Magical Days and More

Zach of Note

• ABC Mouse, Starfall, memory games, and stories in the morning when he wakes early
• He chooses activities and connection so often. It's great. 
• Parachute man at Algonkian and Lake Fairfax and launching weed heads at Lake Fairfax (Zach really worked hard at trying to figure out how to launch by himself.)
• A visit to the hideout - just me and Zach 
• Zach went to bed at 7pm one night while he was sick with a bad cold (not COVID, and we got to meet a new doctor at his pediatrician's office, whom I really liked!) 
• Zach's snapping is so loud! At first he could only snap with one hand, but now he's perfected it with both hands. 
• Great Falls hike

• Magical Mother's Day
• Taking the bus with Frank to Udvar Hazy
• Zach's passport!

• Metro with me to get beignets and ride as the journey

• Lake Anne fun
• Penny wars
• Fun Run

• Fieldtrips to Clemyjontri and the Leesburg Animal Park (Frank chaperoned)
• Ring holder pottery that he made!
• One of the other K teachers told Frank that Zach was a "treasure."

• Soccer: Fenton, Marcel and his earnest and sincere 3x apology, the trash talking Australia kids, Niko's family referred to Zach as "The Closer."
• Zach continues to make me breakfast!
• Zach got his booster on 5/27 and had a reaction or came down with another cold! (Not COVID)
• The Water Mine!!!! Zach and I picked up the season passes, and we had a blast watching outside

Zach's Words and Songs

• Story Pirates; Who, When, Wow (esp episode on Sacagawea cracked me up); and Cairo
• Singing a lot of songs from music class (London Bridge, etc.)
• I drilled Zach on high frequency words, and he was so into it for one day. 
• He has gotten into military-type things, "sir, yes, sir," and saluting me from the bus 
• Books: You Choose books, Girls Survive books and intense situations (fire at the circus in the 1800's), Treasure Chest, Mercy Watson, and When Stars are Scattered
• Hey Man game instead of "Hangman." I had never thought about how inappropriate "Hangman" is
• One evening he wrote a persuasive argument about why he should get a hamster
• Words of affirmation to me! I love you Mommy, I love your hair, etc. 

Empathy Corner

• Gratitude, intention, and loving kindness meditation together
• I sat with Zach in his sadness the week that his field trip and soccer practice and games were all canceled or postponed.
• Zach apologized to his friend, Ivan and Laurie (bus dirver). He said a bad word (provided by and at the insistence of Thomas) to his friend, Ivan, on the bus. Zach was sitting with Thomas instead of in his normal assigned seat because Laurie trusted him to behave.
• Zach and handling his soccer passion and expertise. He is really good and says things like, "I'm the best," and "I won the game." There are others who want to play and have a chance to score! And there are people who help you to score and play well!
• Reading about Ida B. Wells, which brought up some pretty serious topics (slavery and the idea that some slavery was "better" than other kinds. I said that was not a thing. All slavery was bad and wrong. The book also mentioned lynching and how Ida tried to be involved in the push for women's rights, but that movement did not wholly embrace women of color. Zach noted that I was a white woman like the women who did not welcome Ida into the movement.)
• We also read about Crazy Horse that discussed attacks by U.S. troops on Native Americans and scalping. Yikes. I keep expecting that I might scar him.
• Our latest book, When Stars are Scattered, talks about two Somali brothers growing up in a refugee camp in Kenya

What I Working on

• Giving time and grace. Sigh. 
• The Misses: 
• Mike (staying active?), Mary (Oh, yes, I knew about your mastectomy and just didn’t acknowledge it in any way.)
• Sharing pain and having three reactions, two invalidating: iphone "Loved" my pain, urged me to "let it go," and the good one shared her own painful experience.
• Sharing your feelings doesn't make the conversation about you, it allows people to understand what you're feeling to better connect. 
• I started on my Social Justice chronicle
• Revolutionary Love opportunities
• The organizations of iheartprinciples and Mind Over Tech
• Tips: Set healthy boundaries, mono task, responsible use of tech
• There are good things about masculine and feminine. Champion the feminine in places where masculinity has been elevated as better or "right." 
• Be in the present: Listen to birds, hear feet on the ground, etc. 
• Seek friends in passions: dance, Zumba, learning, food, growth, writing
• Doing mindful/meditation practice is better than learning about why it's important!
• As a society, we're learning about the benefits of mental training now like we learned about heart health and physical fitness benefits many years ago. 

