Grinding gears

We survived our first week back in the school routine after Christmas break! It will involved some grinding gears as we adjusted to getting up early again and being busy all day, but we made it. Jay came down with a cold on Sunday, and stayed home from school on Monday. His lingering cough and congestion plagued him the rest of the week. Rose already had a cough from who knows what, but when she fell asleep for two hours after school on Wednesday, we figured she had come down with the cold as well. Between Rose and Jay, our house has a chorus of coughing and a NyQuil/DayQuil habit. So far the rest of us are fine...famous last words, I know. Yay winter! 

Journal excerpts from the week:

Monday, January 5th: Waking up at 5:25am this morning was brutal, but doable. Jay stayed home to recover from his cold, so I took Rose to seminary and to school afterwards. It turned out to be perfect that I signed up to attend seminary this morning, because I would've had to go anyways since Jay didn't drive there today! After I dropped Rose off at school, I picked up a Walmart grocery order. Then I took it home and made dinner in the crock pot while Amber finished getting ready for school. Once I was home again and the morning hustle and bustle was over, I felt the tiredness hit.

Tuesday, January 6th: I knew I was going to be pretty tired all week, thanks to recovering from not enough sleep last week and going to seminary 2 days this week, but whew, I was tired today. Thankfully I managed to squeeze in all my super productiveness before 10:30am.

I had a doctor checkup today, the first of several appointments this week--somehow I managed to schedule a doctor checkup, a chiropractor appointment, and an eye exam all in this one week! 

After my appointment, I called my sister Em to chat. The stars aligned, and we were able to have a 2.5 hour phone call for the first time in... I think it's been years, honestly. We usually only get to talk for less than 20 minutes. I don't always need or want a 2.5 hour phone call, but it was so nice today. I love my sister. While we talked, I also managed to make a ton of digital pages for Jay's Book of Life photo book that I've been working on. It is going to be so epic and so cool! I feel so much nostalgia looking through the sweet old pictures of Jay's childhood as I've been working on this book. 

I made some really good chicken curry for dinner tonight. Rose, Amber, and I ate together, and Jay joined us partway through. Jeff wasn't going to eat dinner, and everyone was so hungry that we ate before Jeff even came home. He came in as we were finishing. I am doing my best to have family meals together, but sometimes we have to make do with being together for some of a meal rather than always all sitting down for the whole meal together. It's better than nothing! 

Jay felt well enough to go to school today with the help of DayQuil, but he and Rose both have coughs, poor kids. So far Jeff, Amber, and I have not been slammed with the cold and cough. But it honestly always feels inevitable at this time of year. It's possible we fought off a more mild version of it, but that may be wishful thinking!

Seminary one more time tomorrow. Jay didn't go to seminary even though he did go to school today, so I had to drive Rose to seminary even though I didn't stay. Sigh. I wish I could've just stayed so I didn't have to go tomorrow! It's not bad, but it's just so tiring! 

Wednesday, January 7th: One month from today, Rose will turn 15! Life just keeps barreling along at top speed. And I have no clue what to give Rose for her birthday! 

I went to seminary again this morning, my second time this week. It was a good lesson but whew, waking up was hard! I am off for the rest of the month. 

My mood has been so strange this week. Today was day 27 of my cycle, so there are definitely hormones in the mix. I just feel... sad, tired, overwhelmed, the need to be productive, a desire for positive feedback, and sort of unsettled emotionally, like I'm just not myself. Sigh. It doesn't help that everyone went back to school and left me behind this week. It doesn't help that in spite of all of my great efforts, I have only cooked one meal in the past 2 weeks that doesn't hurt Jeff's stomach and make him feel ill. Sigh. So he's either avoiding my food or eating it and feeling ill. Blah.

I spent a large unplanned chunk of my day working on Jay's big digital photo book of life. It's a massive project and it's very absorbing, so it's a good distraction or feeder from my antsy brain that wants to solve, organize, and plan everything for the next 20 years. 

This morning I went to the chiropractor. Always good to get put in my place, haha.

