A Lot to Report!

Zach of Note

School: Zach still loves school. He loves it all! One day we drove past the school, and it was a love fest!

He seems to get along well with all kids in his class. It’s funny because Zach is very close to Ethan who was in the Bridge program with him, and Senora Bonilla says Zach will often stop playing with other kids to play with Ethan, and she’s reminding him/them that they can be friends and play with other kids. 

Wearing a mask is hard, and we’ve gone back and forth with his teacher trying to get a style that he will keep over his nose and mouth. 

The bus is great, though sometimes it’s a little loud for him. He lets Amir get on the bus first, not primarily because he’s a nice kid, but because it means he gets to sit on the outside, and since he’s in the first row behind Laurie, the bus driver, he gets off the bus first. He loves to be the first in line to everything. He even stopped taking his lunch because if he has to go get his lunch box, he can’t be first in line to walk to the cafeteria. 

We’ve had our first parent/teacher conference, and it was nice to talk with Senora Bonilla for a little longer. She mentioned that he has a good memory for Spanish. He sings a lot of songs and they do a lot of drawing.

He went to the hot chocolate on the playground event and enjoyed running around with his friends after school hours. We ran into one of his classmates at the playground on a random evening. For a few weeks, we met his classmate and close by neighbor, Thomas, to play outside, but that has fizzled. 

I’m really proud of how Zach has gotten into a routine of getting himself ready in the morning. He packs his snack, fills his water bottle, dresses himself, makes sure to brush his teeth, and gets his mask. As it went from summer to winter so quickly, we are figuring out how to get dressed in the necessary extra clothes and still head out at 8:18am. (It’s actually fine if we leave at 8:22, but we aim for 8:18am!)

Outside of School: 

• Zach has a booster seat in my car now! :)
• Zach has enjoyed looking out the window at clouds lately and commenting on what he sees
• We’ve enjoyed trips to Meadowlark, Great Falls, a Fall Festival, and Great Country. Zach brought me a sunflower!
  
• We tried out brunch at More Better Restaurant and had two delightful brunches there on two beautiful fall Sundays. 
• We’re playing a lot of basketball, soccer, and tennis
• Frank and Zach are lego boosting again; they played Castle Panic, and Zach and I played Briscola and Wildcraft
• Frank and Zach have been on a few bike rides and met up with Jeff at Great Falls and Great Country
• Frank and I both took Zach when we voted, and it was disturbing to me how much the Youngkin folks reached out to Zach - gave him an American flag and told me how great it was that I’d brought him with me to vote, which it was, but still it was a little clingy. 
• He had an easy time with his flu shot and has only just come down with some kind of stomach bug.

Susan & Zach

Zach participated in the Loudoun Wildlife Challenge with Auntie Em in October as team Walkabout. Our hikes below: 

• 4.31 miles toward Shawl Gap in Elizabeth Furnace Recreation Area, VA
• .86 miles at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, VA
• 3.95 miles in Tucker County, WV
• .65 miles at Algonkian Park, VA
• .37 miles at Walker Nature Center, Reston, VA
• 2.55 miles in Sperryville, VA
  
• 2 miles around Reston, VA
• 2.7 miles at Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve, VA

The Elizabeth Furnace hike allowed for lunch at the Apple House, which Zach and I always enjoy. 

The hike in Tucker County was on Zach’s day off from school for Indigenous People’s Day. I drove out to Woodstock and spent the night with Gamma and Daddy Bob, and Zach and I left early on Monday morning to drive to Davis, WV. The weather was foggy and cloudy until literally 5 minutes from Davis. I was convinced we would not get the beautiful weather that was forecast, but we did! 

• A couple of fun serendipitous Saturdays at Lake Anne. We checked out the art at the community center and I bought some pottery pumpkins for Zach’s birthday that he liked. :) We saw lots of other art that we admired. 
• We ran into a friend from school, Dani, and her sisters and played hard.
• A balloon and an art project that was rewarded with a piece of chocolate
• Pastries on the plaza
• Just delightful. 

We happened on a free karate class at the library and Zach loved it, so we’ve gone back for two sessions!

Family Time

Halloween excursions allowed for some fun family time. We went to the homespun trunk or treat as well as a couple nature-themed celebrations. On Halloween proper, there was trick-or-treating and a viewing of Hotel Transylvania

For Halloween Zach was The Flash twice; a leprechaun, Roy G. Biv, from a leprechaun book he read on ABC Mouse for storybook character day at school; and a scuba diver on Halloween. (We tried for Terry with self-inflating underpants, but Zach said he looked “too weird.” Fair.) 

Emotions/Empathy Corner

Nightly gratitude has morphed into sharing our rose and thorn for the day. (Comes from my read of Priya Parker’s book, The Art of Gathering.)

Zach's Words and Songs and Curious Questions

• Zach said he wanted a brother or sister to talk to when Daddy and I talk at the dinner table. :) 
• We also talked about La Fajeda, and he asked if I would take him there! I said, yes, and they speak Spanish!
• Zach shares his Spanish phrases with me,which I love.
• Lauren Wolk's Echo Mountain is an old friend
• We listened to most of Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo
• The Treehouse books are still a hit
• We’ve been taking regular trips to the library and Zach has picked out books in the Sparkleton series (not my fave) and we found Freddie Ramos and a lot of new books in that series, which we found originally on ABC Mouse
• We had some fun breaking out some good tunes: Collective Soul, Pete Yorn, Sister Hazel, Jason Isbell, Stephen Kellogg, Men at Work and songs: Eye of the Tiger, Dar Williams’ Comfortably Numb, and We Own Tonight. 
• Beds in the trees = hammocks
• Zach asked, “Are you a leader at GoCanvas?”

