Day in the Life - Fall 2016

It's time to document another day in the life. Thanks to My Life in Transition for hosting this round up.

Sunday 10/9/16
Riley is 6 years and 8 months
Jesse is 41 and I am 44
Lucy the cat is 12

Saturday night I was really great about getting to bed by 10:00 pm. It's been a bit of a struggle lately - I never am up past 10:30, but I was proud to make it to bed at 10:00 this night. I haven't been feeling well for a couple weeks (headaches, body pain, etc) which I attribute to work being more stressful and the change in the season. I really wanted to get  a good night's sleep to help set me straight.

12:14 and 2:53 - As usual, I wake a couple times, go to the bathroom and then fall back asleep.

6:08 - Riley often comes into our room at 6:01 to wake us (she has to stay in her room until 6:00), but the upside to these shorter days (with darker mornings) is that she tends to sleep in later a few days a week. This was one of them, but I was still woken just after 6:00 am by a text from my friend, Jen. We had plans to go on a walk at 9:00 this morning, but she asked to change it to 10:00.

I try to go back to sleep because I'm not missing this chance to sleep in. I'm barely back to sleep when Riley wakes me at 6:26. Guess it's time to get up... and apparently it's my turn. She randomly picks which side of the bed she goes to, but lately the cat has been sleeping next to me so she's been coming to say 'hi' to her which means I'm the lucky one to get up.

We head downstairs and Riley asks to watch TV, but I tell her she needs to do something else first. She decides to work on this cool puzzle book she got when we were up north earlier this summer. Some of it has seemed a little advanced for her, but it really challenges her so she likes that.

The forced 'leg hold hug'

I do some of my regular morning stuff and grab the free paper we get on Sunday. I debate about taking a shower since I know I will get all sweaty on this walk, but I'd really like to wash my hair and make myself presentable. It's cold out and I don't want to blow dry my hair, but if I don't have to meet Jen until 10:00 that should leave my hair to mostly air dry. Shower it is.

At some point, before I shower, Jen texts me and states that 9:00 am will work after all. Her 10 month old was up in the middle of the night, but he woke happy and ready to go so we switch back to our 9:00 am plans. This messes with my hair drying plans, but I'm determined to shower anyway. Off to shower, I go.

While I'm in the shower, I allow Riley to do Student Resources on the computer. Her school has a spot on their website called Student Resources and it links them to a number of educational sites. We've been happy with these resources and are glad that Riley embraces them.

I get ready and spend too much time trying to figure out what to wear. It's 38 degrees out and while it will warm up a little, we will be walking around a lake which often feels cooler, but it is sunny out so maybe that will make it feel warmer? On the other hand I run cold so maybe I should put on more layers. However, Jen is a super fast walker so I'm sure I'll be sweating up a storm before long. Sigh. Seriously, too much thinking about this. I decide to layer and put on a fleece, vest, and scarf. I bring a couple other options in the car because I am neurotic.

I leave Riley and Jesse behind and head towards lake Calhoun. I can't remember what time Jesse woke up, but he hadn't been feeling well off and on for a couple weeks so I know it was a lazy morning for him.

8:51 - I pull into the Whole Foods lot and park where we agreed. I notice all sorts of people walking around and they are all wearing vests (except for the crazy guy in shorts and a t-shirt). I'm going to take that as a sign that I made the correct choice in clothing. I'm early, which is a first. I'm pretty sure she's always been there first when we get together, but she now has a baby and my kid is getting older so it makes total sense that she's not the early one. I sit in the car for awhile and just watch people and listen to the radio. At 9:00 on the dot I decide to text her to let her know which side of Whole Foods I am parked at.

It's well after 9:00 now and I'm starting to think I got the timing mixed up. I check my texts and our last conversation had us set at 9:00. I decide to go into whole foods and get a breakfast bar since I had planned to bring one, but forgot. I stop in the bathroom and then head back outside. I wander around near my car for awhile and finally get back in. I text Jesse to let him know she hasn't shown up.

