On Appreciation, Reflection, and Moving Forward

Hello, hello! It feels like ages since I had a chance to check in and catch up with you and today, after watching Jackson’s Hispanic Heritage performance at school this morning (his class danced the meringue–so cute!) and then volunteering at kindergarten lunch and recess, I have a little time while Joanie naps in which I can squeeze in some DW-ing and eat some lunch.

We were away for most of the last week, visiting my parents in Missouri and celebrating Jackson’s fifth birthday, for which some of my extended family in St. Louis and Jackson’s best friend, who recently moved to Kansas City, were all able to come be part of, too, which was really special and sweet. But it was a whirlwind week, as any trip involving lots of people and moving parts and accommodating different scheduling needs is, and I was happy to get home. Except, while we were away, the cats (who had been in the care of a cat-sitter), both got sick all over the apartment and we arrived home to quite a welcome. I’ll spare you the disgusting details, but I’ll just say: All our rugs had to be professionally shampoo’d, and I spent over an hour mopping the floor and scrubbing down surfaces before unpacking anything. All after a commute that began at 5 AM. We also arrived home to discover that our gas had been inexplicably turned off while we were away, which meant no hot water and no stove or oven — so no cooking or bathing until we were able to get the gas turned on the next morning. As I said: quite a welcome home after a whirlwind week away.

We’ve had a string of bad luck lately — all three of our bikes (mine, Drew’s, and Jackson’s) were stolen right out of our (gated) building parking lot a few weeks ago (rental insurance should cover some of the loss, but still… totally aggravating and sad). We lost one of my parents’ car keys last week, which was several hundred bucks to replace. And we’ve had a variety of other grievances that range from basic nuisances to … well, not-so-basic issues. But I’m hoping we’re on the other side of the more basic annoyances and can gather the strength and support to deal with the other stuff.

Yesterday I bought a new bike. And I went for a run and I did my arms and shoulders class in the evening and I got a full night sleep for the second night in a row, so I’m feeling pretty good today. And I snapped that picture up above, after Drew got back from Yom Kippur services and the kids were home from playing outside and everyone was in a good mood and feelin’ it. I’m not Jewish myself, but I do love some of the traditions, and I like that the new year begins in the fall, usually not long after school has started and the weather cools down, and the energy feels fresh and invigorating. And I like that a period of reflection and repentance follows.

One of the things I have been reflecting on is how lucky I am to have this life, in all its imperfections and even occasional strings of lousy luck (awful homecomings and all). I want to do better at appreciating the good and not getting so worked up over the rest of it. I’m flawed, though, and this doesn’t always come easy to me. I’m working on it. I hope you, in the freshness of a new season, and a new year if you observe it, feel inspired to do some self-work, too, and self-care (which can be the same), and to appreciate the life you have as well, in all its imperfections. And Trump appearances in your newsfeeds… (26 more days ’til the election, y’all — we’re almost there!).