Sleep Update

He gets tired during the week and takes naps to catch up on the weekends. When he was off school in late Oct/early Nov, he took naps 4 days in a row, and on Tuesday (Day 5), he decided he was caught up. He might be sleeping longer because of the longer, darker mornings and colder temps, but it’s hard to tell. 

Good Food

• Good lunch of hard boiled egg, salad greens, tomatoes, zucchini, and dressing. 
• Roasted garlic and potatoes. Roasted eggplant and garlic frittata!
• Pumpkin carving and roasted pumpkin seeds! Yum!
• Live kale salad with garlic and ginger, made with apple cider vinegar. Yum!
• Smashed potatoes and a Limestone Hill white wine
• Thought of Jackie when I made Halloween candy Blondie Brownies before Halloween
• Territory’s zucchini latkes w/ sweet potato, cranberry and salad = so good
• Auntie Em roasted veggies and we had them with our delightful Jasper Hill cheese sampler pack and it was SO GOOD. The second time, we opened up a wine from the Costco Wine Advent calendar. Delightful!
• Wine buys at the Little Washington Winery

Connection

• Lots of playing and neighbor time!
• Goodies collected and dropped off to the parents of new babies and sharing cheese and Brownies! Dropped Panera treats off for Charlotte. Very belated. That was fun!
• Ice cream with Jennifer
• Our pod squad kicked off with Mary Kay and Kate discussing the Gifts of Imperfection, and that’s been really great. Inspired Mary Kay to start a tough and vulnerable conversation with her family.
• Talked through leadership challenges and foreboding joy with Auntie Em
• Met up with Adrienne for a walk and dinner at Crooked Run
• Checked in with Paige
• Family brunch for Emily’s birthday at the Black Sheep
• Fun coffee and breakfast date with Auntie Em at Cafe In. Interesting and unusual breakfast sandwiches and yummy sweets
• Texts with Sofia
• Evening with Katie and Suji
• Calls with Kathleen and Greer; Kathleen checked in on me!
• Brunches at More Better Restaurant
• Baguette Republic pumpkin and pumpkin chocolate chip muffins

Family Fun

Welcome Eleanor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dinner at Auntie Em's and watching The Mighty Ducks! We have gotten Little Beast pizza and tried out Taste of Istanbul

Fun and Not So Fun Stuff 

• The Valley of Yellow Flowers did bloom, it was just super-late!
• Auntie Em made it through her scans and a stressful, triggering month!
• Sessions with couples therapist - overall better than expected, though I did go through a pretty tough 7-day period. Lots of insight and improved communication. The path is not linear. I did some meditations and visualizations. Thanks again Kristin Neff and Justin Michael Williams. We started a text chain as a way to share and collect data, asynchronous comms and typing it out were more helpful than I would have expected
• Read: finished a Bittersweet Season, which is so good, Fire Song, What I Know for Sure by Oprah, The State of Affairs, Happiness is a Choice You Make, and part of The Road to Character
• Watching: The Queen’s Gambit, finished Pose, Never Have I Ever, and the movies, Starling and Pray Away, recommended by my new South African colleagues, Nikki and LIesl
• Tried Modern Love and Fleabag on Amazon
• Audio books: The Art of Gathering, Multipliers, and The Fearless organization
• Pulled out a Glover family quilt when it got COLD!
  
• Creativity is the antidote to consumerism. T-shirt quilt!
• Podcasts: 
• Brene Brown - so good and Layla Saad is back too. Yay! Brene interviewed the podcasters from Call Your Girlfriend, and I loved their interview with Ngaio Parr and her Grief Companion sounds amazing.
• Justin Michael Williams’ Tiny Rituals and Power of Action episodes
• Got Esther Perel’s cards/game: Where Should We Begin
• Listened to the Daily episode on the upcoming Ahmaud Arbery trial in GA. Tough. 

Professional

• DEIB and the ideas and energy from that group
• Regular meetings with my awesome team are really allowing for more thoughtful consideration. Thanks Annie, Faith, and Rae
• Servant Leadership sessions - continued to be great! Shared on psychological safety and one of the DM team leads used the exercise! I used it too!
• Culture interviews: interesting to see how many connect with the environmental mission of GC, and some troubling thoughts about some of our customers who are not in line with my environmental priorities
• Ian won Authenticity on my nomination!
  
• PT2: a good run! I’m so proud of it!
• Shared the Farm Club details with Chad at work, and he wrote back: “that place sounds dope.” Teehee
• Thoughts about the avenue of a geriatric care manager and focusing in on helping families have these tough conversations and heal their wounds. Comms are hard!

