January Musings

This time of the year always brings on the doldrums. The excitement of the holidays has come to an end and the Christmas tree and decorations have been packed away in the garage. I've put the house back in order and done a few things I've had on my bucket list, like replacing the dracaena plants in the entry that had seen better days. On a trip to IKEA to buy them, I also purchased a little stand for my other houseplants to take advantage of the sun that streams through my office window. Prescriptions were refilled, a bag of too-thick-for-Toby rawhides was delivered to the local animal shelter and a couple books were chosen from the "new" shelf at the Rowlett library. I've scheduled a long-delayed arthroscopic procedure to remove a piece of bone that causes pain in my right shoulder. A sling will be necessary for a couple of days, as well as some physical therapy, but the surgeon tells me it won't be a big deal and I'll be back to normal very quickly.

While we continue our enjoyable routine of getting Noah ready for pre-K each morning and picking him up afterward, there are hours to fill in between. I'm not very good at sitting around and watching TV, so I hope to identify more free-lance writing opportunities. My Nemours free-lance project is moving rather slowly, so I've decided to reach out to local organizations to offer my services. Finding a volunteer opportunity with a local non-profit is also on my radar.

In the meantime, we enjoy watching our three grandchildren grow and offering as much help as we can to our daughters and their families in their busy lives. Andy and I are the back-up plan for picking up a sick child from school, pediatrician visits and child care when school is out for the day. We receive packages, wait for repairmen and do errands--all those little tasks that can be difficult when you're working full time. Our efforts are appreciated and we're more than happy to help.