(Another) Stroke of Genius

Sophie: What comes after Sunday?
Me: Monday
Sophie: And then what?
Me: Tuesday
Sophie: And then what?
Me: Wednesday
Sophie: And then what?
Me: Thursday
Sophie: And then what?
Me: Friday
Sophie: And then what?
Me: Shabbat
Sophie: And then what?
Me: Sunday
Sophie: What comes after Sunday again?
Lilah (who had been listening to the whole conversation): Monday

Keeping Busy

To borrow some lyrics from George Harrison, it’s been a long, cold, lonely winter. The wind, cold, snow, and ice make winter unbearable for me. The days are short and bitter. Someone is sick at any given time. As if that wasn’t enough to bring me down, I’ve been a parenting by myself for most of the past few months. I have felt like a shadow of my normal self for too long now. It’s been hard. Whenever I am in a rut, funk, or just a difficult period of time, my strategy for surviving it is to stay busy. As Lucille Ball once said, "keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.” I believe this. It does work. Staying busy and telling myself that this period of time will pass gives me the motivation to keep on keeping on. And that makes me feel like I am doing a good job. I just try to get through each day. Several days become several weeks and several months. Before long I am looking back over the past months feeling satisfied that I survived them, and knowing that I will survive the next ones. I keep busy by signing us up for music classes, mommy and me, playgroups, and other activities. I arrange play dates and dinner company. I plan events and stay busy with the planning, executing, and recovering from them.

Recently we celebrated Sophie's birthday:



My birthday:

And had a family and family friends reunion of sorts:

I’m already onto the next things: Shimmy’s birthday (his 30^th!), Purim, and Lilah’s birthday. It’s good to stay busy. I know this difficult period of time will pass… Punxsutawney Phil predicts an early spring and I believe it. There is no snow in the forecast for the first time in weeks. I can see patches of grass. I have seen and heard birds outside- actual birds, not just the wretched crows that pick at the neighbors’ trash! I see that ice slowly melting. Smiles are returning to the faces. Here comes the sun.