9:27 - I call Jen and leave her a message. This really isn't like her. A few minutes later I see a woman holding a baby and wandering in the lot. She stops to look at my car and while I try to get out (because I think it's Jen), I set off my car alarm. I have no idea what I did and scramble to find my keys to turn the darn alarm off. Luckily, the alarm did go off because it was Jen and she said the alarm caused her to look harder and realize it was me. Turns out she forgot her cell phone at home and then got stuck for a half hour on the road because of a Twin Cities Marathon blockade. She apparently got to the parking lot about 15 minutes prior to meeting me, but it must have been when I went into Whole Foods since she said she didn't see me in the car. Lol.

We walk over to her car to get the stroller and she asks me if I think her son is dressed appropriately and then we share how we both neurotically overthought our clothing for this walk. Glad to know I'm not alone.

Finally, we head over to the lake and make our way around it. Jen and I work at the same company (we started on the same day), but work in different departments. Since I work remotely, I never see her. In fact, the last time I saw her she was pregnant so it's been over 10 months. We obviously needed to catch up. We talk about her little boy and our recent vacations, dreams of possibly moving one day, but not being able to imagine being away from family... it was good to connect.

11:07 - I head home (btw, I was overdressed with my added scarf) and discover that Riley has put together a 'Dog and Cat' puppet show while I was gone. One of the Student Resource games had a play you could print along with finger puppets. She did that right before I left and has not only been busy putting together her 'play' area, but also writing another play about 'Dog and Cat' so she has two to perform. Before the day is done she would write two more plays and perform them for both her dad and myself.

I also noticed that I already have over 10,000 steps on my fitbit for the day.

11:25 - I make lunch and sit down to watch a streaming video from Click Away. Click Away is a photography conference put on each year to support photographers. I'd love to go one year, but in the meantime I like to watch as many of the streaming videos that I can. Some of them are photography sessions, but other are talks that are empowering and inspirational and can be applied to many facets in life. I feel uplifted and lighter after watching some of these sessions. They get me excited about photography, but even more so about living life to the fullest. They are that good. While I watch Sandra Coen talk about finding your niche and becoming an expert in it, Riley watches Netflix.

Jesse and I talk about if there is anything we want to do today. I only had the walk planned, but it's a beautiful fall day. Jesse decides he'd rather do stuff around the house and go out to eat for dinner. After lunch Jesse goes to the store to get some items for a project he has planned for the garage and I put away laundry and vacuum.

I then take a break from cleaning and watching my video to help Riley write another play which she immediately performs. She curtsies after the play and then decides to spin since she has a on a flowy dress. I don't blame her.

I realize that we are missing the Vikings game. I turn it on and decide this is also a good time to put away our summer hats and sort through all our winter wear to make sure it fits and is clean. The photography streaming session is done, but there is one more later today that I am looking forward to watching.

1:06 - Winter wear is all sorted out and after a brief cuddle from my girl she sets up in front of the TV to watch the game. She surprises me how into it she is, but I'm guessing it's because she knows I like watching it. She gets up and jumps around excitedly at some point before moving on to the next activity.

Jesse is home from Home Depot and has been working in the garage when he comes in and announces he's got to go to the local hardware store. He tries to get Riley to go, but she wants to stay at home. Me Ra Koh starts streaming her session on stretching without breaking. It's a good one and makes me want to look more into her work.

Riley pulls out the Spirograph which hasn't gotten much action lately so I'm glad to see it. We take turns making spirographs before heading outside to play with chalk - another thing we haven't done much of lately. I don't get to finish watching Me Ra Koh, but that's ok. Spending time outside with my kid is always the better choice.

We start in the front yard, but Riley asks to build an obstacle course with chalk in the drive way. I draw it out in a circle and add things like "meow", "dance", "fly like a bird", and "say cucumber 5 times fast". Once completed she goes around it once and then wants to go back inside.

I discover that Jesse is building something that we can hang our new tent from. He recently bought a tent that sits on top of the truck (never mind that we have 4 other tents). It looks similar to the tent on the trailer in this picture. His contraption will allow us to hang the stored tent from the roof of the garage.