Health Corner

• Annual eye doctor and dermatologist visits went fine; still boring to the dermatologist!
• Podiatrist visit
• Insights from pelvic floor therapy! Should be able to go 2-3 hours without a trip to the bathroom!
• Auntie Em started me on a daily baby aspirin as is recommended for PMS2
• Auntie Em shared her Schar Center high risk cancer contact
• Zach is schedule for his 1st does of the vaccine on 11/11
  
  
  

Summer Continues

Zach of Note

• Zach started Kindergarten! It was not super-traumatic for me. The Bridge program elicited more emotion. 
• He loves it. Loves it. Loves it. Loves the bus. Loves specials, all of them, but music, art, library and technology got shout outs before PE. He sings songs in Spanish (days of the week and numbers), and he continues to enjoy drawing. He can write his name now and is getting a lot of practice!
• We are getting to know the bus stop neighbors and kids: Ahmed, Nahid, Aisha, Amir, Buchaib, Jonathan, Susan (another Susan!), Lindy, Lyla, Naomi, and Julian. 
• They had a lockdown drill :(
• Slowly day by day Zach identified the kids in his class and he has the right number! I emailed with the teacher and there was a Back to School Night too, so we're learning little by little
• He's not drinking enough water or using the bathroom much/enough at school! :(
• Ear infection for Zach
• Zach is a great helper in the morning. He packs his lunch box and makes sure he brushes his teeth, gets his water bottle, and grabs a mask! Out the door at 8:18am.
• He is still enjoying art: drawing, collaging, using the crayons and colored pencils. We got a sharpener, and he liked learning to use it!
• Frank and Zach have done a lot of fort building in his bed. He and they also reenact Rocket League with his cars
• He has gotten the Tom Thomas helicopter back out and there have been Hot Wheels races
• Video games are a hit, but he will take days off. 
• We kept going to the pool until it closed on Sunday, 9/19. In the final weeks Zach crossed paths with Sasha several times, and they had fun playing
• Frank took Zach to meet the cousins at Lake Anna, and he had a blast. I felt like it was a non-stop party and with the hot weather, frankly, exhausting!
• Trips to Meadowlark mostly and Great Falls - back down to the water to see the kayakers!
  
• Frank and I both took him to Great Country the same weekend. On my visit, we met Auntie Em at Bear Chase
• I took Frank on a hiking trip to Elizabeth Furnace, which was lots of fun. The volunteer gave us a Smokey the Bear goodie bag that included stickers and a pencil sharpener! We had lunch at the Apple House, and I drove Zach to Gamma and Daddy Bob's for a visit.
  

Emotions/Empathy Corner

• Nightly gratitude is back!
• Zach is good about saying good morning to Laurie, his bus driver
• Zach, Cora, and Logan play outside on their own now. They sometimes play with sticks. Not my favorite thing. Zach accidentally hit Cora, and he apologized, but when she was still upset, he felt frustrated and rescinded friendship since she wouldn't accept his apology. Logan got involved saying he didn't see it, but Zach said it was an accident. They all went home. I told Zach it was okay for everyone to be upset, but he should tell Logan and Cora that he does actually want to still be friends. He hasn't done that.

Zach's Words and Songs and Curious Questions

• Zach and I watched Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken on a hot afternoon
• Zach said, “Thanks, Mommy, you always have such good ideas.”
• Zach’s word: plubbish - he just said, that was a plubbish weekend. He thinks plubbish is what his flyer sounds like/sounds like that’s what it’s saying. He thinks.
• 50 States book from Saul, Agathe, and Sacha! 
• Change Sings: A Children's Anthem by Amanda Gorman from Gamma and Daddy Bob
• Lauren Wolk's Echo Mountain is an old friend
• The Treehouse books are still a hit
• Singing in Spanish
• I bought him a cd player for quiet time, and he has audio books on cds and the books that you follow along while the cd reads them. Some of them sing the stories, and we enjoy the sea shanty pirate book: Ah, we go this way, that way, port side, starboard over the deep blue sea...
• We enjoyed Archer's Quest by Linda Sue Park on audio cd and listened to Dave the Rockstar and the Creepy Weepy Dollhouse from Story Pirates
• We have a daily game where we start with 10 points and lose points when.... For me, I can't say bad words, and he can't say: idiot, kill, or stupid. We can win back 1 lost point by saying, I love you, and being specific as to what it is we love!
• Zach told me at pick up one day that he’d drawn “kindness” and he drew him and me. Ah, sweet. 

Sleep Update

No more napping Mon - Fri. Nights are ~10 hours, sometimes more sometimes less. Naps come and go on the weekend. We enjoy a little more flexibility for longer outings, and quiet time is going pretty well. I was very anxious about the new routine, and things have been so busy on weekends, but all seems okay. 

Good Food

• Kombucha
• Pesto grilled cheese and tomatoes and mozzarella
• Zach had the idea to take pancakes on the road. Good job, my little road tripper! :) 
• Lunch of fried egg with pretzel bun and cream cheese and zucchini. 
• Atwater's chicken salad sandwich
• carrots and fennel  + roasted garlic
• Forno - delicious
• Muffins from Common Ground and other goodies
• Cupcakes
• Birthday dinner out at Blend 111
• Lewes farmer's market: pumpkin and cream cheese croissant/muffin, apple tart, and blueberry muffin
  
• Family birthdays gathering at Bear Chase on 9/29!
  