Amber wanted to take her own money to Maverick for gas station snacks this afternoon after school, so I said I'd meet her there. She used her dollars on sugar and was very happy. Tonight she went to her first ever young women's activity at church. Jay and Rose opted to stay home due to seminary fatigue and their post cold recovery. Rose took a 2 hour nap after school, tired girl!

Thursday, January 8th: Almost 8 weeks into the swim season, our team got to swim in a pool for the 7th time tonight at their 3rd meet! The diving competition happens first at 4pm, so I checked Amber out of school just a little bit early and we went to Costco before going to the meet. When we arrived at the meet, Jay had just gotten out of the water after swimming the 500 yard freestyle. We missed it! Jeff informed us that there were no divers competing tonight, so they started the meet 20+ minutes early! What. Man, there is just no way to plan for swim meets: it's all or nothing apparently. Luckily we got to watch Jay swim the 100 backstroke and the 400 freestyle relay. Jay is still getting over a cold, so he wasn't feeling his best tonight, but he still competed well! He got a narrow second place to teammate Nacho in the 500, just 4 seconds off his PR from last year! That was his best race of the night. (and I missed it!) He was tired for the backstroke because it is right after the 500. But he had a great last length and I think he got a narrow 4th place finish. 2-3-4 were bunched together closely. The 400 free relay was the last event of the night. Our boys did so well in spite of only being in water 6 times all season before tonight!

Rose was a good manager and timed for the whole meet. Amber cheered for Jay and read a book, alternately. Jeff did his coach videography. I sat on the hard concrete and chatted with friends while cheering for our boys.

This morning, Jeff and I went to the eye doctor. I wish I could say we went together, but we drove separately because we each had things to do and my appointment was 20 minutes before his. I couldn't find a single pair of glasses that I liked at the eye doctor this time. They were all pointy cat-eye shaped with big lenses, or too sparkly, or too tiny. Ugh. I had to leave to go lift with Liz and Danae, so I gave up on choosing glasses and decided to go back another day. 

Tonight I checked the glasses at Costco and actually found some that were relatively comfortable. They are kind of weird too though: kind of round shaped lenses, with thin green frames. Hopefully they aren't too weird once I pick them up and actually start wearing them! I am not a stylish enough person for trendy glasses. 

Whew, my shoulders and core are sore from lifting today! And my poor upper calf/back of knee tendon is more tense again. It's so hard to know if I'm overdoing it during a workout! The pain and tightness always hits afterwards. 

Saturday, January 10th: Jay broke his own school record in the 100 yard backstroke today by .05 of a second! Not too shabby for his 8th time in a pool this season, and also while recovering from a head cold.

This morning, I had some very uplifting and sweet thoughts and inspiration while I was reading the scriptures (an old talk about personal revelation by Elder Holland). I ended up spending way longer that I planned on, writing down my thoughts, so I barely had time to run and take a 3 minute shower before Amber and I drove to Walla Walla to watch the swim meet. 

My run went so well! I started stretching and focusing on mobility again after Dr. Weaver suggested it at my appointment this week, and it is already helping my back of knee/upper calf issue. Today was the best it's felt in weeks. I really only stretched one day, after my run yesterday, plus massage gun morning and night. But I didn't tighten up and have to hobble around after my 5 mile run today! It is very encouraging. I ran 15 miles this week. 

Usually I pray for my injuries to get better soon so I can run more, or something like that. Last night I asked straightforwardly "please heal my right leg." The whole leg needed healing, so I boldly asked for it, with the understanding that I will accept whatever happens. I asked if there were still things I needed to learn from this trial, and acknowledged that if God didn't heal my leg, I would still keep trying my best to be patient with it. This morning, my leg felt amazing. I know yesterday was also my first good stretching session, and the massage gun also helped, and I don't know if my leg is completely healed. But I do know that today it felt the best it's felt since before I injured it back in July. It feels like a miracle to me. I prayed directly for my leg to be healed, and I had already been given the tools I needed to help that happen. Time will tell if my leg will be able to handle more miles and keep feeling good, but I am accepting today's miracle as is.

