August 2023
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August 16
I finally got a little bit out of my routine. I walked to school to pick up the kids, and I took Christina to buy sneakers, she having been told that the boots we just bought her wouldn’t cut it for gym. I don’t know if it helped much, but I guess it’s a step.
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August 15
Robin refused to go to her tumbling class, saying nothing more than she didn’t want to. There were a lot of tears, mostly my own. I’m not sure I ever cried in front of her before. She finally told me why, and now at least I know what to do next. I don’t know if…
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August 14
Today was the first day of school. It seemed to go pretty well. No one came home miserable, at least. Robin had a panic attack at cheer. She is feeling enormous pressure to do well on her team, which is both in her head and not in her head. I’m trying to help her build…
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August 13
Christina is both excited and nervous for the first day of school. Probably more nervous than excited. Worried about where she’ll go when she gets to her classroom, whether she’ll have any friends in her class, whether she’ll ever see Kiley again… I tried my best to ease her mind, but you know how anxiety…
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August 12
Robin’s friend came over for a sleepover, so I felt it was good to spend some extra time with Christina. We went out for ice cream and played table-top curling. That’s right, table-top curling. I spend so much time with Robin because she really needs the extra support, but I need to be better about…
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August 11
I need to find more time for myself to do things I enjoy. It has been so hot, though. I really can’t go out hiking. So I have been very listless. I have so much on my mind and I’m starting to avoid it and just block it out. Not sure that is the right…
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August 10
Tonight was teacher meet and greets at the kids’ school and boy did the kids run straight for Ms. LaTanya. And boy did she not just stop everything she was doing to embrace them. I’m sure there are lots of great schools out there, but I doubt if any of them could ever feel as…
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August 9
I did something today. Leaving it at that for now. I am full of self-doubt. As a parent, a wife, an employee, a human… How do you know if you’re helping your kids or wrecking them? How do you convey love when you keep doing stupid shit that seems to say otherwise? How do you…
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August 8
I didn’t realize how addicted to the iPads the girls have become. They literally don’t know what to do with themselves without it and will do almost anything for a fix. Withdrawal is real – when I cut them off, they immediately started fighting – truly hurtful things were said. I did at least set…
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August 7
I got a lot of work done today. I don’t say that too often. I also took a tiny little step forward today on something I’ve been thinking about for a very long time. It’s a step so tiny you almost can’t even see it, but it’s a step nonetheless. Now I will probably lie…
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August 6
Today was the first session of the NAMI Family to Family class I am co-facilitating. It’s my third time teaching it. I forget how vulnerable these family members are, how raw and new it all is for them, how deep in crisis they had to be to get here. It’s been more than a decade…
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August 5
Christina had a birthday party to go to today, so I took Robin to go shopping for school clothes. As we were leaving the parking lot, I noticed a Subway across the street that I’d never noticed before and so Robin and I got a special mother-daughter lunch together. These are the little things I…
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August 4
Life today was basically work and recovering from work. Billy didn’t sleep much today, so he slept through dinner all the way until he had to leave for work, so I really never saw him today. I’ve set time limits on the girls’ iPads and now they are doing all sorts of things to earn…
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August 3
I didn’t get to have my birthday martini on my birthday, so we went out tonight and celebrated my mom on the anniversary of the day she died. A martini costs the same as a two-course entree and soft drink. The days have been getting away from me, but it’s important for me to remember.…
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August 2
Back to work today. I came back to an overwhelming backlog of work and really big looming deadlines. I don’t know if it’s possible to do all that has to be done without working a lot of extra hours. I’m so frustrated with what needs to be done and what is actually getting done. There…
Year in Photos 