Connection

• Thinking of Raubia. I miss her. 
• Frank and Zach saw Michael and Leah and family
• Kathleen's shower at Boordy where we all shared how we met her/knew her; I gave her the quote jar. At the wedding, I shared my "toast to joy," and gave her a copy of The Wisdome of Sundays
• Zach and I visited Gamma and Daddy Bob and Zach stayed overnight
• Celebrated Tommy on Sep 11 (what would have been his 90th birthday). Zach met Elton and they had fun!
• Nancy's immigration letter and all the steps
• Kathleen's wedding and time with Kathleen for me and with Mary Kay, Stephen, Hance, Anthony, Tristan, and Kate
• Zach commented on my wearing make up and my pedicure as so unusual, but nice. Why does your face have color and look at your toes!
• Wisdom of Sundays to Emily R. and cupcakes
• Lots of playing and neighbor time!
• Time with Katie
• Texts with Sofia re: Baby James, Jaimito, Mito #bossbaby
• New babies! We welcomed Quinton on 9/14 and Belen on 9/23

Family Fun 

• Visit with Gamma and Daddy Bob after vacation on the Labor Day weekend 
• Dinner at Auntie Em's and watching The Mighty Ducks
• Frank took Zach to the beach for a 2-month early trip! He took Friday off from school, and they left. I got a dinner date with Auntie Em (2 months late for me) at Blend 111. A lovely ight. I headed over on Sat morning, and we had a great time. The farmer's market, bay time, the mat, paddle ball, walks, Cape Henlopen and the OCEAN!
  

Fun and Not So Fun Stuff 

• Hot, hot, hot weather that sucks my energy, and some really nice end of summer weather too! But the Valley of Yellow Flowers is just now blooming. So many mosquito bites too. 
• Therapist is leaving to go off on her own, so back to therapist drama. Really. 
• Sessions with couples therapist - after a tough first week are better than expected
• Just a tough few weeks with the transition from summer to fall and still blazing hot weather. I struggled. I did some meditations and visualizations. Thanks Kristin Neff and Justin Michael Williams in particular visualizing your future - what can I do today to get to my future state? 
• Pedicure looking out at the harbor
• Read: Notes from a Young Black Chef and a Bittersweet Season, which is so good, The Wisdom of Sundays; Rae Pica's Child Development book
• Watching: Firefly Lane, Life Unexpected, On the Verge, and the movie, Nomadland, which was really good
• Audio books: Inferior, The Four Tendencies, The Art of Gathering, The Making of Asian America

Podcasts: 

• I have missed Brene Brown SO MUCH! She came back and I loved the Esther Perel episode!
• Teaching Hard History
• The Kingdom episodes: Ritual, Questions - good and bad questions

Professional

• My Getting to Know You app build and Zapier integration! Woohoo!
• Learning about South Africa and how the ladies picked up grading and knocked out their form builds for PT1
• Servant Leadership sessions - wahoo!
• Throwdown Thursdays

Health Corner

• Eat more broccoli and the power of intermittent fasting

From The Wisdom of Sundays

David Brooks on Augustine 

• We sin when we have our loves out of order. For example, “... if your friend tells you a secret, and you blab it a dinner party, you’ve put your love of popularity above your love of friendship.” It’s useful to say, “What do I love?What are the things I really love? And in what order do I love them? Am I spending my time on my highest love?” (Wisdom of Sundays, page 30)

Thich Nhat Hanh

• First mantra: “Darling I’m here for you.”

• The second mantra is: Darling, I know you are there and I am so happy because you are truly there.”

• The third mantra: “Darling, I know you suffer. That is why I am here for you.”

• Fourth mantra: You use it when you suffer. If you believe that your suffering has been caused by your beloved one, you suffer so deeply. You want to go to your room and close the door and suffer alone. “Darling I suffer. I am trying my best to practice. Please help me.” Go to the person who caused your suffering and say, “ Darling I suffer. I am trying my best to practice. Please help me.” and you suffer less right away. (page 205 in Love and Connection from The Wisdom of Sundays) 

Amazing Vacation!

On Sunday, August 8, we headed to northern Michigan for almost two weeks. Zach was a GREAT traveler. He illustrated and kept score as we called out curiosities along the way: barns, silos, above ground pools, etc. We saw traffic stopped on the other side of the highway in Pennsyvlania because a horse was loose on the highway. Yikes! We listened to audio books: Echo Mountain and Louisiana. We had ice cream and dinner in Midland, MI, and I took a nice walk on the Pere-Marquette rail trail. 

First stop: Thompsonville, MI (near Crystal Moutain Resort)

The travel day and first few days were pretty warm and humid with thunderstorms and heavy, thick air. At one of our favorite beaches in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Seashore, we were attacked by biting flies. Coming from the 17-year cicadas and oak nymph and mosquito bites, this was a bit rough. We perservered, though, and enjoyed dinners out on two nights at St. Ambrose Cellars. Zach played bocce ball with strangers. (Good for him!) Frank and I enjoyed pizza, beer, and mead.

While I worked a couple of days, Frank and Zach took bike rides along the Betsie River Trail around Crystal Lake. We took a family bike, rollerblade, and sandbar adventure on Friday. Lovely. In the later afternoons, Zach and I went tubing on the Platte River and got ice cream in Frankfort before he jumped off the pier into Lake Michigan. A local mom with lifeguard credentials watched out for Zach! Thanks, Eileen.

We loved our house adjacent to Crystal Mountain Resort. Zach, in particular, loved the jacuzzi tub, dart board, and converted one of the bunk rooms into his beach ball volley ball court. (He also broke out his Lego Boost.) I walked the resort roadways every morning; Frank and I checked out their outdoor sculpture art park separately; and Zach and Frank enjoyed the alpine slide two days. On our last day, Zach and I took the main gondola to the top to take in the view. (I failed to board the gondola properly and got massive purple bruises on both calves.) Our last night in the area, we also visited the Iron Fish Distillery and enjoyed craft cocktails, tacos, and fries on a lovely evening.

