Thankful Thursday

Thursday again. I've spent much of today photographing legos so am a bit frazzled, lol. (Yes, I'm *almost* done with sorting all the legos. More on that later.) Just briefly, then...this week, I'm thankful for...

1. Lunch dates. I had to take a few things to Noah last week and ended up doing a picnic lunch and spending the afternoon visiting, and it was much needed. One, it gave me the opportunity to get the solo birthday photo I missed when we gathered for his birthday...

Two, talking to my boy after the election and before the results were in helped renew my hope for the future and was a nice validation that maybe I didn't screw up the parenting thing too much. :)

A few days after that, I had lunch on our back patio with Deanna. Thankfully, the gusty winds died down just in time for our picnic, and we had a lovely catching up session. We're still working on making the back patio a more cozy place to meet outdoors but glad to have what we have. 

2. Finishing up spring registrations. Got both Asher and Micah's spring semesters sorted out this week since Front Range Community College's registration opened. Asher's classes will all be at the local Front Range campus (instead of the CEC campus). FRCC is doing the same mix of classes as fall semester, so Asher will only have the one in-person lab once a week (part two of calc-based physics). The rest of his classes will be online again in the spring, and he'll only have to deal with FRCC's schedule. (This current semester, only his calc-based physics class is through the FRCC campus. The other two are on the CEC campus, so he deals with both schedules. They're mostly the same but slightly different starting/ending dates.)

Micah's got two classes that will be on the CEC campus next semester. (We're not sure yet what that will look like for spring semester but imagine it will either continue to be mostly online only or attempt to switch to a hybrid model with half the students going two days a week and the other half going two days.) For his third class, he decided he wants to take Japanese. They don't offer Japanese at CEC or the local FRCC campus. But. They offer it at the Boulder FRCC campus. And since FRCC classes are remote/online in the spring anyhow, it seemed like a good time to take it.

(Yes, he'll need another semester after this and may need to drive down to Boulder to do that. But, by then he'll have his license...and it only meets in person two days a week normally and he'll be able to work his schedule to either take more classes down in Boulder or classes at CEC on different days. And potentially only needing to drive down to Boulder for one semester seems better than doing it for two semesters, right?)

So, after a long story of a morning yesterday working out his registration (had to get an underage hold on his account removed), he's signed up to take Japanese through the Boulder FRCC campus...online. He'll have two classes at CEC and this one online. Thankful that opportunities like this are available! And. Glad to have that all sorted out...whew.

3. Virtual climbing competitions. Given the givens, Micah's climbing team isn't able to do competition season as before. USA Climbing decided to have virtual competitions this bouldering season, instead. What does that mean? Well, there are local comps as before. But. Instead of everyone meeting at certain gyms and competing on one weekend, each comp is spread out over about two weeks. Climbers go to that gym as they're able and climb on their own...videoing their attempts and logging everything in an app. (Obviously, there are more technical rules and such, but you get the picture.) Scores are based on the climber's top five climbs. It's not ideal but it's something. :) 

Micah misses the community aspect of big in-person comps...enjoys watching and cheering on others. For at least the current local comp, though, he's able to get some of that since it's at Ascent. He and his teammates have been climbing and logging their competition climbs together...

Thankful they figured out a way to keep competing and pushing themselves while trying to stay safe these days! (Each gym has only a certain number of slots at any given time so reservations must be made to keep numbers in check. Each climber has also been asked to limit themselves to only one spectator (if any) to keep numbers down even more.)

4. Curbside pickup & technology. Finally this week, I'm thankful for curbside pickup type services. We recently switched to doing the online grocery shopping and picking it up at the store dealio, which has cut Nathan's exposure time out of the house significantly. Beyond groceries, we've been limiting our outings greatly anyhow. Groceries were really the only shopping thing where we came in contact with anyone for more than 15 minutes. Everything else we've been ordering ahead or just popping in quickly and checking out with minimal contact. 

Can we take a minute here for me to also say that, man, I wish some of these services had been available when the boys were little?! I distinctly remember thinking that it would be awesome if I could just order ahead and pick things up at so many places when dealing with babies and toddlers in the car. Seriously, this seems like a silver lining type thing. 

So. That's my list for now. In other updates, sadly, we've had Asher stop going to karate. This was an incredibly difficult decision, but the circumstances just didn't work for us as we're heading into winter and with Covid cases spiking around here. Micah's climbing team practices have cut back to only once a week for similar reasons. So, we all mostly stay home here. Heading into finals and holidays, it feels like maybe that's okay for awhile. Thankfully, we recognize that we're still so very fortunate...to be very used to all being here together...to have all the comforts we have at home...to have the technology to still be in contact with others easily...to be able to afford to all be home. Blessed.

Thankful Thursday

As we all wait...

Here's my list since last Thursday...

1. Costumes. Halloween was quite different this year...not only due to Covid but also because, well, teenagers. ;) But. Micah and I did get a wee bit into the spirit with costumes that we wore to Ascent last Friday. It had to be something we could climb in... 

