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| By Touch Of Light, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link |
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...
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...
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.