As the weather turned truly glorious mid-week, we enjoyed lovely beach days in Traverse City (Greilickville Beach and on the west side of the East Arm). I bought a ton of wonderful local food a the farmer's market; we visited the Grand Traverse Commons and Left Foot Charley, Spanglish, and the Pleasanton Bakery; checked out two wineries, Rove and Mari; and had lunch at the Farm Club after an awesome hike on the Empire Bluffs trail.

Delightful. 

Second stop: Manitou Beach, MI (on Lake Huron) near Rogers City

On Sunday, we headed northwest to a cottage right on Lake Huron. Driving in, we passed the Moran Iron Works and the massive sculptures of heads that are scatterered near Onaway, MI. (A little freaky, frankly.)

The cottage was tiny and cozy and VERY CLOSE to other house. However, no one occupied in any of the nearby houses except for Sunday night. We watched freighters in the distance, spent time in the water on the sandbar out a ways playing tube basketball. Kind of crazy; the Great Lakes are so vast and unsalted, shark-free, and fresh, sometimes frozen. Zach and Frank got out their wet suits and snorkel gear. Zach aquired a jet ski floatie, Wave Rider, and had a blast with it in Charlevoix and on Lake Huron.

We visited Hoeft State Park, traveled the Hunron-Sunrise Trail, and bought some devine baked goods at the Three Heart Bakery. Zach and I toured the 40-Point Lighthouse that is still a working lighthouse shining 10 seconds on and 10 seconds off overnight. We met Muffin, Dennis, Sue, Nancy, Tom, and Rick, and Muffin was so hospitable (read: he showed Zach all the whistles he could sound) that we went back a second time just to say hi. We also checked out New and Old Presque Isle Lighthouses. Zach now wants to be a firefighter, police officer, lifeguard, sailor, or illustrator (like Terry from the Treehouse books).

Two non-stop fun days: Mackinac Island and rafting on the Sturgeon+Charlevoix/Polecat+dinner in Petoskey. 

Mackinac Island

We all enjoyed the ferry ride over; we went under the Mackinac bridge! Zach loved visiting the fort (cannons and period rifle demo); I was conflicted. We found the Watercolor Cafe for a nice lunch that included blueberry lemonade and smoothies. We rollerbladed and biked on the trail. Zach and Frank took off overland, and checked out a cave, Arch Rock, and the airport. I bladed back and enjoyed an Arnold Palmer in the park. We ended the day with ice cream from Sanders, recommended by Korene from Jamaica.

Sturgeon+Charlevoix/Polecat+dinner in Petoskey

Driving to the Sturgeon River to raft, we rocked out to local radio and passed huge fields of sunflowers and the heads in/around Onaway. We took a rock to the windshield and had to stop for a repair kit. (Windshield to be replaced now that we're back home.) Zach was a great helper rafting, and we did many 360s (six were unintentional). After the two-hour raft trip, we continued on to Charlevoix, and had lunch on the beach. Frank, Zach, and I spent the afternoon on/in Lake Charlevoix and enjoyed the Lily Pad. I caught up with Nancy, and Edgardo prepped the golf cart for Zach to ride with Sara Gay. They had a blast, and I believe she let Zach steer at one point! We headed up to Petoskey and picked up dinner to go from the Back Lot Beer Garden and ate outside at Bayfront Park. We got back after 9pm, and it was straight to bed. I love it, though, as we all had a blast on two 11 and 12-hour road tripper days!

Zach and I practiced daily gratitude, and long days (and sunscreen application) and so much fun and excitement (darts, alpine slides, beachball volleyball) did bring up some strong emotions; we talked about how we feel our feelings; we aren't our feelings. We learned that Zach matches yelling with yelling, and when he forgot about taking off his wetsuit before going inside, we made up a song to help.

On our drive home, Zach finished his story, The Spot on the Wall; he dictated it to me; he illustrated it. We enjoyed almost all of Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk and ate lots of sandwiches (hummus for Zach and salami for me and Frank), some cheddar chips (which Zach doesn't like), smoothies for Frank, more Arnold Palmers for me, and an ice cream sandwich and oj, which caused a tummy ache for Zach. He anxiously waited for the tunnel at mile 122 on the PA Turnpike, and it provided a brief respite from a deluge of rain!

Check out all the photos here.

Adventures & Gratitude | Hot & Itchy

Zach of Note

• Visits to the National Zoo; mainly Zach wanted ice cream, but the sea lions completely distracted him from ice cream, which was awesome. We also saw the pandas!
• We put Ana Freya with her coffee mug in the cabinet with my coffee mugs. Teehee. 
• So much pool: Lake Newport, Uplands, Glade, and more; volleyball at the pool
• Sometimes with Frank, sometimes with me; Auntie Em; Logan, Cora, and Mary; Sacha, neighbors
• Lifeguard love and best friends: Alex, Johnny, Jack, etc. 
• Friends at the pool: volleyball, Anthony, diving, slides, etc. 
• Zach is, at times, so good at setting the table and cleaning up. He has put away the silverware, and he even served us pizza one night! :)
• Playing in the sprinklers at Fannie Mae!
• Cold on the last day of Bridge to K; took him to the doc and got him COVID tested - negative
• The Watermine, and “Ma’am, your son is a ray of sunshine. He made my day. You are blessed.” 
• Visit with Gamma and Daddy Bob = Woodstock pool and lots of diving. The lifeguards said, "We are watching him," but observing the jumps gave Daddy Bob joy
• The last day of tennis was very fun as they played Champ.
  

