- Okay, so in the last five weeks, he has not wanted to go to school on four days. Not wanting to go stems from not wanting to spend as much time writing and drawing as is required every day. One day, he said the days were “too long,” and he was “too tired.’
- He has told some fun stories that he’s written/illustrated. For example, I like apples; I like peaches; I like chocolate chip cookies! :)
- He did also share that he got a red notebook, which is better than a yellow one, and he got it because he committed to work hard on his writing/stories. I’m so proud.
- Zach is still very loyal to Ethan. Apparently they sometimes walk around the playground, rather than play. Another teacher encouraged him to play and run around, and he thought she was admonishing him, and I said, “No, it sounds like she wants you to have fun!”
- He does play campfire with his friends and they pretend to roast marshmallows.
- Zach has gone through phases of playing with the neighborhood kids a lot. He and Teddy and Jewel have been in sync a lot.
- We’ve played tennis and basketball and soccer. He seems very obsessed by soccer.
- He enjoyed the karate class and went to the party at the dojo in Fairfax.
- We have been playing collaborative games, Briscola, and after his birthday, there has been a lot of Lego building!
- He has booster seats in both cars now!
- He’s working on learning to snap!
Zach’s Words and Songs
- He’s been singing in Spanish. He can remember how to pronounce zapato and I can’t.
- He taught us a game about turkeys that involved singing - kind of like musical chairs. It goes:
- Five fat turkeys are we, Slept all night in a tree, cook came round and we couldn’t be found, and that’s why we’re here you see!
- He’s all about syllables and he’s loving math. Writing out numbers, learning how to write “+” etc. Knowing that 20 + 20 = 40, etc.
- We got back to picking our fave songs at dinner, and listened to “Don’t Stop Believin’” again. Nice. Frank also has him enjoying “Take the Money and Run” and Men at Work songs.
- He’s enjoying Echo Mountain still and Story Pirates
- He and Frank listen to a lot of Bobby Wonder.
- Books: Sparky, Freddie Ramos, Pete the Cat, Frannie K. Stein, and some truly awful picks from the book fair. Also, his weekly school library book selections are not very compelling. The last one was written in 1947 about a postman, farmer, and police man and his wife. I made her the police officer’s husband to try and counter the gender stereotypes.
- He is saying, “Oh, my, God” more than I’d like.
- He’s also gotten into accents: “Howdy, partner.” He also likes it when I read the Sparky book that takes place in Australia, and I try for an Aussie accent.
- Zach told me this month, “You’re the best, Mommy.”
- Frank, Zach, and I are watching The Kicks
- The Snowy Day is back - the song and the show! :)
Emotions/Empathy Corner
- We’re still doing roses and thorns
- Zach cried that the Virginia football team lost. :( I mean, cried.
- Met new neighbor, Danielle, who has moved in with Susan. Zach said he was excited for a new neighbor, and I said, “But we miss Bri,” and he said, "Remember when James moved out and we were sad to see him go, and then Sacha, Agathe, and Saul moved in?" Super insightful!
- Zach was so compassionate when Frank’s new tv monitor was damaged. Frank was so upset, and I think it was very distressing to Zach. He went all in for hugs!
Sleep Update
Same old, same old. He gets tired during the week and will often nap one day of the weekend. He often gets 10 hours, but some nights it’s just 9. :( He is often stuffy in the morning. Maybe once every two weeks, he will sleep 11 hours.
In the mornings at breakfast Zach tells me things and asks me good questions.
He told me about a book they read that was “sad” about gorillas hunted/poached and separated. Yikes. This morning he asked me something else meaningful. He shared that Amir asked why he had brown eyes. And said, “wasn’t that rude.” I said no, it was just curious.
Zach and I have continued to have a fun time on Saturday mornings. We have gotten breakfast out and went to the farmer’s market and then spent time drawing and coloring in the community center art gallery. Very fun.
- For Frank’s birthday, we all went down to Sperryville together, and it was a beautiful day. Really lovely. We picked up provisions at Before and After and the grocery, took our hike, bought apples, and headed to the Little Washington Winery for lunch. It was windy that day!
- Zach’s congratulations cake for his first COVID shot became Frank’s birthday cake. Also, Frank and I took a long lunch on a nice day the week of his birthday and went to Aslin and go lunch and sat outside. A nice time.
