For all the chaos in our life, we had a great weekend. We had the best dinner and visit with a good friend and her new (to us) love. Isn't it just the greatest feeling, watching two people fall in love? And lucky for Alyce, this family also includes two kids, one, a girl, is Alyce's age, and her brother, an adorable six-year-old who melted my heart. They both melted me, but the little boy reminds me so much of my brother (who is almost eight), it made me a bit heartsick (Vancouver is so far away). Alyce and her new best friend will see each other again this weekend, as we scored an invitation to her birthday party. We also had a dinner with my dad's side of the family in honour of my grandfather's recent visit from Europe (he lives in the Canary Islands). We don't see each other very often which can make for some awkward initial conversation between all the (now) adult cousins, but nevertheless it's always good to see them. Somehow we all grew up. As in, we're getting old(er).
I have no photos to show of these adventures because I was either having too much fun, or chasing The Children, or both. But I do have evidence from the spontaneous pantry-emptying, cake baking session at my Mum's house on Sunday (ingredients: dried basil, cinnamon, sugar, sprinkles, flour, and water). This is one of Alyce's most favourite hobbies, but it was Shira's first time joining in the fun. She took her work very seriously. Not so serious was the impromptu roll down the hill when we picked up Alyce from school today. That last photo is Alyce dramatically ignoring my request for a grin. My heart broke for her again this morning as I dropped her off at school and she sobbed and sobbed, begging for me to stay with her. It's been two weeks, and while she clearly has a good time throughout the day, the idea of Kindergarten doesn't always impress her.
So it's the nineteenth Monday that I've been looking for work, which is depressing, but I'm trying to use today to regroup, to set an optimistic tone for the week. Sometimes I need to act the way I want to feel and this is one of those weeks when I need to act first. I know that I have a lot to offer an organization and I know that I'll find work. But it's hard to build momentum when everything feels like it's standing still. So like I said, act first. This week I'll act: I'll continue to apply for interesting positions, follow-up on as many applications as I can, and maybe shower every day.
How are you preparing for your week?
P.S. Shira's red t-shirt is just one of the many shirts I found packed away in my Mum's basement last week. It seems that my parents collected t-shirts for me when we traveled through Europe when I was very young. Today's t-shirt comes from Venice, where my parents traveled to on business when we lived in Florence. They saw the canals and ate delicious pasta, and I got this t-shirt.
I'm trying yet again to get healthy (read: lose weight)...so I've cut out gluten/grains, dairy, sugar, and caffeine. Yes, by 3 pm yesterday I was bitchy and headachey. But I wasn't bloated and foggy for a change, so that's good, right? I hope to do this for a week, then add in some moderate exercise. It's harder now that I'm on the 40-side of 35...but I'm sick of listening to myself whine about my weight. Trying to stay positive. Like you said, time to act!! Best of luck with your week.
ReplyDeleteKGH, good luck with all your changes! My husband is trying to that, too, because we need some serious health changes of our own. He's done well with everything but the sugar (a delicious beast). He tells me that he can really feel a change in his energy, and that he doesn't feel that afternoon exhaustion that I, ahem, sometimes do. I know that it's the right thing to do, and I think the science behind the no grains and no sugar is very convincing, but I'm having a hard time imagining a world without baking. Sigh. I might have to come around to his side, though, because I need to lose some weight and get myself some energy.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to you!