Emotions/Empathy Corner

• Starting the Bridge was a journey for all of us. Leading up to the program, Zach lost me a few times, "Mommy!" I'm trying to get him to learn my number: we’ve set it to the tune of 1, 2, 3, 4 by Alan Doyle.
• We'll figure this out, not it'll be okay
• Better to tell kids they are good helpers than God at helping. 
• Back into daily gratitude and the why behind it!
• Title
• What happened, including details about what anyone involved, including you did or said. 
• Describe how it made you feel at the time and how you feel now, as you think about it. 
• Explain how the event or circumstance came to be. What was the cause? What confluence of circumstance came together to create this moment?
• I learned from an interview with Adam Grant that it's better to tell kids they are good helpers than good at helping. 
• Talked with Laura who lives in Reston who is an emotions skills resource for Zach. Exciting!
• Zach said, “it’s the best thing ever to stay home and do art.” He did painting, collage, scissors and clipping pics and using the glue stick! Mixed media!

Bridge to K

• A few nights before the start of Bridge to K, Z flipped out and wanted to go running with Daddy because Frank had mentioned that Zach would be starting school soon, and Frank said, “I’ll miss you in the morning.” Then Zach started to worry about missing Frank and not wanting him to go for a run. At night, I have such a hard time coming from a place of compassion. I'm glad we figured out and told him what he felt was normal!
• The first day of the Bridge was definitely emotional for me!
• The bus was the best and school was a close second
• Friends: Ethan and Jonathan; Lillian is fast too!
• In Bridge to K, he's writing and drawing
• We learned that Jewel is June and Nina is Minha
  

Zach's Words and Songs and Curious Questions

• Molly from Denali show; they made up a game: used sticks to create a board, threw rocks for points and then there was a course to run that included things like jumping jacks. 
• Zach listened to Louisiana by Kate DiCamillo and he continues to enjoy by Lauren Wolk: Wolf Hollow and Echo Mountain, particulary Echo Mountain
• The Treehouse books are a huge hit. We've gotten them all from 13-story to 130-story
  
• Though when I look back at my diary, I see a lot of extremes with Zach this past 5 weeks; he's doing an amazing job of listening to stories and choosing reading. I love it! He likes video games and shows, but he chooses friends, the beach, the pool, reading, and listening to stories!
• He used the word “staggered” when he played in the sprinklers; he "staggered" backwards because of the force of the water!
  

Sleep Update

• Pretty much the same old, same old!
• With the rise of Delta, I've been working through that stress and have been a little more tired!

Good Food

• Before and After's savory scone and lavender shortbread. Yum!
• Auntie Em's shortbread jam cookies and blueberry and lemon curd muffins. Yum!
• Brushettas and pesto galore and grain bowls and bread salads. Yum!
• Kombucha from Federalsburg, MD (from demo at Lewes farmer's market)
• Lewes lunch of grilled cheese with tomato and basil, kombucha, Old Bay cheese curls, cultures, yum! 
• Auntie Em's baba ganoush
• Smashed potatoes with cheese!
• Lake Anne's brown sugar breve is also SO GOOD and even better iced! Made me happy!
• The veggie patties from Territory are delicious! 
• My iced mint green tea is so nice!
• Lake Anne's Briney chicken sandwich is so good with bacon and steak fries. 

Connection

• I took Zach to Sperryville for my birthday and that was fun!
• Trip to Lewes was definitely fun! 
• Dinners with Auntie Em
• Water aerobics with Auntie Em
• Visit with Kathleen; we went to a kids show at Wolf Trap and had a picnic lunch. She and I took a walk, always nice and chatting with her
  
• Video call with Rae: “Simon Says End the Call.”
• Zach visited Gamma and Daddy Bob and took in the Woodstock pool!

Fun and Not So Fun Stuff

Personal

• Hot, hot, hot weather that sucks my energy, and some really nice summer weather too! 
• Down to one therapist
• Self-compassion meditations from Kristin Neff. There is a "break" that is 5 mins long; the longer one at 18 mins had me visualize a place and person who is a friend, who is me. I pictured Sperryville. So beautiful.
• During the Bridge program, it was nice to have time to myself some afternoons and watch a show!
• Goodbye to Tommy Tomlinson
• Good music: Music at Glade American pie, backstreet boys, ABBA; Wade Bowen, Mat Kearney, Taylor Swift, Justin Michael Williams
• Possible bathroom remodel contractor is not vaccinated. Not him or his crew, and they have no plans to get vaccinated. 
• Rise of Delta has be HARD
• Read: The Final Reunion of Opal and Nev, reading Left handed bookseller and Black Magic
• Watching: finished Season 3 of Virgin River, watching Pose, and just started Firefly Lane
• Podcasts: 
• Good Ancestor with Leesa Renee Taylor and Ep054: #GoodAncestor​​ Pragya Agarwal on '(M)otherhood’
• Dare to Lead, Patrice Gordon and check emotions. When people are passionate about something, it shows with emotion, and that’s important. Take it in and add the emotion as data, but you don’t need to respond with inappropriate emotion and you should take it back and put it in context. 
• Simon Sinek's podcast, a Bit of Optimism and esp the episode on Extreme Listening
• Unlocking Us and the Gifts of Imperfection
• The Kingdom with Justin Michael Williams has some great stuff!
• Adam Grant w/ Krista Tippett on On Being lots of good stuff, but especially, data suggests that gratitude is one of the most important values overall and in general; therefore, it's critical to cultivate at work! 
• Session on being emotionally unavailable: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.marielbuque/video/6984404673948126470?lang=en&is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
• Audio books: Inferior, Leaders Eat Last, Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man, The Four Tendencies

