Sunday Reflections – 27 January 2019

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Happy Sunday!

It’s been a month, ya’ll. I got into work one Monday – the 14th to be exact – and all hell had broken loose. I have spent the last two weeks busy from dawn until dusk, living in spreadsheet purgatory, and putting out fires that never really seem to go away. I always forget that this is what January is like in my line of work. It’s like that labor and delivery amnesia we get except for accountants. I am hoping that as we head into February, the work situation will calm down a bit so that I can get back my lunch hour and sneak in some time to write posts. Of course, if everything goes according to schedule, my work life will settle just as my dance mom life kicks into high gear. Such is the way of life, isn’t it?

Is everyone staying warm? We have had our first day of below zero temperatures and will have a few more below-zero days later this week. Wednesday may break records for the coldest high ever recorded in this area since they started officially recording weather statistics. I am not sure this is a record I ever wanted to see broken in my lifetime, but it is coming. Unfortunately, while we protect our children from such arctic temperatures and cancel school, there is no such thing as a snow day for adults, which means I will find out precisely what negative 13 degrees feels like. Yay?

Mother Nature also heard my lamenting about the lack of snow and made sure to remedy the situation in a hurry. We went from no snow and 40-degree days to at least a foot of snow and below zero temperatures. Plus, we have another storm looking to hit us during the nighttime hours tonight and could bring with it another 8 to 12 inches of snow with an additional one to three inches during the day on Monday. Insane! It is gorgeous, of course, and it makes me happy to see. It finally feels like winter, although I could do without the polar vortex or whatever the hell they are calling it this year. I guess it is true to be careful what you wish for.

Holly, of course, loves this weather because it means no school. She missed one day this week thanks to the weather and had a delayed start another day due to the temperatures. We figure she will miss at least two days this week as well; one for snow and one for temperatures. I am supremely jealous, especially as they have these days already built into the schedule and still get out during the first week of June as planned.

Jim doesn’t mind this weather right now either because he has been traveling during most of it. He will be in Las Vegas while we deal with the arctic cold this week, and he was away last week as well when the temperatures dropped. He has been around to clear the driveway, which is my number one concern. We had similar weather last year right after we got Cletus except Jim was in Australia touring the country with his brothers and mother. I don’t want a repeat of those weeks if I can help it.

Not much else is new here. It is all eat, sleep, chores, homework, work, school, dance, and repeat around here. We have two more weeks before most of the team debuts their solos at the first competition of the season and another two weeks after that before the first full-team competition of the season. There will be plenty of time spent traveling to and from the studio before then as everyone goes into preparation mode. There is a heightened sense of urgency in February which makes me glad I made the conscious decision to stay out of the studio at all costs this year. Dance mom drama gets to be a little too intense this time of year, and I do not need more drama of any kind in my life. As long as Holly is ready to go, I can stay out of all of it.

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. For those participating in the 24-in-48 readathon, I hope your snacks are tasty, your books binge-worthy, and your blankets cozy. For the rest of us, I hope your day is relaxing and your week stress-free, and I hope to see you back here next week!

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Here are past posts from the last few weeks in case you missed them the first time: