ONCE!

7-26-22

Today was leagues better than the last few. I only got grumpy once. ONCE!

And even then the grump was small. I was getting Amelia into her bed while I had Emerson in my arms. I asked her three times nicely to please stop playing with legos and lay in bed. On the fourth time I put my dad voice on, told her if I counted to three they’d be mine, and then didn’t take any back sass. She was fine—put the toys up, laid down, passed out.

Beyond that the day was pretty straightforward. My parents came over early so they could chill. My dad picked my sister up from the airport while I took Marie to work and grabbed my paperwork from the office. Was able to do a meeting on site and finish some busy work there. When I got home I gave my sister a big hug.

I got a little sad later in the day when my mom reminded me they would be leaving Friday morning. I was bummed when I realized I had forgotten how short the time was. When we originally planned these dates both Marie and I were supposed to still be on leave. However, since our funds dried up we had no choice. That’s not the issue. I was more bummed because I want my family to see Emerson as much as possible.

My parents live in Colorado and my sister down in Los Angeles. While not the furthest places in the world, they’re far enough away that visits are pretty seldom. I was moping for a bit while doing data input, but the sadness started to dissipate after I talked through it with my mom. She’s very understanding and when we start gabbing we could talk all night!

Today was a better day for many reasons. However, I know my family’s intervention (telling me it’s ok to be stressed, it’s ok to ask for help, but it’s not ok to force yourself to go solo) gave me the pep to be better. I approached the day with a positive hope and it turned out spectacular. Even got to enjoy homemade spaghetti sauce, as well as a belated birthday celebration for my sister.

-E.B.