These things seem so cute before St. Patrick’s Day and then afterwards they just seem silly. I went back to work today after more than a week off and I remembered how little I enjoy credit cards, banking and compliance. It’s a living, I guess.
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March 20
I spent hours playing the Harry Potter game. Literally the whole day. I need to walk away from this game because my life is passing me by and Voldemort keeps killing me. There are so many things I want to build and create and none of it is getting done. Will I stop? Well, maybe after we defeat Voldemort just one more time.
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March 19
Yesterday was hands down one of the best days of my life. I told the girls we were going to a Yankees spring training game and got them up at 6am. They saw the signs for Magic Kingdom as we got closer, but assumed we were going past it. It wasn’t until we were at the gate paying for parking that Christina realized we were there. Robin was half asleep and didn’t react until we got to the monorail and then I could see the excitement in her face. The day only went uphill from there. I am so grateful to have had this experience with my two most favorite people, who appreciated every single detail from start to finish, didn’t fight at all, and just lit up all day long, even on the long lines. I know it’s cliche to say that Disney is the happiest, most magical place on earth, but for us yesterday it was. I am so grateful that it cost the same to go there as it would have to go to the Yankees game, which is mind boggling. It will be a long time before we can afford to go again, but this was the perfect time and it couldn’t have gone any better.
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March 18
Today’s big spring break adventure was playing Phase 10 at Panera with the kids. It sounds kinda lame, but it’s these little kinds of things that stick with me as warm memories that I can draw on when things are tough. The memories of bigger moments are more like flashes of light that don’t last as long. So all things with value, both large and small.
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March 17
After more than ten years, we finally made it to the Catty Shack Ranch. And instead of any of the beautiful cats, bears, and foxes they’ve rescued, I took a photo of one of the wandering roosters. I was promised that while the tigers do mostly get fed chicken, they do not eat THESE chickens. Once an animal comes to live at the ranch, they are safe. No discrimination.
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March 16
We went to the Kennedy Space Center today, which was both cool and mildly disappointing. Look closely here and you’ll see Robin peeking through the window. We had fun, but I had kind of expected there to be less focus on the flashiness of space travel and more on the science behind space travel. I left with more questions than answers, and felt like I spent most of the day standing around and very little of it actually doing anything. It wasn’t bad at all, just not exactly what I’d hoped for. Especially for the amount of money we spent. Also today I learned that one of my favorite work colleagues passed away last night. He had been sick, but I don’t think anyone ever thought he was dying. I am sorely going to miss him, and that may also have contributed to my lack of enthusiasm today. I would really like to attend his funeral service tomorrow, but it’s 4.5 hours of driving each way, and I don’t have a babysitter for the kids. I am going to have to be there in spirit and send my love and hugs from afar. And so goes another day.
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March 15
We went to Rosina and Dion’s house for a sleepover last night. I had plans to make pina coladas, and not wanting to leave the kids out, I brought the stuff to make Shirley Temples too. In the end, no pina coladas ever got made, but Robin did have enough Shirley Temples to use up a third of a bottle of grenadine and an entire jar of maraschino cherries. I’m gonna need a rain check on those pina coladas.
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March 14
Inexplicable anxiety has been the name of the game for a while now, and tonight is no exception. It just starts out of nowhere for no apparent reason. But here I go through it like all good humans.
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March 13
So far spring break has not been terribly exciting. Today I did some writing, went to the library, paid some bills, read some of my book, and facilitated my last NAMI Peer to Peer class in the current session. Oh, and what else, played (and lost) Harry Potter. Tomorrow should be equally exciting. It’s kind of disappointing how dull this break has been so far, but I have some things planned for later in the week that may make up for it. We’ll see how it goes.
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March 12
Just home from church and day is still in front of me. It’s a nice day. I should do something outside, but I will probably end up taking the kids clothes shopping and playing Harry Potter. Maybe we can take Harry Potter outside at least.
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March 11
This is the look I get when I make Jackson wait for his treat. I had to bribe him to sit still long enough to catch a shot of him cheering on his Nittany Lion basketball team in the Big Ten tournament. Had a nice lunch with Myrna today and came home to play – what else – Harry Potter. We might as well throw away all our other board games. Let’s see if we can complete the game in less than two months this time.
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March 10
Today was tough. Lots of unexpected tears. I’m exhausted from the exertion of it. But I bought a shit-ton of shoes and some pizza and I guess spending money I don’t have has its value too.
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March 9
It was a hard day, but not the hardest. I was disproportionately disappointed when an important member of the class I’m teaching on Thursdays backed out of the remaining classes. I’m having a disagreement at work that is stressing me out. Robin took one of my sodas, or at least I thought she did. I ended up taking her word for it when she insisted she hadn’t taken it, but who knows. I didn’t really want to take a photo today, but here we have this. I haven’t given up yet.
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March 8
I turned off my alarm in my sleep this morning, which is really just a lame excuse for not wanting to get up and run on the treadmill. I’m thinking about turning the alarm off tomorrow too. The rest of the day was mildly disappointing, from mediocre writing for my class tomorrow to wasting time doing pointless work at my job to a listless card game with Billy and Christina after dinner. But I did do the dishes, so that’s a plus.
Year in Photos 