Friday!

I’m surprised how happy I am that it’s Friday today, but honestly I’m tired of the camp drop off and pick up routine. And I want a drink! I only drink on the weekends, which I think has helped make the weekends feel special during the pandemic.

And it definitely feels like we’re back in the pandemic again. I’m not really going to go into it, but it does feel like we’re basically back where we were before being vaccinated. I was never terrified of getting Covid myself – I was mostly worried about giving it to my kids – and now I’m right back in a place where I need to worry about that again. (But I don’t need to worry about my parents – which is a huge weight that remains lifted.) I’m coming to terms with it. I didn’t expect the fall to look or feel like this, but as long as we are in person I will be fine, or I will figure out how to be fine. I just need my kids and I to be back in our classrooms, and I’m going to consider that the most important win and cling to it.

I got some good stuff done yesterday. I went through my son’s room. I didn’t go through everything – I didn’t touch his book case and he has WAY too many books – but I did go through his toys and his desk and it’s very noticeable. I actually cull his toys somewhat frequently, but this was the first time I dumped them all on the floor and pulled a fair amount to give away and reorganized everything that stayed. He definitely still has WAY more than he needs but it’s a big improvement.

I didn’t get to my own clothes because my husband “bit off more than he could chew” with a new recipe and I never had time to get downstairs before kid bedtime. (He works downstairs during the day so it didn’t feel like a good time then either.) I told him I would find the time to get it done this weekend. It’s actually going to be a nice interlude (I’ll be downstairs and alone!) during a weekend where we’ve promised our kids they can just stay home (they always think they want to do this, and it always ends badly, but sometimes we just have to let them have what they think they want).

I did return the bras that I knew wouldn’t fit great. And I didn’t order them in another size! My rug never came (it’s in New Mexica! Waahhh!) and I’m doubting it will make it today, but a girl can dream. I really, REALLY hope this rug transforms my living room, where I have some nice teal accents on each wall that no one really notices because the super bright primary colors of the kid play mat on the ground are the only thing anyone can look at. I’m hoping the rug brings together all the other pieces and makes the room pop. I really wanted to paint that room (it’s next to the one I did paint so its shabby paint job is painfully apparent), but I never did so I’m hoping the rug will make it feel different. We spend a lot of time in that room and I’m REALLY tired of the play mat (my hope is this rug will go OVER the play mat, which is as physically comfortable as it is visually distracting).

I’m also hitting up IKEA to get a side table for the downstairs unit and some storage stuff for my closet. I’m on carpool duty for my daughter’s camp today so I already have to brave half the bridge traffic (it’s a sailing camp on Treasure Island which sits in the middle of the Bay Bridge), so I’m going to suck it up and attempt to make it all the way across. Then I’ll run on Treasure Island before I pick them up. It’s been miserably windy and foggy all week (at least where I live in the city) – I hope today we get a little bit of sun while I’m on my run. I’ve found that I am really negatively affected by the fog. After a straight week of it I just start to get really bummed out.

As I said before, we have no plans for the weekend. I need some ideas for Sunday when they start going crazy. I might bring them down to my school to start moving stuff out of my new classroom. They could ride their bikes on campus and play at the playground while I move stuff. I never heard back from anyone about that though so I’m not sure if I’d be stepping on anyone’s toes by doing that. I’m pretty sure the secretary and administrators start working again August 2nd. I should probably wait until then to get started, but the wait is truly driving me crazy.

Oh and I found some Clear Masks that I like. I haven’t ordered them yet because I can’t decide if I should pay an extra $20 (for 24 masks) for “medical grade” instead of “consumer” grade. The medical grade ones are $87 for 24 and the consumer grade are $64 for 24 so it’s not nothing. My husband says I should just get the better ones to feel safer – maybe once I read the data that spurred the recent mask-guideline-reversal by the CDC (I believe it’s coming out today) I won’t think twice about spending the extra money. (UPDATE: I just read a couple articles and yes I’ll be buying the medical grade masks).

I know this is a boring, “what I’m up to” post but it’s all I got in me right now. I still have so much anxiety about the upcoming school year, and while getting my house in order will absolutely be appreciated by my future self, right now it’s not making me calmer. I need to start tackling the issues that are causing the anxiety (::cough:: my classroom ::cough::) to start feeling better. I am writing notes about how I want to start the school year, which helps.

Honestly, I think I’m just a week ahead of everyone in obsessing about the start of school and I’m hoping that next week I’ll start getting emails from my school at least about first steps toward the fall. (Our first staff day is August 12, so I expect an email from work sometime next week.) I would also really appreciate communication from either of my kids’ schools, but I understand that it’s still early for that. Not everyone is as neurotic as I am – I’m sure a lot of people (teachers, parents and students!) do NOT want to be thinking about school starting yet. I wish I could stop thinking about it.

Maybe tonight when I get to have that drink!

What are you looking forward to this weekend?