart attack has reshuffled some of his priorities and he wants to spend the week with his Mom. I think it is a fabulous idea.

While Scott is in Ohio, the boys and I will be heading to PA. My Mom has a doctor appointment tomorrow and hopefully we will have more good news concerning her leg. Because of her sudden mobility issues, we have scaled back our holiday celebration. Although my cousins are not coming for Thanksgiving, the OG Cousin Crew will be in attendance.  

Safe driving to all who are hitting the roads today! 

Happier

 Oh my goodness.  I had forgotten how crazy the school hallways become in the days leading up to an extended break. My students this week have been silly and excitedly counting down until Friday. I have to admit, I find myself looking longingly at the clock as well. I have off all next week!

It has been decades since I have been off on Thanksgiving week. Working from home meant working all days, including holidays. While I'm physically tired at the end of each day, I am finding it refreshing to leave work in the car and to turn off my brain. This is the first time I've had a work/life boundary and I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

Scott is settling into his new position. He is happier and is no longer coming home looking like Eeyore on sedatives. Although he hasn't had a chance to really dive into the work (he still doesn't have complete file access), he is enjoying adult conversations and being treated like a professional educator with 30 years experience. 

Today is going to be crazy because it is the last day before the holiday break. I'm going to just embrace the chaos and play some silly cane games today. I'm looking forward to going into the holiday with a smile.