Another February Week

Another week has started. While TC Ana created a bit of havoc last week, the boys were back at school and participating in swimming. I am really happy that the school provides swimming lessons for students here. It is an important life skill especially when you are living on an island.

We also hosted a few people for the Super Bowl. Thankfully, the internet held up well enough for us to stream the game. It was a relaxing way to start the week. We are back to the grind again though.

Big News

Finally, after four months of waiting, we have finally learned where we will be heading once our time here in Fiji is over. I am not sure if I have positive things to say about the Army's new assignment process. It seemed to take a lot longer than previous years. Or maybe the PCS (permanent change of station) bug has hit me rather early.

Drum roll, please....

By Touch Of Light, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

Back to the good ole US of A. Now we have a few short months to figure out all of the important stuff - downsizing stuff, packing, flights, where to live. Oh, joy!

February

February started off with a big bang. 

The remnants of TC Ana still had (and continue to have) a hold on the islands. The boys got to enjoy another day off from school. Thankfully because the school is private, they were back in the routine on the 2nd. The public schools here will not be back in session until next Monday.

I have been busy trying to wrap my head around a bunch of house related maintenance work. Electrical circuits were going out. We had a new stovetop and dishwasher installed. The heavy rain from the cyclone seems to have shed light on several issues in the house. It is making the remaining few months here less than relaxing.

I have also been working hard on the school's governance committee. It has taken a lot of my mental capacity. While rewarding in some aspects, I admit that I am ready to hand the torch over to someone else. I believe the only reason I seem to be decent at is that I have a schedule, create to-do lists, and set deadlines. It's the declines that are important. 

We also invited a few friends over on the 2nd. We watched Groundhog Day and had food. It provided a little modicum of relaxation a fun. Managing things lately has been a herculean effort. Hopefully things will quiet down for a little while before we ramp up for moving. Whenever that is...

TC Ana

This is the second cyclone of the season to come our way. Tropical Cyclone Ana made its way directly over our island in Fiji, Viti Levu.

The boys had off from school on Friday in preparation. We had a relatively quiet Saturday. The morning was light and nice outside. Come evening time things began to change.

I did not get much sleep as the wind howled and we heard lots of trees cracking. 

When we got up, we still had a lot of heavy rain and wind. Our pool was about an inch away from overflowing. Andrew and I had to venture out to adjust the pool pump to get rid of some of the water. We ran into a bit of trouble but we managed to get it figured out. The pool seems to be in fine condition now.

Andrew went out to inspect some more of the property. A lots of tree branches were down. The big damage came in the form of a tree that totally blocked our gate.

Upon hearing our issue, one of our wonderful embassy friends came to our aid. With machete in hand, he hacked away at the tree. He was able to clear enough of it so that we can get out in an emergency.

All schools in Fiji have been closed at least for the foreseeable future. The boys are definitely home with me for another day or so.

But we already have our eyes to the future. Another storm, Tropical Depression 07, has the potential to turn cyclone in the next day or so. It is currently tracking a similar path as Ana. 

I wonder what February will have in store for us.

Here We Go Again

Well, the boys had their first day of school on Wednesday. After two days, this happened:

Over the next few days Fiji will be experiencing some serious storms. One of the tropical disturbances has the probability of reaching Category 1 or 2 cyclone level. 

So, the boys and I will get an extra day at home while we wait out the storms.

Start of Another School Year

Today marks the start of something new. The boys are beginning their first day of school as members of Year 4 and Year 2. To be honest, I do not believe they are nearly as excited as I am at this prospect. I even made them chocolate chocolate chip muffins for breakfast this morning!

I asked them a few days ago if they wanted me to join them this morning or not. If not, they would need to be confident to find their names on the class rolls and navigate their way to a new classroom. John thought about it and tentatively said no. Thomas on the other hand had a big yes to the "mommy coming to school" option. So, we all loaded up, and I frantically took a picture before we headed on our way:

I know we are quite lucky to have the opportunity to go off to school. It means that I now get a slice of sanity back (when I am not dealing with house maintenance issues). I am looking forward to attacking my to-do lists so that I can enjoy their time home from school.

The boys managed to find their names on the lists and we headed off to their classrooms. Once outside, I gave them each a hug and they said they could take it from there. Big kids showing off for their friends. I did catch this one final wave...

Jan 20/21

It was an interesting day yesterday. Since we live in the future here in Fiji, I never really know which day to name when considering worldwide events. 

Back stateside, it was a big day, Inauguration Day. There seemed to be a lot of tension and unease that from news sources and social media that the whole event might be tampered with or not occur at all. Maybe one of the benefits of living abroad is that I did not feel this tension, surprise, or relief that the whole day went smoothly. Maybe I have more faith in the government and societal structures. This statement is a bit of a dichotomy because I have learned in this military life the one thing I do count on is that if a task is thrown to a higher up gov structure there will inevitably be roadblocks, missteps, and probably a lot of cursing on my end.