Riley realizes that I didn't follow her inside so she comes back out and agrees to go around the obstacle course one more time.

Now can I go back in?

2:47 - We're back inside and I head for the couch where the cat proceeds to lay on my chest and Riley reads me the book that she wrote last Christmas. I can't remember, but I think the game might still be on. Anyway, they won. 5 and 0 for the season - woot! (My younger self is surprised at my current interest in football.)

3:23 - Riley performs her last 'Dog and Cat' play. This one was about Christmas. Then Jesse comes in and asks if I can help him install the bars in the garage so I go out to the garage with him while Riley entertains herself indoors on Student Resources again - this time playing a math game.

We get the bars attached to the beams and now we just need to wait for the tent to arrive. Jesse's trying to convince me to go camping in it next month, but I think November may be a little too late for my liking.

4:32 - This seems early, but it's entirely probable for us to be heading to dinner. We have a full fridge of food, but Jesse said he was craving Big Bowl so that's where we go.

Riley brings one of her work books which keeps her busy while we wait for our food. Dinner hits the spot and before we head home, we decide to go see if my niece is working in the mall. She works at two different stores so we check them both and can't find her. Riley continues to work on her workbook as we walk around the mall.

We have a momentary standstill when Riley asks for Jamba Juice. Jesse says 'no', but I can tell he sort of wants one too. I wait it out, thinking he's going to give in (and maybe waiting for me to say 'yes'), but he stands his ground and we leave.

Also, I had no idea the mall had such amazing light.

5:59 - Once home we proceed to put on our jammies and hang out until bedtime. Riley and I do a little photo shoot to test my flash that I never use. She uses the time to strangle cuddle the cat.

Riley leaves for the other room with her dad. As I tinker with my camera, Lucy comes over the play with the lens cap as all helpful cats do.

7:00 - Riley says goodnight to her dad and she and I head upstairs where she brushes her teeth and continues to jump around before I get her settled down in her bedroom.

We always read a chapter or two of a chapter book together, but lately, she's been having me read while she draws a picture or works on a math workbook at her desk. She started this a few weeks ago and said it was because she wanted to be the best that she can be or something. Okay. I read a chapter of Five Lives of Our Cat Zook which is a pretty good book as far as kid's books go. No surprise that it's a book about cats since Riley is obsessed with them right now.

7:30 - Bed time ritual has become a lot easier recently. After I read to Riley, I usually get a hug and then she sends me on my way. I go downstairs and start uploading all my pictures from the day while I also sort through some video I took on our vacation. The plan is to piece it together with the pictures I took and add music. I don't really know what I'm doing, but a day later I come across a ClickinMom's breakout class on video so I sign up.

For the rest of the night I surf Facebook, load a picture of Riley on Facebook, watch Strike Back on Amazon Prime, and start to edit my pictures.

At some point I come across a post on Facebook that irks me. I try to ignore the political stuff, but decide to comment on this one as I find it insulting to imply that Clinton's actions are worse than Trump's words (and Trump's actions). It was posted by Jesse's cousin whom I respect, but I have a hard time with Trump's disrespect of pretty much anyone, but himself. I shouldn't post, because I know I won't change this person's mind and we'll both likely get riled up and that's exactly what happens.

I try to let it go after I post and then see his response, I watch more TV and then head to bed at 10:00. I check my fitbit and see I got up to 16,081 steps. Yay me... never mind that there are plenty of days where I max out at 3300 steps.

Then I toss and turn because I can't stop thinking about this election and how I can't wait for it to be over. But, I realize that it won't be over then either. I worry about the world that we have created and how my child has to grow up in it. I'm ashamed at the adults who foster this hate thinking and don't know how to be inclusive of others. I'm frustrated and angry, but I also don't want to argue with family over things like this... and yet I think I need to speak up for my daughter's sake and my sake as a woman. Each time I try to think about something else I eventually fall back to thinking about this topic again. I have no idea how long this goes on, but I know it was for at least a half hour before I finally fall asleep.

Not an especially exciting day, but probably a good reflection of life. Some days are filled with big events and some with small, but still meaningful memories.