Professional

• My team won the Hack-a-thon!!!!!!!!!!
• Servant leadership work, reading, and listening
• Good continued work on DISC and active listening with the customer care team
• DEIB work and Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man

Health Corner

• Oak mites and poison ivy

I am reflecting. 

Responding to Life, Instead of Reacting to It, by Stephen Batchelor

This is what the Greek philosophers called ‘self-governance.’ It starts with a conscious decision to leave behind a life of reactivity and embark on a life of self-creation, in which we work towards becoming the kind of person we aspire to be, and toward creating the kind of world we aspire to live in.

Stories, Kayaking, Jamming, the Pool and More

Zach of Note

• A visit to Jurassic World at Bull Run Park
• Back to Burke Lake for frisbee golf, the train, and the carousel
• We're still enjoying Meadowlark Gardens when we get this unexpectedly delightful early summer days. We enjoy the Harmony Hut in the Korean section, and above the Harmony Hut (HH) are some statues that remind us of Onward! After hanging out in the HH, we talked about how much we loved “this place in this place” or “the HH in Meadowlark Gardens.” :) We also talked a lot about how much we loved each other, which was super-sweet. 
• Meadowlark Gardens staff and life guards find Zach adorable. I mean... 
• Some Great Country and Great Falls are still sprinkled in...
• The weather has been up and down and up and down, but we're loving the pool!

• Frank and I have both taken Zach to the Watermine, and it is so fun! Though he did get stung again (3rd time), though it doesn't seem to bother him much
• Zach running into Sacha at the pool
• Video games: a new car game. Sigh :(
• On a rainy day, Frank and Zach went back to the hideout and they got all wet. 
• Ana Freya watches Heartland (like Gamma and Daddy Bob)
• Kayaking on Lake Anne!

• Tennis lessons!!!!!!!!!! Madison is with him!!!!
• He enjoyed playing at Logan and Cora's and broke out Logan's guitar.
• Fireworks at The Turner Farm

Emotions/Empathy Corner

I listened to a podcast about attachment theory, and the research shows that parents only have to get it right about 1/3 of the time, but I still spend a lot of time worrying that I have to stay on top of everything or we'll slide down a slippery slope that will be so hard or too hard to come back from.

When to do kids learn to use a napkin, dry off with a towel, sleep through the night and not constantly wake you up. When are they no longer scared? (This from the woman who was often scared to sleep alone until she was 17 years old.)

Zach had trouble sharing his stuffed animals when we met up with Nolan. We had to have a chat. It's been a long time!

Lego STEAM toys, the Fire, video games, and even fun experiences are a bit of an obsession. Some of these: STEAM toys, certain video games are challenging for him, so he has to get Frank to help him. These can be an obsession

Zach's bad behavior. He lost his shows, video games, and rover (STEAM toy). He pushed me. Fussed about washing his hair, called me mean and an idiot, and wouldn't give up his Fire. 

When I told Zach that I wasn't going home after I dropped him off in Woodstock, that Daddy would be home alone, he said something like, "this is weird for him, me not seeing Daddy. He said, “I don’t know how I feel about that.” 

Zach's Words and Songs and Curious Questions

• We read the Little Golden Book (Big Bird and red, Mouseketeers and “claim jumpers,” and Scrawny Lion, and the New Baby) books
• He got into Encyclopedia Brown
• We have listened The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo and to two books by Lauren Wolk: Wolf Hollow and Echo Mountain, I particularly loved Echo Mountain
• We went to the library together and Zach enjoyed picking up some books that caught his eye. We ended up with Betty Bunny books, and he loves them. We also got the 13-story treehouse, which has been quite popular as well!
• Let's just capture it again: Zach says, “May you go get it for me,” instead of “Will you” or “Would you” go get it for me…
• He can now sing the catchy tune that is also Daddy's phone number. Very good!
• He's gotten into one of his musical books and his keyboard. He plays A Tisket, a Tasket often. It's nice. 
• He very nicely played the piano at Katie and Suji's
  

Sleep Update

• Pretty much the same old, same old!
• I am in my summer solstice sleep pattern. I am waking up early and in the middle of the night.

