February Chilling

February has remained a pretty quiet month around here, which is why it’s taken me so long to get another update post published. I’ve even been journaling less because the days are passing without much excitement, which is fine. Consequently, homeschooling is going well, though we’re due for some field trips. The bitter cold weather has kept us indoors mostly and with a few sunny days in the upcoming forecast, I’d like to get out and have a little fun before Lent hits. We’ve also managed to stay healthy, thanks to staying put most days. I’m not saying the days are boring, but the lack of activities does have an advantage.

Due to bad weather (I blame the groundhog), my speaking gig was postponed a week, which affected attendance, but the audience was still engaged and many chatted with me afterwards. Byron came along and I was more nervous than usual; worrying he and his girlfriend (the organizer of the event) would think my talk was sub-par. I think it’s easier to speak in front of strangers. Thankfully, they said my talk was enjoyable. Phew!

I’ve decided to take a break from speaking for the rest of the year. I didn’t have anything else lined up, but the very day I told Tony I didn’t want to accept any more speaking invitations, someone reached out from a reoccurring yearly event I really wanted to be a part of. However, I did turn in down, and I felt at peace afterwards. Maybe I’ll change my mind for another type of event but I find that speaking events, even though they usually don’t require as much work as they used to, still weigh on me and take up a lot of mental space. I’m constantly feeling that I should revise and practice my talk and then feeling guilty and unprepared up until the moment I step up to the podium. It’s hard to focus on anything else within a week of the event and I just don’t want that for awhile. Especially as many of my recent events have been during the week and conflicted with homeschooling. I’ve been very blessed with some wonderful opportunities through the years, but right now my priority is schooling the boys and so a break is in order.

My mom visited with us for a week and as part of her visit we cleaned a few items out of my grandmother’s condo. After almost 40 years, she is selling it and so everyone in the family is helping sort out the years of items that have accumulated in closets and on shelves. I will miss the condo, but I’m blessed because I can still easily make day trips to Ocean City whenever the weather is nice. It will be harder for the rest of my family to visit due to distance, especially as summer rental prices have skyrocketed in recent years. I’ll be forever grateful that the investment my great-grandfather made in the mid-eighties allowed many in our family who could never have afforded to rent their own accommodations for the week the opportunity to vacation in Ocean City. It also made for many great childhood memories as we all packed into it for Labor Day weekend; a final send off to our summer. My own children have enjoyed it their entire lives, and being able to easily access it year-round has given our family a lot of special time to enjoy the boardwalk and town during quieter months of the year for extended periods of time.

Buying a beach house is still a goal for Tony and I for that reason: it will hopefully give our children and grandchildren a place to vacation, even if money is tight for them. We’re still a few years out from making that dream a reality (its not possible for us to buy my grandmother’s condo, nor is it really the best fit for us from an accessibility standpoint), but I’m hopeful in some summer in the future, all of us will be able to vacation together, even as the kids move out, marry, and start families of their own.

While my mom was visiting we also hosted our annual Super Bowl party. It’s never a very large party, but it’s always one of the loudest, especially since the Chiefs (Teddy’s team) were playing the Eagles (the local team). This game didn’t come down to the wire, but even as his team was destroyed, Teddy managed to stay in good spirits in part to winning two quarters of our football squares game, and the ridiculous bingo cards I created. Everyone, even my mom who isn’t really into football, was glued to the game to try to get bingo. I made tons of food as usual, got to use my football shaped crockpot, and decorated with inflatables and banners. One of the benefits to homeschooling is getting to sleep in the next morning and eat leftovers for lunch…and breakfast.

With Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday right around the corner, I’m trying to figure out all the food and drink I want to cram into my system for the next week before making myself miserable for the ensuing 40 days. I will get a Lent post up before next Wednesday for sure – tradition demands it! I hope your neck of the woods is thawing out after a frozen February!