I dragged everyone back to Cafe Du Monde one last time before heading home. I wanted one last beignet before we left. I thought everyone would be excited to join me, but there were a lot of grumpy people. Billy and Robin didn’t even eat any. Don’t care… I can still taste it and it was worth it. I didn’t want to leave. Such a phenomenal trip. One of the best.
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March 20
I have had such a great time with my family this week. Today we rode the St. Charles streetcar to Audubon Park. The kids – Robin – ran to the playground and played there for half an hour. I had honestly thought the playground days were over a long time ago, but they proved me wrong today. We walked around the Garden District, bought some candy and baked goods, and came back for an amazing meal at House of Blues. This town has SOUL. I love it.
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March 19
Today’s big adventure was a steamboat cruise to the Chalmette Battlefield, where the Battle of New Orleans occurred in 1815. I knew next to nothing about the War of 1812 before, and now I know next to almost nothing. It was still interesting, and now I can say I took a steamboat down the Mississippi River.
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March 18
We did a historical walking tour of the French Quarter, where I learned the difference between what is “Cajun” and what is “Creole,” and how awesome Marie Laveau really was. We had beignets and did some shopping and finished the day with a fancy Italian dinner at a place Robin chose. Our feet and legs are tired, but we’re ready for tomorrow!
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March 17
We arrived in New Orleans with enough time to have a nice dinner and take in a rooftop sunset by the pool. All we know for sure that we’re doing tomorrow is having beignets. Anything on top of that is a bonus.
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March 16
I woke up before dawn – again – to run another 5k. My time is not improving, but I am still having fun and I’ll take it. Eventually I’ll get back to finishing times I can be happy with. Today I finished in 41:33. If I can run a whole race at my fastest split time today, I can shave almost ten whole minutes off my finishing time. Right now I’ll settle for running without stopping or dying.
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March 15
After last night’s cheer practice and the approximately five hours of sleep the team got, no one felt optimistic going into today’s competition. By the time their performance was over, I felt even more exhilarated than when I rode the wildest roller coaster at Sea World last weekend. They hit zero for the first time this entire season, and it was thrilling. This team has heart, and they deserve the win. So happy for them.
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March 14
It was a long, long day, and we have an early, early morning tomorrow. So here is a picture of a cake that I did not eat.
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March 13
I finally have a day where I can sit and relax a little after work. It feels weird! It’s ok, though. It’ll be back to insanity tomorrow.
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March 12
Today was a lesson in juggling. I had at least twelve balls in the air throughout the day. Luckily they were balls and not knives. I switched from one thing to the next so quickly that I have no idea what I actually did today, if anything. I’m tired, but there’s still work to be done. I am a human being that knows no boundaries, and I never quit. I’m not entirely sure that’s a good thing.
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March 11
I started teaching another NAMI Peer to Peer class tonight. I teach this one less often than Family to Family – this is actually only my second time doing it. For some reason, only two people showed up. But it was two people who were engaged in the class, so it was good. It feels a little weird teaching the class as a peer because I haven’t felt depressed in months. Happiness is so unfamiliar to me, and sometimes I even find myself wondering if I was ever really depressed or if it was just a lie I told myself for 40+ years. It makes me think I might not be the best person to teach this course. But I’m going to give it a go!
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March 10
It’s getting harder and harder to come up with something to take a picture of on a day where nothing exciting really happened. Especially when Pinot leaves his diarrhea poop ALL over the dining room floor for me to step in. Jackson is the dog I still like.
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March 9
Christina’s performances were both really good! Apparently one of her teammates was sick, so they had to perform without her. We never even noticed! The production dance was so entertaining – it really woke up a crowd that was falling asleep. We didn’t stay for awards because they were more than an hour behind schedule and we wouldn’t have gotten home until midnight, so I don’t know how they did overall. I’m sure Christina’s friends will fill her in! They looked phenomenal to me.
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March 8
We had an extra day in Orlando for Christina’s dance competition, so we went to Sea World. These dolphins looked like they were having so much fun. They reminded me of Pinot, willing to do anything for even just one kernel of dog food, and loving every second of it. The roller coasters were a lot of fun, too – we dared ourselves on all of them and none of them disappointed. The only one Robin didn’t like was the one that went backwards and straight up really fast. She thought it would fly right off the track. Overall, a nice way to spend the day.
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March 7
Robin had her first practice with Cobalt tonight and it went pretty well, other than not being able to practice any stunts because the flyer was hurt. They have a competition on Sunday, so we’ll see how that goes with just this one practice under her belt! She said she liked this team better than her team because they were a lot more helpful. It’s nice when kids can be nice.
Year in Photos 