Here in Fiji, the Ambassador left. He was probably the last political appointee from the previous administration to leave their post. So, now we will wait to see if President Biden will send a new political appointee our way or a seasoned member of the Foreign Service. 

Thus, it was an interesting day and filled with wonderful memes.

Mid week Post

Oops! I was hoping to write a little recap every week. Alas, I could not even keep to that commitment at twenty days into the new year. 

I won't let that stop me! It was a busy week. The boys still had off from school and so a majority of my time was spent entertaining them. There were many requests for playing Minecraft or the Wii. I admit, I gave in quite frequently. I know in just another short week the two of them will be off at school. They did have a play date with some friends. That also meant I got to have a little adult conversation time while they hung out. 

The entertainment factor was more difficult than usual because our pool is out of commission. It is leaking about 5 cm or so a day. We finally got a pool company out to drain the entire thing and determine where the leak was coming from. It turned out that there were three problem areas, the hydrostatic valve at the bottom of the pool was broken, the ladder was scraping a hole in the side of the concrete, and the filter gaskets were shot. They are now all fixed. We will be testing the pool later this week to ensure it was just those three spots. Maybe we will be able to get one final swim in before the school year begins.

Andrew and I had a couple of busy evenings. We said farewell to some fellow defense attache community members, held an event at our home, and then invited a few friends over to watch Bollywood (as they are heading to India for their next post).

I also got my gears going with the school board for this year. I started off with a Governance committee meeting. It was good to see my fellow committee members. Although I enjoy it, I feel this volunteer work has been particularly draining. I know I made a commitment but I am definitely ready to pass the torch over.

Oh one final tidbit - I was bit by a dog last Friday. It was a friend's dog, not a Fiji street dog. So, it made the experience surreal. Also, I definitely fainted once I looked at the wound for too long. I was so close to getting it cleaned and covered up but it just was not in the cards. I have a few extra bruises besides the bite wound. I decided to take the last few days off from running because it got me right on the outside thigh muscle above the knee. I can't wait to get back to running. I miss my exercise high that sets me up for the day.

Start of the Second Full Week of January

Long title for a post - but it is spot on accurate. We have started the second full week of January. We had a rough week last week as we started back to work. Lots of long days ensued.

We spent the weekend taking down all of our Christmas decorations. That is always sad. But it is now all packed away and ready for whenever we happen to move this year. At least there will be no thinking for those few boxes and containers.

In other news, our pool is leaking. Go figure this weekend would have been the perfect time to get in a few swims but alas, we let it start to drain on Wednesday. Hopefully by letting it drain we can identify where the leak might actually be - pump, return jets, pool lights, or the bottom of the pool itself. I would love for it to be figured out before school starts again. Our luck, probably not.

Been seriously considering removing myself from Facebook. I need to collect all of my photos and such first. That might be a post for another day.

Working on Me

Three months ago yesterday, I decided to make a change. My body was not moving the way that I like. That is it hurt to walk up and down, bend over, and run. Since coming to Fiji, I have added about 20 pounds of weight to my body. That is saying a lot. I needed something to change.

I decided on Oct. 4, 2020 to do something about this. I felt like I needed some accountability too, so I signed up for Noom. This platform has provided me with a lot of psychological research and better nutritional information to help me. Looking at the food I was eating, how much of it I was eating, my emotions, and exercise, I have made some headway. 

As of yesterday, I am down 10 pounds. My clothes (which I've had to buy larger sizes of recently) are fitting more loosely. I am eating smarter - more healthy for me. I do not avoid bananas, or apples, or veggies at meals. I am careful to eat mindfully - eating my food slowly and with purpose. I've cut out most sugary drinks, limit my alcohol, and think long and hard before having a snack. I try to avoid having my phone around at meals. The emails, phone calls, and text messages can wait. I have been running a lot more. It used to feel hard to run 3 or 4 times a week. Now, I run 6 times a week with little knee pain. I do a small body weight circuit. I also throw in a few minutes of rowing every few days. Lastly, I do a little breathing and meditation exercises. 

I am finding that I am having a slightly sunnier disposition. I am sleeping a little bit better. I am trying to be less worried about life in general. I am a perpetual worrier so this has been my biggest obstacle. 

I believe I can accomplish the things that I want to. I have a lot of little to-dos that I would like to square away before we leave Fiji. I think it is possible. I need to be conscious and mindful of giving adequate time and presence to each task but they are doable.

Noom asked me today to come up with a version of the Serenity Prayer. In case you do not know, it goes like this:

Here is what I came up with:

I will make this my mantra for the year.