Cats and house and new job, oh my...
We adopted a new cat! I started a new job!
New job, new cat, same Momma.
I've driven down to my new job twice this week, seeing a graduation that would've brought my father to tears and driving over a total of five hours. It feels so empowering to be able to move in this new direction while simultaneously trying to adjust to the new scheduling. It's like my brain finally came back online last week, setting up appointments and trying to pay bills. I feel as though I was in some type of fugue for about two weeks. I even did two spin classes at the beginning of last week, something I hadn't done in almost a month.
Friday was indeed a hellacious day. We had our boosters and flu shots scheduled, which I wasn't too concerned about, but also an MRI for her knee. She's been complaining of pain for awhile and now has started snapping and popping. So the elevator went out Sunday. And Friday morning, Fidget met us over there and we took my disabled mother down step-by-step four flights of stairs.
We went to Rite Aid, got two jabs, then even went to the Dollar Tree! The MRI wasn't as successful as I would've hoped, but she did do the best she could. And then Fidget came back and we helped my mother go up step-by-step back up four flights of stairs. I worked from her condo in the evening, finally getting home around 2230. It was a roller coaster of a day, where she was excited to be going outside but then forcing her body through increased pain to get back to her condo.
At 0730, she called to say she had bounced onto the floor. I went over, helped her up, then came home. I figured I could get a lot done since I was totally off and hadn't heard back from my friend about hanging out. I really needed a day to myself in my house, and wanted to spend some new time with Duck, our new giant cat! Instead, I passed out until 1600, woke up in a daze. We ended up getting delivery and watching a few movies, then Momma called again at 2345 saying she was on her knees and couldn't get back on the couch.
I keep reminding her she's in pain because of the FOUR FLIGHTS OF STAIRS and also TWO VACCINATIONS but she continues to forget and think something's wrong. I'm remaining hopeful that tomorrow will be better because even though she forgets, her body doesn't.
I'm trying to remind myself to be kind to myself during this holiday period and this job transition. We'll hopefully have Momma over this year, but even if she decides to not come again, we should have a cleaner house. I finally redid the caulk where I've had painters tape up for several months. I think getting the little projects done quiets my mind a little. Hopefully with Turkey Day upon us, it'll provide the motivation I need to finally get the dining room table back. It's difficult when your friends aren't constantly in your house and providing the impetus for cleaning.
Duck is our newest cat, a giant 15.5lb Lynx-point Siamese that we had been looking at since August. He's a big cuddlebug, but still quite skittish and isn't exactly cuddling with CheddarLion or Sadiecat. He has severe rodent ulcers which lead to the nickname Duck, reminding me of Birdo from Super Mario 2. Sadie is much less violent than we had originally expected, though I imagine she looks at him and does the math: four legs versus her three, 4.5 more pounds than she has. There's some hissing and CheddarLion looks CONSTANTLY surprised, but overall, Duck's become a good addition. He'll lie on his back, cock one of his giant legs out, and drool on us when we pet his belly.
I'm currently running laundry and our Roomba (aptly named "Bo") and hoping to finish some chores before I go over to my mother's for our weekly Sunday get-together. I feel as though I need to sit down with my planner and continue to do some planning, making a schedule for the week with cleaning, maybe some spin, and trying to stay on top of two households. I even bought Thanksgiving cards for the first time in forever, so may sit down quietly and get all of those put together. I believe we're to the age where we'll just do to-do lists until we die, but I had been working very hard on cleaning our home more regularly. It's helped with Bo and the purifiers for Fidget's allergies, something I had taken for granted. We did something new last week, making an itty bitty schedule for the two of us to know who would be in charge of the kitchen and cooking. It ended up working REALLY WELL until the wheels kinda fell off on Friday, which is kinda expected. Putting in ten minutes to check in with my spouse about what we're doing this week really helps to try and get the household functioning more effectively...
... being more strategic and purposeful about systems makes my world easier.
New job, new cat, same Momma.
I've driven down to my new job twice this week, seeing a graduation that would've brought my father to tears and driving over a total of five hours. It feels so empowering to be able to move in this new direction while simultaneously trying to adjust to the new scheduling. It's like my brain finally came back online last week, setting up appointments and trying to pay bills. I feel as though I was in some type of fugue for about two weeks. I even did two spin classes at the beginning of last week, something I hadn't done in almost a month.
Friday was indeed a hellacious day. We had our boosters and flu shots scheduled, which I wasn't too concerned about, but also an MRI for her knee. She's been complaining of pain for awhile and now has started snapping and popping. So the elevator went out Sunday. And Friday morning, Fidget met us over there and we took my disabled mother down step-by-step four flights of stairs.
We went to Rite Aid, got two jabs, then even went to the Dollar Tree! The MRI wasn't as successful as I would've hoped, but she did do the best she could. And then Fidget came back and we helped my mother go up step-by-step back up four flights of stairs. I worked from her condo in the evening, finally getting home around 2230. It was a roller coaster of a day, where she was excited to be going outside but then forcing her body through increased pain to get back to her condo.
At 0730, she called to say she had bounced onto the floor. I went over, helped her up, then came home. I figured I could get a lot done since I was totally off and hadn't heard back from my friend about hanging out. I really needed a day to myself in my house, and wanted to spend some new time with Duck, our new giant cat! Instead, I passed out until 1600, woke up in a daze. We ended up getting delivery and watching a few movies, then Momma called again at 2345 saying she was on her knees and couldn't get back on the couch.
I keep reminding her she's in pain because of the FOUR FLIGHTS OF STAIRS and also TWO VACCINATIONS but she continues to forget and think something's wrong. I'm remaining hopeful that tomorrow will be better because even though she forgets, her body doesn't.
I'm trying to remind myself to be kind to myself during this holiday period and this job transition. We'll hopefully have Momma over this year, but even if she decides to not come again, we should have a cleaner house. I finally redid the caulk where I've had painters tape up for several months. I think getting the little projects done quiets my mind a little. Hopefully with Turkey Day upon us, it'll provide the motivation I need to finally get the dining room table back. It's difficult when your friends aren't constantly in your house and providing the impetus for cleaning.
Duck is our newest cat, a giant 15.5lb Lynx-point Siamese that we had been looking at since August. He's a big cuddlebug, but still quite skittish and isn't exactly cuddling with CheddarLion or Sadiecat. He has severe rodent ulcers which lead to the nickname Duck, reminding me of Birdo from Super Mario 2. Sadie is much less violent than we had originally expected, though I imagine she looks at him and does the math: four legs versus her three, 4.5 more pounds than she has. There's some hissing and CheddarLion looks CONSTANTLY surprised, but overall, Duck's become a good addition. He'll lie on his back, cock one of his giant legs out, and drool on us when we pet his belly.
I'm currently running laundry and our Roomba (aptly named "Bo") and hoping to finish some chores before I go over to my mother's for our weekly Sunday get-together. I feel as though I need to sit down with my planner and continue to do some planning, making a schedule for the week with cleaning, maybe some spin, and trying to stay on top of two households. I even bought Thanksgiving cards for the first time in forever, so may sit down quietly and get all of those put together. I believe we're to the age where we'll just do to-do lists until we die, but I had been working very hard on cleaning our home more regularly. It's helped with Bo and the purifiers for Fidget's allergies, something I had taken for granted. We did something new last week, making an itty bitty schedule for the two of us to know who would be in charge of the kitchen and cooking. It ended up working REALLY WELL until the wheels kinda fell off on Friday, which is kinda expected. Putting in ten minutes to check in with my spouse about what we're doing this week really helps to try and get the household functioning more effectively...
... being more strategic and purposeful about systems makes my world easier.