An Update from Quarantine in Musings

So much to update on. Holy cow.

COVID-19
Obligatory update on how we are doing. Nathan had some question about whether his job would be suspended or not. Turns out it isn’t whew. He still has to go into work because he is IT for a military base and it’s preparing everyone else to be able to stay home. There was a confirmed case by a guy he interacted with a few times. So it’s possible he could could get it. The girls and I are doing our part staying away from people. It is honestly not so bad. I secretly enjoy the extra time with the girls hunkering down playing board games and pretend and watching movies and playing in the backyard. I’m trying to find the sweet in these bittersweet days.

LEAH
Before all this craziness we had her PT conference at school. She is quite apparently WAY ahead of her class in reading. Her teacher showed us that on this one particular testing she scored a 4/5 and everyone else (literally) got a 1/5. Shes average in math and has improved on her social skills (aka not being too bossy). So I’m actually not too worried about homeschooling. At least in my district nothing is actually required at this point. But there will be lots of resources from the teachers and videos we can watch coming up.

ALEX
We were planning on getting her signed up for PreK but the sign ups (they are in person bc it’s first come first serve) got cancelled. I hope we can still get her in. She is still just such a sweet soul with a spunky energy. She adds that sweetness and tenderness that we need in our family.

MY NONRELIGIOUSNESS
That’s not a word but whatever. I started a blog and instagram about my journey. I already have around 700 followers and connecting with people from similar backgrounds is amazing. It’s so nice to get validation that I’m not the only one going through these things. It’s @iquitchristianity if you wanna check it out.

It’s still a little awkward between my parents and I. My mom said she was praying for me the other day. But is mostly respectful of my boundaries. I’m still fielding a lot of questions from the girls like “what is heaven?” So that’s fun.

DOGS
River has not been doing great. She had arthritis which she’s on meds for now. They help a lot but she still limps on overactive days. Then she stopped eating as much as she used to. It got to where she would maybe take 2 bites. So I got her into to the vet today (via curbside pick up and then the vet called me to discuss it all. It was bizarre) He doesn’t think it’s anything serious because all her vitals were great and she’s not puking or having loose stools. But he still wants her back on Monday for some xrays. While grocery shopping (which was a TRIP y’all. I am gonna miss eggs) I got her some wet canned dog food. She lapped it up like it was the best thing she ever had. So maybe she’s just over dry food? Who knows.

Lily has turned out to be the best little puppy. She’s potty trained now. The only accidents she has now is submissive peeing. River did it too when she was a puppy but eventually got over it. She has already learned sit and down and usually comes when called. She loves everyone and her and River get long great now. She’s snuggly and goofy and everything a puppy should be. We love her.

MY WORK
It’s understandably at a standstill right now. I’ve lost a little bit of passion for it lately. I raised my prices which apparently made it too expensive for people. I have been thinking of figuring out something else to do with my life career wise since the girls will both be in school next year. I have thought about going back to school or possibly getting my masters. My ministry degree is fucking useless now and I haven’t worked for lots of years so I have no idea what path I’m going to go down. I’m very interested in psychology and the mental health field since it’s something I have struggled with. But I always worry I’m not the right temperament. Im an empath and I know I would take on too much of their pain.

But honestly if we are going to stay around this area it would be my goal to be a counselor and specialize in religious trauma. Because fun fact all the counselors here are Christian. And I know I can’t be the only one who struggles with this. It would be such an embarrassment to my family but I really do want to find a way to help people even though I have no idea what that might look like in practice.

That’s all for now. I hope y’all are staying safe. I’m sorry I haven’t commented in a while. I feel like I’m just now getting my footing and can actually resume life again. Albeit a weird one right now.