My dd had it, and before I knew it was Covid she slept with me in my bed. This was while she was throwing up and had body aches and fever. I thought for sure I would get it, but I didn’t, and no one else did either. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Really bizarre.

My dd just had it. She lost her sense of taste (not smell) on day 3 or 4; well, she said she could still taste things “in her throat.” 😂 She said yesterday (day 10) that it was coming back, so it was short lived.

I have mild anxiety and one of the ways it manifests is food aversions. As a child I have vivid memories of having to sit at the table until I finished my veggies, gagging and crying over mushy boiled Brussels sprouts .... are they related? Possibly? As an adult I am less sensitive but I also have full control over what I eat. And there are certain foods I definitely avoid just because I don’t like them. I won’t eat something just to be polite, and I didn’t make my kids eat things they didn’t want to, although I did strongly encourage trying new foods. They are both less picky than I am.

Imagine your future best self: you are flourishing, feeling connected with the people/work/activities in your life in a meaningful way. What does that look like for you?What steps can you take now to get closer to that version of you? Focus on those and let the rest of the things you *can* do fall away.

Praying 🙏🏻

We spent 3 weeks in Scotland in April several years ago. We rented a car in Edinburgh and drove around the entire country, even ferried out to the Hebrides and Orkney. It was such an fantastic trip. Some highlights: -we rented a cottage at Loch Ness - it was a small cottage on a large estate and we had access to the woods for walking which was so nice. It was not very expensive. - Elgin cathedral has gorgeous ruins - Dunnotar castle is amazing if you want to see a fortress - Sterling castle - we were there when they were weaving the unicorn tapestries - so cool. There is a tower nearby where you can see the sword of William Wallace. - We saw several stone circles -The islands are so beautiful and very quiet in April. There were times on our drives when we didn’t see another car for 30 minutes or more. - we were there in early April and the steam train wasn’t running yet. I forget when it starts up for the summer. -we stayed in a mix of hotels, hostels, b&b’s, and private rentals. If you’ll be staying in one place for 3+ days also check out Landmark Trust - they rent out some amazing historical properties and not all of them are terribly expensive, especially if you go early enough. We stayed in a small castle for 3 nights (had the whole property to ourselves) and it was magical.

Re: hospitalizations I live in CA - that CDC map shows my county of around 1 mill people in a red zone. We have 15 people hospitalized with Covid currently. It was 350+ in January when Omicron was at its peak.

My dd just finished her freshman year as a dance major at a well-known dance school. She recently declared a double major in communication sciences. She’s an academic kid, though. Double majoring requires her to take 20 units a semester. I wouldn’t take loans the size that are being described for any degree, but I also wouldn’t put limits on what type of degree I’d be willing to help my kid pay for. And dance isn’t something you can save for later - it’s a degree for the young. So, if the passion and funds are there, I’d support it.

I had one for a year or two. It was translucent blue. I can see it clipped onto my jeans pocket in pictures from the mid-90s. 😂😂 So embarrassing. I remember getting my first cell phone. It was a flip phone with a little antenna that you had to pull up and out of the phone. Super flimsy plastic. My plan came with 60 minutes of talk time. Per month. I got pretty good at holding 59 second conversations... I found a version of the phone on eBay... brings back memories! https://www.ebay.com/itm/234490111140?chn=ps&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3A1u2JqwN9SQvad2QN7bHZAow14&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=234490111140&targetid=1599090334777&device=m&mktype=&googleloc=9031150&poi=&campaignid=15275224983&mkgroupid=131097072938&rlsatarget=pla-1599090334777&abcId=9300697&merchantid=6296724&gbraid=0AAAAAD_QDh82tdfSSbGiIGfYOaPd3b1Wf&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIn73b-5ix9wIVoTytBh3Q6QY6EAQYAyABEgJM0fD_BwE

My dd’s dorm only allows auto-turn-off single cup coffee makers, no electric kettles. She has a little keurig that she uses to make tea, hot chocolate, or to heat water for oatmeal etc. I second a rolling cart and over-the-door hooks and storage. Rolling laundry baskets unless there are stairs involved Storage bins that will fit under the bed High quality mattress topper Stick vacuum that converts into a hand-held

My lymph nodes in that area have always swelled up for the smallest things... bit my cheek, canker sore, pimple on my neck... there is usually an identifiable cause, though.