- For Zach’s birthday, we celebrated with Gamma and Daddy Bob and Auntie Em on the Sunday before Zach’s birthday. Frank and I took him to Udvar Hazy, and we met everyone at More Better Restaurant for brunch outside.
- On his actual birthday, Zach had off school, and I took him to the National Zoo. We were all supposed to go together, but Frank felt sick and had to get COVID tested, so it was just me and Zach. We got burgers and fries for dinner, and I made Zach a yellow cake and picked up strawberry jam in Sperryville. I made homemade whipped cream and we made a version of strawberry shortcake for his birthday.
Zach got his first shot on November 10, and he got his second shot and I got my booster on December 3. Frank was boosted on December 8. We all came through it fine.
Frank caught a cold, so we ended up having Thanksgiving at Auntie Em’s. She made a kale gratin that was so good! The meal was wonderful. Early in the day, Mom, Dad, Emily, and I had some time to catch up that was really nice. After dinner, Frank, Zach, and I took a hike at Great Falls.
- Auntie Em brought us Mediterranean goodies from her trip to Philadelphia. So good!
- Anti-cancer foods: dried plums and shitake mushrooms - made a mushroom and polenta dish with parmesan cheese. Delightful!
- Grilled cheese, watermelon hops kombucha, and kale salad
- Auntie Em’s bitter greens gratin
- My creamy omelet with American cheese and beet sauerkraut. Yum!
- Sweet ginger drink from Kochany Wellness
- Leah’s creamy turkey pasta
- Coucou Rachou bakery and goodies in Charlottesville
- The chicken sandwich at Selvige Brewing at the Wool Factory in Charlottesville
- Zach’s Red Truck cookie from Gamma and his Advent Calendar from Auntie Em
Connections
- We finished up Mighty Ducks and started Bella and the Bulldogs. No one likes BB as much as Zach
- Met Emily and Andrew at Quattro Goombas
- Wine and cheese with Auntie Em
- Nice connect with Rae
- Dinner with Katie and Suji
- Goodies to Katie on her birthday
- Email to Chuckie, Leah, and Jeff and they responded
- Good sessions with Dr. Pittman and tough couples sessions! Healing is not linear. With the triggers of the holidays, we lost sight of some of the core practices that have been helpful.
- Zach and his cousins at Thanksgiving
- Good Thanksgiving chats with Francisco and Meaghan and I shared Michigan photos with Juliana and Louisa! Lucas is a pretty delightful young man!
- Our stay in Charlottesville at the Barrsden guest house was so nice, and it was a little creepy that they had a photo of us framed in the bedroom loft. I had no idea how they’d gotten it. Turns out they asked for it and Frank sent it.
- Lunch and a hike with Sam and Zahra. Zach and Zahra were cheetahs hunting for food. They’re pretty adorable together.
- Calls with Kathleen
- Toys, books, and gifts for adopted families!
- Omicron variant :( BUT Zach will be fully vaxxed as of 12/24 and we’re all boosted now!
Personal
- Foot rubs for my weary feet! I won the Movember challenge and walked about 237 miles in November
- Atlas of the Heart book release party on Zoom
- Reading:
- LOVEE
- Atomic Habits
- Atlas of the Heart - so good!
- See No Stranger - From Valarie Kaur, she mentions that you don’t have to forgive to heal, and the forgiveness comes when it comes. It’s okay that I’m not there.
- Shows: Atypical, Pray Away, Always Jane, Modern Love
- Podcasts: with the author of The Way of the Gardener: Lost in the Weeds Along the Camino de Santiago (really interesting), The Kingdom, Good Ancestor, Unlocking Us and Dare to Lead, The Happiness Lab, A Slight Change of Plans
- Yard work; the backyard looks so good! Zach and I lawn bowled back there!
- Listening to the Man from Snowy River!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! On Pandora and classical Christmas
- Regular loving kindness meditation and more meditation in general
Professional
- Culture Interviews and values conversations
- My Diversity Equity Inclusion and Belonging group is so good! They have led a 16 Day of Activism, which has been powerful, and we navigated some tough feedback. Proud of my leadership! We’ve had informative and impactful team meetings especially around support for the LGBTQIA+ community.
- Offered to help a colleague in South Africa in crisis
- I’ve enjoyed my Device Magic training work. I feel like I am uncovering important resources and making connections that might not be made otherwise.
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