Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

The darn cold bug found me and crawled inside. Runny nose then stuffy nose then runny nose. Tired. Scratchy throat. I can't remember the last time I had a cold. When this one passes, I hope it's a long, long time before I get another one. Funny Delightful Son came home from school Friday. He prepared homemade pizza for all of us Saturday evening, and we sat around the kitchen table for several hours enjoying his creations. Lovely Beautiful Daughter had a squishy pink elephant named Ernest along, telling us about his escapades during the time she was at her second job, a Chinese restaurant. It was obvious the restaurant wasn't busy and she along with her co-worker were filling the time with silliness. At one point during dinner, I got up to check on Ado. He'd been sequestered to my bedroom since FDS's plus one was visiting and LBD's plus one was also visiting. Ado isn't a fan of either. Though he's met them several times and even seemed to come to ter...

My days this week have been foggy; I know I worked, and I know I spent time with my boys just like I always do, but distraction was ever present. A colleague came to my door Tuesday as I gazed at my binders, trying to figure out which one I needed for class. He said hello, and his greeting registered, but several seconds passed before realization of my rudeness kicked in and I looked up to say hello. I apologized for being impolite, to which he laughed and said no problem. That's how the entire week has been: going through the motions while being somewhere else. I visited Mom yesterday. Last Saturday when I left the hospital, she was responsive, able to identify each of her six children, able to answer questions. Yesterday, she was a little slower in answering the questions, taking quite a long time to process the information before responding. In addition to her processing of information having been affected, so has her short term memory. It is gone. I was sitting next to her fo...

This semester I have my Tuesday and Thursday mornings free. I've always taught in the morning then worked in my office until time to pick up kids from school, but now, since my hubby is laid off, my daughter catches a ride with a friend, my middle son walks home, and hubby can pick up the youngest, I switced my schedule to office in the morning and teaching in the afternoon. Already I'm liking this as I get so much more done. Before, when I was finished teaching, I always felt like I was finished for the day. I would do some work, but more often than not I just didn't complete all that I should have completed. After only two days, I'm seeing a huge difference in what I get done just by doing office work in the morning. So this morning, since I don't have to go in until noon, I went to the gym to run and cycle. After being away for a couple of days because of this chest cold, the coughing, and the fatigue, I found running to be difficult. I finished two miles, but I ...