Small walks yesterday and today while helping get dd out of the house and back to grad school with all her stuff. I'm hoping for skating soon but have to find someone to skate with. I saw folks out on the creek today but it didn't sound too good. Dd just left, I'm about to roll off the couch and do something active!

I have a creature phobia that I can't even type the name of. If the name is in the paper or a book I have to skip the page and sometimes won't even finish the book. If people don't have true phobias they don't get what it's like to have one. I'm sorry you were upset, this person might have had all the best and kindest intentions but she was not getting you.

I remember kids having to put their heads down on their desks for a minute (usually folding their arm over the top of their heads) following misbehavior but nobody touched them to ensure compliance which sounds horrible to me.

Held. I am so impressed you are doing this!

No FAFSA but I'm closer to what I need for it. Exercise went ok, I went to the city and walked but nothing big. Diet was off, too many delicious temptations and not enough will power in the city. 800 g of veg is nutritious but also protective from eating less healthy stuff, but also almost impossible to do away from home. BP was nicely down a few days ago, the systolic still down today but the diastolic a little higher than what I had it down to. Research and writing project was really good and I feel solid about my progress. The downside is so many hours on the computer which does bad things for my mental health. Still out of sorts, ready to kick my own behind back into a groove. So, here goes: This week: help dd launch back to grad school, zoom tomorrow, put a few things into the archives, keep writing. Make a plan to go to two archives, be in touch with their staff. Saturday go pick up younger dd, drive back. Walk/hike every day except Saturday. I'd like to start a chessset for my sister, I'll try to find the wood this week and sand it.

I've been away to the city for dd's concert and walked quite a bit there in freezing temps so felt good about that. Unfortunately fell right off my diet wagon (mmmm, city food!) but will climb back on today. All kids will be gone for a week starting tomorrow, then younger dd home, then all kids away until Easter which will do good things for my physical health routines but nothing good for my head and heart.

Hugs and peace to you, I am so sorry this all is happening.

You are not a failure! I'm going to focus on the 11th grader in this response. You are the administrator of your school, so you get to decide what works for you both. Don't let what "school" looks like ruin both of your lives this year. In my opinion, the school year runs til the last day of August, not some arbitrary date in May or June, so you have plenty of time. The best advice I ever read here was to remember that your relationship is the most important part of your lives together. 11th grade is all about seeing the future and instilling the motivation of wanting to go to STEM college, if that's indeed what they want. One way to build a bridge to that future would be by connecting them with a person in the field so they can see the relevance of writing to that person's life. If I had an 11th grader that was not doing work, I would be pivoting to something else, right now, it's not too late. DE or an outside class for spring semester and/or over the summer but focus on it being something they actually like and need such as technical writing. Or, if your 11th grader does have good output for the earlier part of the year that you want to capture in their grade, make the second half of the year reading and writing about subjects that really interest them if it's not classic literature, eg have them review and summarize/critique technical journals, or adventure literature, or high level science fiction, or all of the Tolkien books in a row. Teach them to find and cite technical writing or better yet, find a mentor in the real world who can do this. You could also find a different person to work with them - a mentor who is in the same field as whatever they love - to talk with them, let them come shadow them at work, read your dc's work. An 11th grader needs to be given some ownership here. If you're the one directing their curriculum, it might be time to reassess and invite them to tell you how they intend to finish the school year without a failing grade on the transcript that colleges will see. This will require you to really pivot from your tears and stress to actual partnership, which is also a form of leadership on your part.

Mine is also thriving. She is currently doing a cool winter term project in NYC, archival research at the Lincoln Center on a particular dance choreographer. She was in and out of our house visiting friends and staying over during Christmas time, we missed her even when she was home! Older dd was also home for extended break but leaving on Tuesday. Freshman dd will have another week here after her winter term project ends then back to school til Easter. She did get the highest possible grades and was experiencing that homeschooler "huh" when she read them. We are really proud and grateful for her successful transition.

