.jpg)
Enter December
In what can only be a miracle, Sunday night turned into a pretty hefty snowstorm. The wind was blowing like crazy, and we could hear the frozen water smacking into our windows, so we figured it was not going to be a pleasant day. Kira learned early in the morning that the kids’ schools were on a 2-hour delay, so we shut off the alarm clock and reveled in the lack of pressure to start the day. A little later, we got word that school was canceled altogether for the day, so that Thanksgiving break was continued for a whole extra day! Avey was ecstatic, and Carver was also glad to get to lounge around for another day.
I did not have to go to campus anyway, so I spent my morning shoveling snow off the driveway and walkways, and then the youngest two and I built a snowman. The snow was very wet, so it brought up the dirty brown water with it, but it still turned out to be a good project.
I then had to get working on my job stuff to keep up with everything going on at the end of the semester. I have lots to do and it all seems to be needed at the same time. I thankfully got a lot done, but there’s still plenty more to do. Kira did not have work that night, so we tried to get to bed early.
Tuesday was a standard long day for me on campus. Kira managed the kiddos at home. It will be so nice to not have to do those crazy days next semester!
Wednesday took an odd turn as I was working from home. Kira got the boys occupied with shows so that she could take a shower. While she was in there, I noticed a dog walking up our street unaccompanied. I dashed downstairs and called it over to me, and it came right over, thrilled to have a buddy. I saw it had a collar, so I took it into our garage and then mudroom, wondering if it were cold. It was so worked up, that it took some time to finally get the information off of the collar, but I called the number, which rang and rang. I tried texting the number, but I figured it must be a landline, because every cell carrier would at least play some message after so many rings. I debated for a little while what to do and then the boys and I drove her (her name was Lou Lou) to the address on her collar. It was a house that looked abandoned, it was in such disrepair. I knocked, but no one came. There was a truck in the dirt driveway, but no signs of life, so I had the thought that maybe the owner was an elderly person who had died or something. I peeked through the windows, half expecting to see a body somewhere, but it was just very filthy living conditions. I called out, and knocked again, and after a few more minutes an older man came to the door, already knowing why I came. Lou Lou’s adventure was over.
It was a fun little distraction for a while. She was such a well-behaved dog, and I worry that she may have been better off if we’d never found her owner, but he seemed like a nice enough man, just perhaps without the means or motivation to keep a livable dwelling.
I returned back to my work, and we finished out the day when the kids got home.
Thursday was mostly typical as I went to campus early in the morning. I had to stay later because of an event put on by the student organization that I advise. It turned out pretty well, but put me home more than an hour later than usual.
Friday took me to campus again, but the weather was nice enough that I rode my bike to and from the train station. I got some good work done, finishing writing the finals for my students.
Saturday was busy. Kira had arranged some time ago to drive about an hour and a half away to meet up with her college roommate whom we hadn’t seen for 11 years or so. They had lunch and chatted for most of the afternoon, so I managed the kids at home. I may have overdone it with the multitasking, because I was working on painting the fourth bedroom while the kids all needed bathing, so I kept getting interrupted, or Carver and Hakan were “helping” me paint, causing twice the work it would have needed. In any case, it’s done now, and we made it through the long day. Kira got home just a few minutes before the boys’ bedtime, much to their delight.
We’re making lots of preparations for some major events going on soon. The biggest is that Kira’s father’s health has been rapidly declining due to his battle with cancer and complications thereof. We are carefully watching for word of his condition, but we expect that we may need to go back to Colorado in the near future to pay our respects. This has been a trying time for Kira as she deals with the thoughts of losing her dad. We are thankful that we were all able to visit him over the summer, and that she could enjoy a trip with him and the rest of the family to Disneyland, too.
In more pleasant news, we are also officially having my sister move in with us some time in January! That’s why I’ve been preparing the fourth bedroom for so long. She’s going to come give our neck of the woods a go, and we’ll see if we can avoid scaring her away too quickly.
The countdown to Christmas is fully underway now, so hopefully we can get our act together and be ready!