This month when I went grocery shopping, I found a fuzzy brown jacket at Sam's Club. It was on sale for $10, and despite making a concerted effort to NOT buy new clothes for myself this fall, I did allow myself to buy this fuzzy jacket, and I have no regrets. It's so cozy for these cool fall days, and I'm wearing it right now as I sit down with a cup of coffee to type this post.
Health Checkups, Etc.
The last couple weeks have been good, but a little up and down around here.
Earlier this year I figured it was time for me to get a checkup, after not going to the general doctor since before the kids (it's been about 15 years ago now). Long story short, it was a complete waste of time. The physician's assistant just took my blood pressure, and distractedly tapped my knees with her hammer (my reflexes didn't even trigger, but she didn't notice). She made a pretense of putting the stethoscope to my back, but chattered about her plants while she was supposed to be listening to my lungs, and then declared I seemed healthy so we didn't have to do any bloodwork. Okay? I guess? The whole visit literally lasted less than five minutes. I'm not even sure she looked at my paperwork. I was really tempted to refuse to pay because everything she did I could have done more thoroughly myself at home without a medical degree, but I was not in a proper emotional state for a fight with the doctor's office at that time, so I let it go.
Thankfully I got basic tests done at a different doctor's office for an unrelated issue, and they caught something they thought should be checked out. So I went back and saw a real family doctor (I'm starting to get soured on physician assistants after several negative experiences now), and the real doctor ordered the full battery of bloodwork...all that to say that we discovered I'm pretty anemic. I didn't even think I felt tired, but Derek says I probably have been tired so long at this point that I don't notice it anymore. Of course, after we found out about the anemia, I had several very lethargic days and could barely bring myself to stay awake while reading Narnia to the kids. In the past I probably would have brushed it off as needing more sleep, but now it makes more sense. I've been taking iron supplements and eating a bunch of red meat - can't say I've noticed a big difference, but I'll get another test done soon to see how things are looking.
Missing A Dog
Aside from health stuff, I've found myself already very much missing having a dog around. Harvey died in October, and I'm still feeling emotional about it - but even beyond just missing Harvey, it feels too quiet without a dog in the house. There is no little creature waiting at the door with a wagging tail, glad to see us when we arrive home. On the rare occasion when Derek takes the kids to go do something and I'm home alone, the house is too still. I'm used to having the dog sitting near my feet when I'm by myself. There is no creature to drink the little bit of milk left in my bowl when I'm done with my cereal, or lick up the crumbs that the kids drop on the floor. There is just that bit of life that a dog adds to the house, and it's not there same without it. I didn't think I'd be ready for another dog right away, and I guess emotionally I'm still not sure, but I told Derek we should get another dog sooner than later. We'll see how it works out.
Christmas Newsletters And Holiday Prep
Derek is hunting this week again, and while he's been hunting I've been getting ready for the holidays. The other Saturday I ordered all our Christmas presents (I just have a few more things to get for Derek and my dad). Most of the packages arrived last week, and my goal after writing this post is to unpack the boxes and make sure everything actually shipped (because I don't trust Amazon not to mess things up these days). I also bought the kids some Christmas jammies - I got the girls this red and blue set, and the boys this blue and green set. They'll make for some cute Christmas morning pictures.
I need to start thinking about getting our family Christmas newsletter written. Writing Christmas newsletters can be tricky - you have to be really cautious in what you share, and how, so as not to let it turn into a brag letter. You know what I'm talking about. We've all received the wrong kind of newsletter, all about the elaborate trips that were had, the incredible (unbelievable) talents of the children, and the professional advancements and personal achievements of the parents. It's a very fine line between updating everyone on the good things that happened and the blessings in your life and overdoing it. Christmas newsletters have become a punchline for this very reason, but I still like the idea of sending out a newsletter, and I like to read them. They are more personal than the typical generic Christmas card with a printed message and a hastily scrawled signature.
I think I struck the right balance last year, because various extended family and friends commented about enjoying our newsletter (though maybe they would say that even if it wasn't the right balance). But I really put thought and effort into attempting to NOT be braggy at all, and this year's newsletter will require the same care. Maybe that's why I'm putting off writing it. It will require alot of brain power.
We got our Thanksgiving plans ironed out last week, and so far the only thing I have been definitively assigned is the relish plate. Relish plates require no real skill to put together, but they are expensive, so I'm trading money for time. Ours usually includes black olives, pimento olives, garlic-stuffed olives, baby dill pickles, sweet gherkins, bread and butter pickle slices, and cherry peppers, with maybe some celery or carrots and dip. This is basically the pre-meal snack plate, and vegetables are the way to go so we don't fill up too much before the meal. It's been actually quite fun to see which of my kids are fans of olives, and which are not, and to hear the debating about it. Olives are such a divisive food. Personally, I used to hate them, but just a few years ago I decided they weren't terrible.
Homeschool Fun
The kids are gearing up to participate in a local program where they get to go run a miniature town for a day - as you read this, we are probably doing our town training. The kids have to learn about economics, business, banking, and personal finance, then they apply for the jobs they want. They have to do an interview and they'll find out which jobs they got and meet with their business coworkers to make decisions, before the big day when they actually run the town. Wyatt wants to be an accountant for the parcel service (because he's good at math and accountants get paid more), Gwen wants to be a mail carrier or a doctor (both jobs that involve interacting with people, which fits her personality), and Clyde wants to be a service technician for the car shop (he loves anything to do with mechanics or transportation). The little girls are too young to participate yet. We have cousins and friends from church who will be doing the program at the same time, so it will be a really fun experience for them!
Our other fun add-in to school recently has been reading Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" together. It's been surprising how much the kids are understanding and enjoying it. I wrote up a whole post about what we are using and our experience with Shakespeare so far, so that post will be up on Thursday!
Are you getting ready for the holidays yet? What are you all doing for Thanksgiving?
I was diagnosed as anemic years ago- like you, I couldn't really tell a difference when I made changes to reverse the anemia. Who knows? Hopefully you will feel more energized. I'm with you on the family letter. I'm sure a couple of mine in the past veered to the braggy side- in my defense, I'm not on FB so this was my "one chance" to brag (unless you read my blog, lol). I *think* I've found my solution for this year. It's a tri fold card and the back can be printed with a not long message but long enough for ten or twelve sentences- just enough space to write a succinct update of our year and what we've been up to. Good luck with yours. I'm sure it will turn out great!!
Oh, that's so good you're working out what's going on with your health. Finding a good doctor can make such a difference. So sorry to hear about your dog, praying for comfort as you remember him.
And I love the sound of that relish plate. We can't get enough olives and pickles in this family!
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