Today I will take a gentle walk with hiking friend and another with dd. Hiking friend is recovering from her inner ear problem so needs a flat trail and slow pace. Dd is also recovering from surgery so ditto.

OK, I finally went to my yearly physical yesterday and apparently everything I've been doing to lower my b/p is working. It was actually lower than this time last year, 111/78. I've quit coffee and caffeine down to one cup of chai in the early morning, eliminated alcohol, reduced salt, eat a chunk of frozen banana every day, drink hibiscus and other herbal tea to maintain hydration every day plus aged garlic, magnesium, fish oils, and B12. While I haven't gone all in for exercise yet, I am going to ramp that element up starting today, as she cleared me for anything that doesn't hurt. I secretly think that quitting coffee was the biggest of these. So today I will go up another mountain and look for snowy owls which will be about 4 miles plus some elevation.

My impression is that those December admits sending housing emails are putting on pressure to get you to commit and thus protect/increase their yield.

Hugs and strength to you both, @TexasProudand @Kassia

More walking.

Walked out in the storm several miles which was exciting.

Yes, picking up will add it to your accepted list, and I actually don't know if you can turn off the voice - probably can turn it down, but she apparently likes it.

We got this for my mom's landline and it works like a charm. We did warn some of her elderly friends about it before getting it going. If she "accepts" a number it won't ask again. When you're an accepted caller and she's not there to pick up it send you to a normal recording of her voice saying leave me a message. It has a feature we don't love which is a loud computerized voice announcing the name of the caller, which is often quite mis-pronounced. But she got used to it and it can be funny. Before we got this kind, she just used the caller ID feature with a little warning that said "spam". She would still answer it and try to talk the person on the other end out of being such a bad person! We were all losing our minds telling her DO NOT PICK UP THE SPAM CALLS. The new device is great.

Great news, I hope that future you will send future me a PM when he's going to have a recital or other big concert.

Booster in November and I continued masking everywhere, family also masking in public indoor spaces, none of us have had it this winter. Lots in my community, though. I see increased masking as well. My decision to keep masking is based on my sample size of one - I caught it immediately following my decision to stop masking, therefore I continue to mask even after the inevitable boosters. I don't care about masking and I like not having flu or covid.

It seems unlikely that we will be able to willingly retire, I think it will come about when one of us has a catastrophic health problem and the other becomes a caretaker. That said, if I had my dream and money to back it up, I would travel and go on very long walks through wild and peaceful areas, ideally climb mountains, maybe without dh. His dream is finishing a cabin he's working on and canoeing and fishing and quilting by gaslight. Maybe without me.

A gentle walk yesterday but the day before was better - I walked a few miles and also helped move heavy rocks and debris from where the storm had dropped them in a land preserve. I'm cranky and out of sorts and I know I need to move a LOT more than I have been this last week. I can't bring myself to join the gym/pool because I'd rather use the money for something else.

I am so out of sorts. I did most of my goals for last week but I'm just in a weird mood. I am seized by the desire to travel and see things outside my own house and town. This week's goals are to do the FAFSA whenever my accountant gives me the go-ahead. I have multiple meetings on zoom, one of which is also causing me stress. Keep exercising, keep focused on 800g of veggies per day. Head down, ignore uncomfortable feelings.

Three old Agatha Christies and New England Bound by Wendy Warren. The Maritime History of Maine by William Rowe. Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Theodore Wells by Theodore Wells.

A shipwreck was fully exposed. Dh, dd, and I went to go see it yesterday and were blown away. About 8 feet of sand had been scoured away by the waves to make this happen. Three sections of roads were washed out, meaning the ocean was roaring over them and people who lived on the other ends had to wait until the tide went down to get out.

I emphatically told my mom not to come here, not to give me advice. What was I thinking? So I voted No Help, but it was my own choosing. Young-mom-me was a little out of it 🙂 Adding: I expect to be my own daughters' white glove service post-partum doula, of course.