My oldest was sick for nearly a month with strep and we didn’t know. We were on vacation in the UK and she kept getting low grade fevers, upset stomach, and an occasional light rash. We took her in to see a doctor while we were there and she thought it was viral. Once we got home we took her in to her pediatrician, who thought maybe she had mono. She ran a rapid strep as well and it was negative, but she sent it in to be cultured just in case and it came back positive. She never had a sore throat. It’s the only time she has ever had strep. Now it’s the first thing I think of when there is unexplained illness...

Wow. Are those daily or weekly averages? We peaked at around 350 per 100,000 per day in my county mid-January and are now down to around 25 per 100,000 per day and 7 percent positivity. I’m in Southern CA.

I really, really like the Dolciani text for Alg 2. I teach at a private school and have used this book as my spine for 3 years now. I mix things up with some problem sets from Delta Math, worksheets from Kuta Software, and activities from the mathequalslove blog and teachers pay teachers, but stick to the scope and sequence of topics and examples presented in the Dolciani text.

Youngest started her period at 10 and was 4’9. She reached 5 feet and a half inch at age 12 and stalled out. This year at age 15 she squeaked out another half inch to make it to 5’1. Oldest started at 13 and was 5’3. She reached 5’6 by age 15. She’s now about 5’7 at almost 18.

My eldest is a freshman at college out of state and my youngest decided she wanted to go the the local public school for high school. This year, for the first time, I feel like I am actually living life in a balanced way and spending a good portion of my energy on things that feed my soul rather than just support my family. I’ve worked part time on and off, but this year I am teaching full time, and my evenings are no longer spent driving my daughter to the dance studio and waiting for her to finish class (it was a long commute). My youngest is involved in theater at the high school which is right by our house, so transportation is simple. I have found unexpected kindred spirits in a couple of my work colleagues. I’m taking online classes here and there with the goal of slowly working towards a masters in English Lit. Both girls are very independent and don’t need as much from me anymore. I thought that would make me sad, but instead it has been wonderful to be able to let them take control of their own lives, not know every detail of their days, and just enjoy the parts they share with me, and of course be there for them in for them in those times that they still need my guidance and support. I feel like a whole person for the first time in a very long time; I didn’t realize how “unwhole” I had been feeling until now.

In 9th, I sat down with my dd every Sunday evening and we looked at her work for the week. She parceled out her work for each day and filled in her planner and I approved it or offered suggestions if I thought an assignment was going to take longer than she expected, etc. At this point she was mainly taking outsourced classes (mix of online and community college classes) with only 1-2 subjects that I was actually “teaching.” So we would also check each of her classes and the grades she received and look at teacher feedback on any bigger assignments like tests or essays, etc. I’d also check in with her each school day for a briefer progress check and to offer feedback and guidance as needed, and just generally discuss what she was working on that day. Both of my girls are pretty independent and we didn’t have issues of work not getting done (besides an occasional forgotten or late assignment).

Wow, I also have symptoms of reynauds, and also had a lupus-like reaction to fifths disease. That’s so interesting! I also once gave myself chilblains by taking a too-hot shower to try and warm up my white toes. My doctor had never seen a case before (I live in Southern CA) and wasn’t sure what to make of it!

I adored Eleanor Oliphant!

Oh wow! I wonder how I got so lucky.

Re: rapid tests - I bought some on Amazon. $17.99 for a pack of 2. The description said they wouldn’t arrive for 2 weeks but they came in 2 days, in case anyone else checked there and didn’t buy them due to that timeline. Here in CA they are supposed to be sending home free rapid tests with all public school students this week. Our county is also offering drive thru locations where you can pick up 2 free tests per vehicle. They are also opening new testing locations in my city. We were down to one free testing center and they are adding three more this week.

I finished Anxious People by Fredrik Blackman. A fun, heartwarming book that helped renew my faith in humanity a bit.

As a whole, this was not the most productive reading year for me. However, we were quarantining over the last week and I read 6 books (and started a seventh) during that time. Overall, I read 21 new books and re-read at least 7 favorites (didn’t keep track of these, really) My 5 favorite new fiction books this year: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab The Secret History by Donna Tartt Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh Circe by Madeline Miller Pachinko by Min Jin Lee Favorite non-fiction: Think Again by Adam Grant Favorite re-reads: The Madwoman Upstairs by Catherine Lowell The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver The Shades of Magic Series by VE Schwab The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Yeah, my kids are older and the possibility of not being able to keep up with classes would have caused them additional stress.

This is a more detailed version of what I was thinking. ☺️ Hope you are back home soon.