Amber and I went to Fast Eddy's in Walla Walla after the swim meet for a 3pm late lunch/early dinner. I had the most massive reuben sandwich of all time. It was loaded with meat, cheese, and sauerkraut. It was amazing and totally worth taking a lactase pill, even though the sandwich was too big for me to finish. Since I was already partaking of dairy, I decided to go all-in and get a peanut butter milkshake. YUM. Another lactase pill well spent. Thankfully tomorrow is Sunday, a day of rest, so I won't be going on a run after all that dairy! Haha! But seriously.

[end journal entries]

I hope those were coherent enough! My brain feels muddled and tired after this long first week back into the school day routine, so this is all I've got today. This feeling and style of blog post seems to have become the norm lately. I do miss crafting stories and writing a post from scratch, but when it comes to record-keeping, something is always better than nothing, and when I'm tired, it's all I can do to keep a journal. Hence the overlap.

Somehow I managed to take a few pictures this week, most of which were at the two swim meets:

As I was leaving to go pick up Amber from school on Tuesday afternoon, I coasted behind Rose and Bethany, heading down the driveway on a run together in a brief gasp of January sunshine.

I didn't know Amber still had teeth to lose until out popped another molar on Tuesday. She says she really misses having that tooth to help her chew food.

I did a short early morning barn workout on Wednesday, and this beautiful sunrise greeted me on my way back to the house. We live in a beautiful place.

Costco dinner before the swim meet on Thursday. I couldn't bring myself to eat a hot dog (I haven't eaten a hot dog in over 11 years, thanks to a particularly horrific pregnancy experience.) Instead I raided the food I bought at Costco and made a rotisserie chicken and baguette sandwich. It didn't have any sauce or seasoning, but it filled me up enough to get through the meet and home for more food later!

Jay in the backstroke!

Go Jay! Swimming the 400 freestyle relay, after already swimming the 200 medley relay, 500 freestyle, and the 100 backstroke. WHEW, I was tired just watching!

That's Jay in the third lane from the right.

Even Yakima is struggling to keep pools open. This pleading note was taped to the door to Yakima's Lion's Pool during the meet on Thursday. All three of the Yakima high schools in our league practice at Lion's Pool. What will the future of swimming in our valley be?

Jeff's brother, the kids' Uncle Sam (who recently moved to Colorado), sent Colorado t-shirts for Christmas, and they got lost in the mail until they arrived on Wednesday, January 7th. Jay, Rose, and Amber proudly wore their new shirts to school and to the swim meet on Thursday night.

I was feeling so old, creaky, and weak all week long. I had doctor, chiropractor, and eye exam appointments, and each medical professional basically told me I was getting old. I followed everything they said and iced, stretched, etc. It helped. But it's wearing to be told three different times by three different doctors that I am getting old! I KNOW I'm getting there, but I'm only 39! Haha. I despise icing anything during winter, because I am already so cold! As much as it made me cringe, icing my shoulder did help it feel better after a particularly heavy lifting session.

Swim meet #2 of the week: back to Walla Walla. I didn't miss a single race this time. Go Jay!

Jay, almost to the wall. Taking good swimming pictures is tough.

Left to right: [random lifeguard] Jeff, Coach Winger, Jay, Noah T., Ricardo, and Sal.

Far left: Rose and Jimena, two of our team managers, timing lane 1 together for the entire 2.5 hour meet. Bless them.

Jay, walking it off after a race.

Jay and his friends, watching their teammates swim. I love these kids.

The sun sank low enough to shine sideways through the windows in the pool facility, making some nifty bright sparkly splashes while Jay swam his relay at the end. That's him right in the center with his arm out of the water and a shiny white angel wing water splash catching the slanting sunlight.

When Jay had changed his clothes at the end of the meet, I managed to snag a picture of him by the pool in his letterman jacket. I love this boy so much. (also, I hand sewed on the final name patch onto his jacket last Sunday night, and I'm so relieved --and still a little surprised--that it turned out ok!)

Fast Eddy's, a Walla Walla drive-up fast food staple, is for sale! The owner is retiring. Hopefully someone buys it and keeps the tradition alive!

Amber enjoyed her big burger.

Seriously, my rueben was bigger than Amber's hamburger. This is one HALF of my sandwich.

The countryside near Walla Walla is rolling and lovely. The sunset was prettier in person, as usual. I listened to piano music and waxed contemplative on the 90 minute drive home.