Hot Friday

 Mother Nature is menopausal. The temperature fluctuations have been wild over the past few days. On Monday we were wearing sweatpants and turned on the fireplace to get rid of the chill in the room. Yesterday the temperatures were over 100 with swamp-like humidity. Today we are in for more heat which makes me grateful that our air conditioner was repaired.

While the humidity and heat has me miserable, they combined impact has forced me to relax without guilt. I've been struggling to unwind, constantly needing to be productive. In these temperatures, the dog doesn't even want to move so why should I? Yesterday I stayed on the couch for the majority of the day and streamed a series.

Today I'll be ditching the boys and heading to visit my mom for the night. It has been awhile since I've been able to visit her and I'm looking forward to the getaway. Stay cool and have a great weekend! 

Cleaning

 The past few days have been rainy and humid, forcing us inside for most of the daytime hours. There have been breaks in the humidity during the evening, when Timmy lathers on the bug spray and takes off on his dirt bike. He has been tooling and zipping through the yard every night from about 7-9:30, just having a blast. 

When he hasn't been on his dirt bike, he has been inside helping us clean and reorganize the house. With one more room to go, the house has undergone a deep clean and full purge. We have been living here for 18 months and we now have a handle of how we want the house to flow. The past few days have been spent undergoing complete room reorganizations. It's been a lot of work, but I'm so happy with the results. Today we have one more room to tackle: the school room. Wish me luck, because this task is feeling enormous. I know that once I get started it won't be as formidable as it feels, but my goodness I have lost my motivation.  

When I wasn't actively involved in the room cleaning, I was working on getting the 3d printers up and running again. This has been a task that I have been dreading because I knew that we were dealing with hardware issues before the move. I had to swap out parts and make diagnostic fixes, but the boys are delighted to share that they are now operational and that FlexyFriends is again producing.  Of course, I need to find a place because the kitchen counters is not suitable for Flexy production.   

Tumbling

 Yesterday was the first official day of our summer vacation. Much to Hamlet's chagrin, we started our vacation by having him participate in his first tumbling class. With the school routine on hiatus, Scott and I both recognized the need to get Timmy out of the house and around other people. We presented him with a list of options, and he chose tumbling. 

While he loved his tumbling camps from a few summers ago, too much time had passed and he had forgotten his positive experiences. As the time for his class ticked closer, Timmy became increasingly anxious about going to the class. I get it. Going to new places with people whom you don't know is hard. Because of his anxiety, we all went to his class to cheer him on. 

After he took to the mats, it took about 2 minutes before I saw the glimpse of a smile. While I wouldn't say that he emerged with the same enthusiasm that we witnessed with the camp, he had a good time. Hopefully it won't be a struggle to get him to return next week. 

With the tumbling class out of the way, today we have a summer day with nothing on the schedule. I know that I should find this comforting, but I can already feel my anxiety starting to rise. I have to figure out a project soon!

 

Memories

 We are all officially on summer vacation!

On Friday Timmy celebrated his final day of school with a virtual party and an in-person smorgasbord of all of his favorite treats. At 3:30 promptly Scott and I fired up the Bluetooth speakers and gleefully serenaded Timmy with a rousing rendition of "Schools Out for Summer."  Unfortunately, we later learned that he had not yet logged off, so it turns out that his class listened to our rendition before closing the term. 

Saturday morning Scott and I put on our funeral clothes and headed back to Northern Virginia for a Celebration of Life. A co-worker's son passed away. Because Scott and I have both worked with her and have remained connected via Facebook, we wanted to go to extend our support. I suppose the scant attendance at my brother's funeral continues to sway my decisions. If I am able to attend, we are going to go.

It was weird being back in our old stomping grounds. While we were so excited to leave for our next adventure, the area holds so many memories for our family. I lived in Virginia for 25 years, longer than I have lived anywhere else. Virginia is where I met Scott and where we became a family. Driving to the funeral, I was flooded with memories of both the extraordinary and the mundane events of our lives. Each store, stop light and park seemed to flick open another memory portal to our past. By the time we arrived at the funeral I was feeling both overwhelmed and horribly depressed.  

We just don't have those connections in our new home. I know that these types of memories are formed through time, and that we need to be patient. After 18 months, we still feel like strangers in the area. I am still struggling to find friends, and we are so lonely. We miss Virginia, but we also know that we cannot go back. 

 

Last Day

 Happy Last Day of School to Timmy!! 

I honestly do not know who will be more excited to put this school year on a shelf- Hamlet or me. He has been eagerly counting down for the past month, excited about sleeping in and enjoying extended play dates with his friends. I am simply looking forward to the absence of the pressure that becomes part of your life when school is in session. 

This school year has been one of change and growth for Timmy. Because his former school closed, his teachers were forced to pivot and develop their own private venture. I am eternally grateful for the dedication and the hard work that they have invested into their school and students. While the platforms were different and took some adjustment, this year there were no tears as we learned to navigate the programs.

As soon as Timmy became settled into his school year I began working full-time outside the home. This put Timmy in a position of navigating instructional and lunch time by himself. He stepped into his new independence like a champion and has grown exponentially through the experience. I am so very proud of him. 

As of 3:30 this afternoon, the Chenoweth's will be on vacation! 

 

Summer Blues

 I've been frustrated by my inability to unwind and relax. My mind is still in 'school' mode. When I do find myself on the couch relaxing, I feel wafts of anxiety hinting that I should be productive. I don't remember unwinding into summer break being this difficult! Of course, Timmy is still in school so that may be a factor in my relaxation difficulties.

The weather is certainly not bringing any summer vibes. It has been cool (highs at 75) and breezy every day. Today is the first day we are going to break into the 80s. While I have been grateful for the cooler temps because my body and leg are considerably more comfortable, it has been difficult to feel summery when wearing jeans and long sleeve shirts. Hopefully the warmer temperatures will blast the summer blues away, because I am longing to feel carefree with sun kissed cheeks. 

Today is 'camp out' day at Timmy's school. To surprise him, we are going to light to fire pit and roast hot dogs and s'mores for lunch. I think he will be delighted that we are staying on theme, and I'm looking forward to doing something summery. 

 

Lounging

 Yesterday was my first day of summer vacation. While I had high expectations for productivity when I awoke, my motivation quickly waned through the day. I found myself settling into the lounger and grabbing for the remote after I poured my second cup of coffee and, although I moved to prepare meals and help the boys, I didn't really do anything of consequence. I certainly did not tackle my highly organized Summer To-Do 2026 list.

After the chaos of the past few years, I am giving myself permission to relax and lounge this week. Timmy is still in school so his needs are relatively few. I have the luxury of lounging, and it would be a travesty to squander it.  My list will be put on hold, because this week is going to be reserved for sleeping, watching movies and reading my books.

What are you doing today?