Good Food

• Julia's poundcake and Dad's chess pie
• Kombucha tasting: Mom liked Health-ade ginger lemon best. Jeff liked the mint limeade from Health-ade. And Charlotte got some Wild Bay elderberry kombucha. 
• A Thompson Italian order. So much yummy focaccia
• Cherries, cherries, and more cherries and peaches, peaches, and more peaches. So good. And Zach has learned to eat cherries off the pit in the style of Greer!
• Gathered Threads cultures. Yum!
• Garlic scape pesto and especially added to pasta and chicken at Katie and Suji's :)
• Auntie Em's strawberry rhubarb muffins, rhubarb bran muffins, berry tart, and sour cherry slab pie
• Apple cider donuts, fried apples, and Zach's most recent winner for "best burger" from the Apple House
• A mountain recharge/writing retreat. So fun! I tried bougie ice cream sandwiches from Richmond, Blue Ridge Bucha (blueberry hops), Pen Druid's Arkansas Black cider (too sour and bitter), a Portuguese sparking wine, the Hopkins Ordinary's Belgian Trippel and Brown Ale, Before and After's chicken salad sandwich, and the Inn at Little Washington's peanut butter and cashew sandwich cookies. Amazing! Photos here!
• Happy 4th of July with a sour cherry pie and faux burgers. Can't wait!

Connection

• Family calls
• Met Julia in Sperryville on Memorial Day weekend
• Memorial Day family picnic at Auntie Em's with Charlotte!
• Kathleen
• Zach visited Gamma and Daddy Bob in early June and early July. In July, I took Zach out for a visit to Woodstock and got to see the kitchen remodel work in progress
• Auntie Em - we can get together and cry
• Brian and Sara Beth's baby shower and cupcakes: vanilla with raspberry. Brian humored Zach and took him all over their house!
• Greer
• A beautiful evening at Bear Chase
• Two evenings with Katie, Suji, and Vero (piano and jamming and tennis!)
• Zach stayed with Grandad for 36 hours while we had a new roof put on. 
• Mary Kay came for an in-person visit, and we got to walk together and talk for four hours!
• Fellow traveler, Liz at the "table for one" section of Hopkins Ordinary

Family Fun

Senor Ramon's tacos and our first visit back to Crooked Run and Daybreak in 15+ months

Fun and Not So Fun Stuff 

• Definitely out of sorts at times (change in seasons, fear, worry, shift in schedule, change). Late May/early June was TOUGH. At times, I feel like I'm the only one who gets upset. What's wrong with me? (Nothing, I know, but it's hard.)
• Man, the cicadas got old. Flying into me. In one part of my walk, there were so many dead carcasses that it really smelled. It would be hot and smelly. Yuck!
• One day they showed up to jackhammer all afternoon! Not cool. 
• On a Sunday night, we were informed that our roof work would be done on Tuesday, then Thursday, then Wednesday. So frustrating. It is good to have a new roof and gutters and maybe new siding soon. I reached out to the bathroom remodel guy
• Rappahannock County - my new fave place! I went on my own (Skyward Cafe), met Julia (Before & After and the Thornton River Walk), to meet Tim and Nolan at Rappahannock Pizza Company, and finally to Sumac, Pen Druid, and the Little Washington Winery on my weekend cottage stay at Sharp Rock Vineyard on the Hughes River and I have scoped out Copper Fox Distillery on the Thornton River as a great place to meet up!
• Read/Reading: Ade by Rebecca Walker, Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May (thanks Emily R.), Love by Toni Morrison, Somebody's Daughter by Ashley C. Ford, Ghost and Patina by Jason Reynolds, Love & Gelato, and Jews, Palestenians, and Friends by Richie Zweigenhaft
• Reading bits of: Stay Woke 
• Watching: finished The Good Place, some of Life Sentence, Season 1 of Pose, Shooter :)
• Podcasts: 
• That Relationship Show forgiveness episodes, esp Part One
• Good Ancestor with Tayo Rockson, Monique Melton, Justin Michael Williams, Tiffany Jewell
• Brene Brown and Susan David - re-listened to both episodes
• Brene and Simon Sinek and the Infinite v. Finite game
• Brene and Aiko Bethea
• Unlocking Us: Dr. Clint Smith
• Unlocking Us and the Gifts of Imperfection
• Teaching Hard History on acts of resistance to slavery
• Audio books: Inferior, The Coaching Habit, Leaders Eat Last, some of Thinking Fast and Slow and Emotional Agility but these last two have me skeptical that you just need to rational your way out of your primitive brain. 
• Zumba workout and looked up songs that I love (I Wanna Dance w/ Somebody, Summertime, and Footloose). 

• Planted lavender, potted my Mother's Day plant, my outside spider plant is two-toned and very healthy, and our Mountain Mint is blooming! 
• Good work on Writing July 2021 (My life through Walking and What I've learned)
• Revelation: Where is your energy going? Is it going to the right places? Be thoughtful and intentional.

Professional

• One day Zach and I ran into Ryan, and I mentioned it to Chris, since they're friends. He said, “Yeah, he told me.” Turns out it was super-confusing because they’d said they’d seen mean, but didn’t know/didn’t remember it was Meadowlark, so Chris was trying to figure out how Ryan who lives in Fairfax and his friends (staying in Vienna) ran into each other out walking when I live in Reston. They thought it was funny that Chris knew Zach’s name, and Chris was like, “I see him all the time.” So wonderful and funny. I’ll miss him. 
• Adding certification expectations to PT1 and PT2 has been really worthwhile and fun. Thanks @chrisber for putting together so much aweseome work!
• Nice Leadership Advisory Group meeting with Troy, Stuart, Judie, and Ryan H.
• Bye Chris. We sent each other nice messages and I laughed at one of his last quotes: We try not to get too cute on demos with customers. 

Health Corner

• Bad shoes (a new athletic shoe brand) and had to retire them after my foot go so tired I couldn't walk for about 2 days
• Weird, itchy spider bite
• Surgery anniversaries for me and Auntie Em