Family Fun

• Land for sale near Suttons Bay, MI! Should we buy it? 
• Castle Panic
• Carpet picnics and The Inbestigators (The best show!) and Project MC2 on Netflix
• Crust pizza at the outdoor deck at Aslin one weekend and for Zach's half birthday
• Hike on Hazel River Trail, so much fun! Shoes off at stream crossing and then just wearing our shoes on the way back. 

Connection

• Cookies to Jonathan, Susan, and Lindy and to Auntie Em
• Note with cookies was "great," from Jonathan
• Dinner with Auntie Em and Emily's Wonderlab
• Visits with the foster kitties, Pearl, Moonstone, and Onyx
• Visit to Mom and Dad for Zach
• Uber Ladies gathering at Wolf Trap. Thanks, all, for traveling to me and thanks to Mary Kay for organizing
• Met up with Susan K.'s friend, Cat, and offered my genetics, cancer, and mastectomy story
• Catch ups with: Sofia, Greer, Paige (Values and more)
• Walk with Katie and "Apparently, I have a coaster problem."
• Visit and lunch with Adrienne
• Thanks to Emily R. for book and soup
• Food delivery to Emily R., Auntie Em, and Katie and Suji
• Work: Nikki, Faith, Tracey, Eva, and Ash
• Kathy from PT

Fun and Not So Fun

• Zumba and Kathy Smith with new exercises from PT 
• NKOTB videos from their current tour. So good! What a fun evening. I just watched and smiled :)
• Vacation and camps scheduled!
• Bathroom project underway!
• Graduated from PT!
• Books: Free Food for Millionaires, Pachinko, Think Like a White Man, Unbound
• Audio Books: Peak Mind, Sovala Nolan, Ain't Burned All the Bright
• Podcasts: Unlocking Us and Dare to Lead until hiatus in early May, Teaching Hard History, Becoming a Good Ancestor is back!, SloMo, Black Belt voices, Well-read Black Girl, On Being, Ten Percent Happier and Stephanie Foo interview
• Movies/Series: finished Who Killed Malcolm X, Amend: The Fight for America, Atlas of the Heart, The Color Purple, Sweet Magnolias, Inventing Anna, Maid, Kim's Convenience (esp Season 2 was really funny; I laughed out loud at most episodes), Penguin Bloom, Divided We Fall (Valarie Kaur)
• Hard stuff: 
• Felt overwhelmed twice (4/26 and 5/27)
• Tired and cried and cried. Dr. Hammer said she hoped I was seeing someone about that. Also, she agreed acupuncture could work, but "don't puncture a lung." Hmm...I wonder how she really feels
• Discomfort continued until 5/4 and then pretty much just gone. Coincidence, I think, but did have one session of desensitization therapy at PT on 5/4. (7 weeks and 2 days post-surgery)
• Visit to Dr. Bruce's office at Riverside Clinic on 5/5 was really tough. I journaled angrily. 
• Some anxiety and poor sleep before my colonoscopy on 5/11
• Feel like Frankenstein
• How do I share with people now? I let some know, but couldn't tell everyone, and what does that look like? 
• Lessons Learned: 
• Gratitude, intention, grateful for what I did and what others have done
• More questions: What impact does this have on you? What meaning would this have for you? What does support look like? 
• Remember to journal re: pain
• Think about what I want from friends
• Imagine/write out the conversation
• Sofia and her gratitude that I'm modeling how to ask for help and showing how we need each other.
• Clear is kind and setting an example - MKC
• Suffering is a part of life
• Choose action over inaction
• I LOVE the idea that if you're in the present, you can't regret the past or be anxious about the future. If you're enjoying the book you're reading, you're in it. 

Good Food

• No more processed meat for me. The Saville Center said I could still have the occasional deli meat or bacon or sausage on a rare or special occasion. I am not a big meat eater, but pepperoni, prosciutto, salami, Italian sausage have been favorites. If I'm having pizza, I love those meats on the pizza.
• No more alcohol so far (nothing since February 4). This has been surprisingly easy, but I look at others drinking and I'm a bit nostalgic. However, drinking does impact how I feel, and I try to remember that it's not like it once was! 
• Salmon avocado Caesar salad from Cafesano. So good!
• Peanut noodles
• Thompson Italian brunch with Auntie Em
• Thompson Italian Mother's Day meal with mushroom quiche, cauliflower salad, home fries with aioli, yogurt parfaits, and the raspberry almond double-baked brioches. Wow!
• Mother's Day waffles from Auntie Em
• Bok choy, mushrooms, garlic sauce, egg, and a Bottoms Up Bagel with cream cheese and a dash of lemon juice. (Thanks, Mary Kay!)
• Hex's turmeric kraut
• Firehook bakery treats
• Blueberry muffins from the Corner Grocery