HIGH // LOW // THANKFUL

brotherybrother

taken a few years ago at Barney’s Beanery, a few days before he left the country for a year

I have seven siblings. SEVEN. When I was younger, shuffling between my divorced parents’ respective houses, I wasn’t able to appreciate the fact that I was surrounded by a tribe of really cool kids. I should probably mention that my parents have been married a collective five times, and that I share only one parent with each of my brothers and sisters, but my point is that, as I got older, I began to realize how lucky I am to be related to such special people.

That one up there is Tyler, my Brothery Brother. He’s my mother’s third child, the second child of her third marriage, my second brother, and the first one to be up for any kind of crazy adventure. His wanderlust has taken him everywhere from Colorado to Australia, so it came as no surprise when I learned he up and moved to San Jose without even saying goodbye! Definitely the saddest part of my week. I might have even cried a little. So this is me, wishing him well on his new endeavor in Northern California. I love you, Tyler. I’m proud of you. But I want you back in Southern California as soon as possible, ok?

HIGH: By far, the best thing to happen this week is that our insurance has finally been sorted. It was a bit of a harrowing experience, trying to navigate all of these new policies and procedures, but after nearly nine straight weeks of paperwork and phone calls, it’s all been settled and an enormous weight has been lifted. It’s worth mentioning that I encountered some very, very nice customer service representatives, and they deserve credit for being so incredibly helpful. It really was a confusing process, and I am extremely grateful for how it all managed to work out.

LOW: My house isn’t any more organized today than it was on Monday, and I haven’t written anything since last Friday, which is to say that I didn’t get nearly as much done this week as I had intended. No laundry, no scrubbing, no sweeping, nothing. It’s hard when the only tangible evidence to the endless work I seem to do each day is the pile of dirty diapers in the rubbish bin, and I’m trying my best to embrace my temporary role as stay-at-home-mama, but I sure would like a few uninterrupted hours to tackle my ever growing to-do list. That being said, if the lowest point of my week is the fact that my house isn’t clean, then I think I’m doing pretty good. How’s that for perspective!

THANKFUL: Our tiny guy is waking up more and more each day, and he’s beginning to connect with each of us which has been very exciting for Emet and Jade. This morning, I left the two big kids alone with the baby for about fifteen minutes, and overheard the sweetest interactions between the three of them. Siblings really are the best, and I’m so happy to get to witness their special relationships develop. I hope when they’re older, they stay as close as I have with my own siblings. And that they never wake up to discover one has moved without saying goodbye. I’m just saying.