Ping pong thoughts on a blustery Valentine’s Day

We don’t usually do anything for each other on Valentine’s Day, and we’re definitely not this year. We’re rain checking until our trip next week.

Which is fitting, because it’s quite a blustery day. So much rain this winter.

The good news is the weather in Mexico City is supposed to be beautiful next week. I haven’t been watching it too closely because our plans don’t require beautiful days, but I will happily enjoy them.

I’m certainly not sad to be missing out on this.

Meanwhile I keep trudging through my to-do lists. Clean the cat food mats. Clean the cat boxes. Do laundry and laundry and more laundry. Pack myself. Pack the kids. So many things to do and I am seriously losing steam. I think when I finally sit down on the plane I’m just going to a stare at the seat in front of me for a bit. Maybe the whole flight.

I’m actually pretty much packed now. I bought a few final toiletry items today and now I’m pretty much ready to go. It feels really good to be packed – it’s always stressful for me and this was exceptionally so because it’s such a different kind of trip. We’re going to nice restaurants and out for cocktails. I need to have “going out” clothes in my bag. I never have to pack going out clothes. Or at least I haven’t in probably a decade. So it’s nice to have it all in there, and to know it fits.

Last night I went to Sparring concepts and then stayed for Sparring afterward. It was one of those sparring sessions where I actually felt like I was getting better. It felt really good, and I hope I can hang on to that feeling after this trip and really dive back into my training. Tonight I’m going to High Belt class, which has never been a favorite. I know it won’t feel as good as sparring did but I hope I at least still feel like I’m making progress.

I promise to post about changes I’ve made to help me stay organized. I realized that I touted those changes as new systems when really they are new solutions to old problems. It’s not so much that I found different ways to stay organized on a daily basis, but that I created organized spaces that are easier for me to maintain. I just want to temper expectations, because the former would be amazing, but sadly I can only offer the latter.

I can’t believe I’m only at work one more day. As I expected, I’m not getting “all caught up” at work this week, but I am checking off a couple of festering to-do items, and I’ve made all the copies I need for the first few days of the week we get back (you may remember that I did NOT do that for the week after the Winter Break and I regretted it deeply). Tomorrow is my no-prep day so I plan to write my sub plans tonight. My good friend is taking my classes so I can just give her agenda slides to put up on the TV. That will help immensely.

Last night I slept very poorly. I was up every hour or so and I tossed and turned before falling back to sleep. I really hope tonight I get a decent amount of sleep, but I fear this is travel-stress-related and therefore here to stay. At least until I leave.

And my bus is about to arrive at the dojo, so I should stop and just put this up. I hope everyone felt loved this Valentine’s Day.