Five on Friday: Mid-October Musings

Unfinished and on the wrong day.

Things kind of fell apart last night but don’t worry! We’re all fine! I was going to tweak this post to publish it today but f*ck it. I’m posting it because who cares and I’m already a day late with it.

Fall has fallen!

The rain storm we had on Monday brought much cooler weather than we’ve been having. September and October are usually our warmest months, especially in San Francisco proper, but the air is finally feeling crisp and cool. On Monday our heat kicked on and we keep the thermostat at 62! I’m definitely here for the cooler weather, and I hope it keeps up, though I’m sure there will be some more surprisingly warm days before it officially cools off.

I pulled my Halloween leggings out of the shed last week and now I need to get my sweatshirt dresses and Ugg boots from the winter clothes box (also in the shed, but harder to access). I have a few Halloween decorations up in the house, and I got a couple new things for Spooky Spirit Week, which is the week of Halloween at school!

Half way through husband’s trip

The husband is in Amsterdam. It’s nine hours ahead. We can only chat on my way to work, when he’s in the middle of his day or on my drive home, when he’s out late. Needless to say we aren’t getting to talk much. I miss him! Solo parenting isn’t that hard as my kids are older and can do a lot themselves. Having said that I feel like I can never sit down because I have to take advantage of every moment. Part of this is because my inlaws are coming in the morning to help the 6th grader get up and to school, and they will clean anything I leave out, so I feel like I need to have my kitchen in pristine shape before I leave in the mornings. I hate for them to clean up my messes.

Getting to work has been kind of a shit show, because I need to feed the cats before I leave and that, combined with keeping my kitchen pristine, has me leaving later than usual. On Tuesday I hit so much traffic that it took an hour to get to work. On Wednesday I forgot my coffee and water. Thursday and Friday were better – I even got parking spots in the front on those days!

I’ve been making sure to get every last minute of prep done before I get to work, in case I pull up right before the bell rings. This takes a significant amount of time! I get a lot done in the normal 40+ minutes I have before the bell rings! I’ve also had to stay for 30-40 minutes after work most days this week, to do the stuff I can’t, or don’t want to, bring home.

The 11yo

My favorite sparring buddy is back at the dojo after a several-month hiatus (first for summer break, then for baseball). He came back at the perfect time because they are just starting their Junior Leadership program and he is interested in participating. I really hope he continues to find the dojo a fun and meaningful place to be.

After a ROUGH couple of weeks, things have been a lot better for him at school. I guess the one teacher he was having a hard time with (that he has for TWO classes), has gotten better. I wonder if someone else talked to him before we could? It seems like things in that class have changed significantly. Seems unlikely those changes happened organically…

He’s of course VERY EXCITED for his birthday. His friend party is this Sunday. His actual birthday (he’ll get his big present from us) is Wednesday, and his grandparent birthday party is next Sunday. He gets to feel special on THREE DAYS! Sounds about right.

Today I drove to his school, parked the car, found him and showed him how to take the 48 down to Mission and 24th and then how to walk from there to the dojo. We stopped in McDonalds to get him a 20 piece chicken nugget and a frozen Coke. The timing worked great for his 5pm class, which he could never get to on time if he tried to get home (on the bus) first. I’m so glad it worked! I also showed him how to get home from his baseball game on the bus on Saturday, since I need to be at the dojo. He’s getting so independent! I’m really proud of him.

The 15yo

I realized last night – when the 15yo mentioned how much I’d been in her room – that I was lonely and lurking because I wanted company. Luckily she likes to hang out with me and didn’t mind. She has found her rhythm at school, can manage the homework better, and is going to swimming twice a week. Do I wish she were going to swim at least three days a week? Sure! But I’m not going to say anything, because it’s her life and she needs to do what feels right for her.

She applied for an internship at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito and got an interview on Monday! She was so thrilled to have made it through the first round! I REALLY hope her interview goes well. We’ve talked through the questions and we’re going to do a first practice interview on Zoom tonight. She’ll do at least one more practice interview with her dad via Zoom over the weekend too.

Other Random Updates

I got my Covid and flu shots on Monday. My arm was super sore but I never felt shitty. They finally filled the 15yo’s ADHD prescription earlier this week and I picked it up.

I am had my eye appointment and am trying occupational progressives for the first time, where the majority of your vision is most of your reading prescription, so you can see clearly for like 10 feet but distance is not great. She said if I hate them I can bring them back within three months and get regular progressives. I just know “the boost” at the bottom of glasses just isn’t enough for me anymore. I’m really excited to try something new. My new glasses should be in late next week.

I saw my kids’ dentist for the first time on Wednesday. I have to go back to get three cavities filled or refilled. Such a bummer. I do not have great teeth.

I haven’t made it to the dojo yet this week, but I did do a Sims 60 Bike Boot Camp on Wednesday. I didn’t start u til 8pm, and it was really hard, but I rocked it! I was really proud.