Micah is a character from an anime show called Attack on Titan. I'm Ruth Bader Ginsberg. :) Glad to have celebrated at least a tiny bit.

2. Darkness DeSENDS. We wore the costumes to Ascent and Micah had his normal team practice. Confession. When we got there, we both chickened out and changed out of our costumes because we didn't see anyone else in costume, lol. Sigh. But. We had costumes and took pictures, so I'm counting that. After team practice, Ascent had an event called Darkness DeSENDS where all the lights were turned off and everyone climbed by headlamp. It was at this point that more people showed up in costumes. We stayed with our headlamps and had a fabulous time!

Most of Micah's teammates stuck around also and they had such a good time relaxing together and just climbing for fun. I even finally sent a route I'd been working on over on the ramp (like a little cave area) with my headlamp and was quite proud of myself. :) Thankful for the awesome event!

3. Pickleball. The next afternoon, Nathan, Asher, Micah and I all went to a nearby park to finally try out our new pickleball set. We don't know how to actually play and have never really played any racquet sports before. Micah looked up the rules and tried to explain, but we ended up mostly just being thrilled when we got the ball across to each other, lol. It was lovely to get out of the house and just have some fun. Even if we're not good at it. :)

Do you like Micah's outfit? :) He's been wearing the knee sleeves lately in our attempts to help with the arthritis flare ups in his knees. They seem somewhat helpful and are quite the fashion statement...especially when he also opts for shorts and dress socks, lol. 

After that, we went home to catch up on some shows while not handing out Halloween candy. It's a first for us but it just didn't seem worth it this year. :( On the plus side, we enjoyed the evening all together rather than some of us out trick or treating and some of us at home answering the door and such. So that was nice.

4. Children's Hospital. On Tuesday, Nathan and I took Micah down to Children's for a check up regarding his juvenile idiopathic arthritis. (We'd been scheduled for the follow up back in March but obviously ended up canceling that due to Covid.) It was a good visit and we had a nice discussion with the doctor. We'll be scheduling some follow up ultrasounds on his knee and ankle to make sure that the inflammation is sticking just in his tendons (due to the arthritis) and not also in his joints...since he's been having flare ups more frequently than we'd like and it seems to be spreading a bit. After that, we'll decide what's next. Thankful to have such resources relatively nearby.

Okay. That's my list for now. Back to everything else. ;P

Keep calm and carry on

Channeling my inner British motivational poster today. I know many are emotionally exhausted. I get it, truly.

Last night, we actually opted not to watch the news and, instead, re-watched "Hamilton." Admittedly, though, we didn't stay completely off our phones so did get glimpses as results were posted. Today, we're still working on patience and distraction but have also talked...with friends and each other. It's a balancing act for mental health. 

In my balancing, I'm not watching the news obsessively but did go back and revisit my posts from four years ago. I find them still relevant and true so invite you to also go read them...this one on election day...then this one just after...and one last one.

When you're done reading those, here are my thoughts today...in no particular order...

1. Regardless of how you voted, please be kind. Be kind to your fellow man and to yourself. If you need to take a break and just ignore the world for a bit, do that. If you need to gather as much information as you can, do that. If you need to just sit and stare at your computer while maybe watching old episodes of Great British Baking Show and avoiding the legos you probably should go sort, go ahead and do that, too. And while you're doing those things, recognize that those around you might need to do different things. Let them. Just please, be kind. Very few of us actually got all the things we voted for, and all of us still have uncertainty that weighs on us. 

2. I, personally, am struggling. I saw someone sum it up nicely. I'm still hoping for a political win...but regardless am grieving because I'd also hoped for a moral win. The tightness of this election makes that impossible and shows how divided our country is. It makes me unbelievably sad. As I said in the middle post linked up above (the one just after the 2016 election), this is about more than politics. Given that, I'm having a really difficult time with extended family and friends posting "we can agree to disagree and still be friends" sentiments...because we're not disagreeing just about policies but about how people should be treated...because people who support this man don't seem to realize that the message they're sending is that they also support his racism and sexism and selfishness and calls to violence and dismissal of truth...because some of the people who support this man *do* realize precisely that. 

3. I'm also angry at how our system is being attacked and gamed. So very many complaints. Heather Cox Richardson does a beautiful job of summarizing some of it here. This is also a good article. As is this one. Also, I've been receiving emails from both parties throughout this election and am amazed (and yet not) by the stark contrast in the messaging and delivery. I'm really, really, really over the melodramatic messaging coming from the Republican party that seeks only to make people afraid and tell them who to blame...with never any whiff of a plan or a solution or even effort...always just complaints about others and calls for sympathy and praise for Trump. (I'm also curious how it's acceptable to constantly offer that any donation you make to the Trump campaign will be matched at up to 1000%...doesn't anyone want to know where that matching is coming from?!) I'm really not going to go further down this path because those of you who know what I'm talking about already know. Plus, it's just getting me angry again and I'm looking for balance today.

