Friday 5️⃣

Five delightful things to share with you from my week.

Snowy Saturday Mornings – The Saturday morning snow was GORGEOUS. Also, the snuggles made it so peaceful and calm. Then the boys started to really wake up and that ended quickly because…..they’re boys. You know what I mean right?

2. Surprise! – It’s one of my life goals to take the boys (all 3 – Mike’s never been!) to Disney World. I’d rather wait until no one takes a nap anymore so that we can all enjoy our time a bit more than if we were to travel there now. Sometimes I consider the trip and Wyatt getting in for free but free isn’t really free if you’re miserable and cranky. So for now, we venture to Disney on Ice when we get the chance. I was super hesitant to go during a pandemic but the ticket situation sounded fairly safe for a large public event. Even in the days leading up to the event I started to wonder if we should use the ticket insurance and just cancel. I had major anxiety. I was pleasantly surprised to find MORE than 6 ft between us and others and event workers who enforced the mask mandate. The lady closest to me tried taking her mask off and within seconds she was told to put it back on. You could only have it off for a drink or a bite. Sounds ridiculous to some, I’m sure, but I’m all about science and I believe masks play a huge role in the prevention of this virus I’m totally over. We didn’t even tell the boys where we were going. We parked in the parking garage and they were still clueless. Telling them is a video I hope to save forever…..they were beyond ecstatic. They’re champs at wearing their masks. Side note: I wonder quite often – how can my little 2 year old wear a mask without complaining yet my Facebook feed at one time was literally every other person bitching about being forced to wear one. I say “at one time” because those people are long gone from my feed…..some unfollowed and several I decided to unfriend. Truth be told – they weren’t my friends in real life so why did I need to be their friends on social media? This was Wyatt’s 1st time at Disney on Ice and his eyes simply glowed the entire time. It’s disappointing to think about the smiles I missed because of the masks, but I know our health long term is more important. When Mickey disappeared he needed to know where and when he would be back. Every. Single. Time. We had such a good afternoon together. Just my little squad.

3. Inauguration Day – This past Wednesday our country swore in a new President and Vice President. For the first time in history a female was elected as Vice President. It’s not that my worth as a woman comes from seeing a female Vice President – it’s more so that seeing a woman in power inspires me. That doesn’t mean I agree with every one of her policies or her political stance, it means that the little girls of color in my classroom can see themselves doing big things that once they didn’t see. Not only that but a TEACHER in the White House. A teacher! This is huge for my profession and my passion. Unfortunately we were unable to watch the inauguration events live in my classroom for fear of what could happen due to so many threats by extremists and radicals. I was able, however, to watch it live while my students were at recess and I caught Garth Brooks singing Amazing Grace and part of President Biden’s address. He gave me chills you guys. I love Garth Brooks and if him singing at this inauguration means less people love him I’m hopeful he’ll do another tour and maybe I can get closer seats than the last two shows I’ve been to. But Amanda Gorman……that girl STOLE the show, in my opinion. The poem she read was incredible, inspirational, and just what our nation needed to hear. The President made me smile. After watching his address, I felt hope. I’m guessing based on my evening scroll through Facebook that many of my friends wouldn’t agree with me. That’s okay….that’s the best part about this country. We can respectfully disagree on a feeling of hope. I’m sure there are life events that give you hope that wouldn’t give me the same feeling. What I’ve decided not to tolerate anymore is including people in my life who represent any sort of hate or spew hateful thoughts. Just reading someone’s hateful thoughts and posts brings me to a very negative place which I can’t allow myself to go – for the sake of myself or my children. Quite frankly, it’s not something I want my children to be exposed to either. I’m ending this week feeling in a much better head space than the previous weeks. I am so thankful for that.

4. Getting Along – Siblings are not meant to get along. Did you know I lost my first tooth by biting my brother? Literally, biting him. I bit into his skin and my tooth stayed. I freaked out at the blood of my mouth while I’m sure laughed at me. Being years apart never helped us growing up. Now that we are older I’m very thankful for my siblings. Getting along in our younger years was always a challenge and now I see that in my own two boys. Wyatt wants to be just like Easton and Easton gets super annoyed with everything Wyatt wants to do. They fight. They wrestle. One of them likes to bite. The other likes to pinch and hit. They’re boys. For a brief moment this week they got along so well. It lasted an entire evening. Aren’t they precious when that happens?

5. Haircuts – What I love second best about haircut week is how fresh and clean the boys look. Total studs. What I love MOST about haircuts is the chance to catch up with one of my dearest friends (and cousin).