4. To that end, I'm thankful, too. I'm thankful that I actually live in a community/state where more people agree with me than don't. It's nice to be surrounded by like-minded people. I can definitely see how frustrating it would be to live in a state where it felt like you were always in the minority. (I think, too, that that plays into some of our political problems but that's not something I want to get into today. I also recognize the value of surrounding yourself with a variety of people and ideas and don't have the energy to think about how to reconcile all of that right now.) In any case, trying to look for the positives.

Where does that all leave us? Tired, grieving, mad, thankful. All over the place. Despite numbers 2 and 3 above, though, I know that the way forward...to the future I want for my sons and future generations...involves working WITH those people who voted for Trump...having conversations and listening. I just haven't quite figured out how to do that. I'll work on it...but not just yet. Because I'm still grieving the America I want to live in and it's okay to be kind to myself today and just be. I'm trying to keep calm and carry on.  

Twenty

My boy turns TWENTY today. Wow. I can't say that I have three teenagers any more. :) 

To celebrate, we met Noah at the park near his apartment yesterday for a picnic lunch and an afternoon of visiting. Just before we parted ways, I remembered to take some pictures (which, unfortunately, meant that Asher wasn't in any of the pictures since he had to leave earlier to work on some homework). 

That's Noah's apartment building in the background...

Wishing I'd gotten a picture with all three brothers, but just imagine Asher between these two. Also, know that there's actually a bit more difference in height between these two (Asher's between them in height)...Micah's working on looking tall, lol. 

So, I don't have the traditional height comparison pictures in front of the garage but that's okay. If you're curious and/or nostalgic, I invite you to click on the Novembers over to the left to revisit birthdays of Noah's past. :) Or, check out this collage with a picture from on or near Noah's birthday over the last 20 years...

Ah, memories! Loved looking through all the pictures as I gathered these...such happy parties and celebrations and smiles (except for those initial teen years, lol). (And, yes, he was that big at birth...9lb 4oz and they couldn't find a hat to fit his head, lol.)

(Obviously, given that I started with birth, this doesn't include a picture from this year. I neglected to take any photos of just Noah yesterday. Drat!)

In case you're wondering, Noah seems to be doing just fine...has his remote and hybrid classes well in hand (and is a bit bored, it sounds like)...is being responsible about all things pandemic (pretty much only going out for his lab classes and groceries every other week)...continues to log hours at his LA position (being available for (online) office hours and grading work for the professor)...is watching various shows with his roommate (thankful for streaming accounts)...and is honestly enjoying learning to live and cook on his own (hence, most of his gifts this year were food related, lol).

Oh, and we didn't do a cake because we know our boy. Nathan made him a lasagna instead. :) Noah and his roommate can enjoy that and have leftovers. (Nathan and I were sad that we didn't get any, as it smelled so good while Nathan was making it, lol.)

So, happy birthday to my Noah and congrats to Nathan and me on surviving twenty years of parenthood!

Our squirrels

Happy Friday, everyone! Just for fun, I thought I'd introduce you to some of our squirrel friends. :) 

This is Twitchy. We think. Honestly, we're not completely sure we recognize Twitchy every time and tend to call any of the squirrels we don't "know" Twitchy. :) The original Twitchy, whoever he is, has a tail that just doesn't seem to stop twitching. We think he maybe was dropped on his head at some point or has some other issues, lol. 

This is Tigger. He has a whiter belly than the rest and, we think, is young. The other day, leaves were dropping from a tree around him and he was chasing them all (like a puppy chases his tail). It was pretty entertaining. He also had no idea what to do about snow and continually dove head-first into it. He's skittish and bouncy. Both Twitchy and Tigger tend to eat a little then take some walnuts to go. They don't hang around as long.

And this, friends, is Gaston. He's a bit of a bully and a glutton. He's fairly orange and has notches in both his ears. He also doesn't flinch easily...chases off the others and is willing to just stare us down rather than leave when we open the door. He prefers to sit at the far end of the basket/board and look toward us when he eats.

And, finally, here's HAMilton. He's, well, fat and is a pig. He didn't start out this fat. Nathan takes this as a sign that he's done his job of fattening them up to help them get through the winter. HAMilton has lost his shoulders and can't sit at the far end, as he's too heavy. Unlike Gaston, he tends to eat facing away from us. Like Gaston, he chases the others off. Oh, and his right "ring finger" generally sticks up when he eats. 

We also have a girl squirrel named Mia (we're pretty sure she's a mamma, lol) but she's very camera shy. Don't laugh but I swear she eats more delicately than the boys. :)  

So, those are "our" squirrels. Yes. We watch them too much. We may need a camera because we also often miss seeing them come and visit. At least with the snow, though, we had some evidence of their visits. We had to laugh, though...

Given the timing, we know that the trail on the right was made by HAMilton. You can see that his larger size meant that he crawled through the snow. The trail on the left, though, was made by Twitchy (we actually saw him). You can see that he leapt through the snow, as most squirrels do.

So. Yes, we feed our squirrels aplenty...so much that they can't always leap. :) We also watch them more than we probably should, lol. But. They make us happy. And, admit it...this post was a bright spot in your day. ;)