No doubt about it — this has been a tough week. Probably the worst week we’ve had in memory, K suggested. A good friend died on Monday; our cat died on Wednesday; Thursday saw two funerals (the friend and the cat, obviously) and a visit to the emergency room with Papa; and Nana still in rehab this whole week. The kids are likely feeling neglected but are showing great patience with everything. The parents are feeling exhausted. And, well, the kids, too.
Breakfast this morning started with a little nap at the table. After breakfast, we went our separate ways: the kids with K to church; I went to spend the morning with Nana.
When we came back, the clear skies, after weeks, months, no years of cloudy, rainy weather, called us outside. First things first: I finally finished up Bida’s grave. We’ve been afraid that the dog might be too curious and tempted by the freshly dug earth despite the fact that we put a large stone to mark and protect the spot.
So today, I spread the best dog-digging-deterrent we’ve found al around: straw. K thinks it’s because the straw gets in the dog’s nose as she’s sniffing around, which would cause a fair amount of pain, I suppose, if the strand of straw got jammed in a dog’s nose just right. Or it could be that it hides odors, because the digging always starts with sniffing. Whatever the cause, we feel better about Bida’s grave now, though we don’t feel so much better about her absence. It’s amazing how much a little old gray grumpy cat adds to the family dynamic.
Next, we went down for some swinging, jumping, and Clover-entertaining.
Next, a little homework. We’re trying to get everyone back into a normal schedule, which includes daily reading and writing, especially for the Boy. The Girl takes her own initiative with the homework. The Boy — not so much.
So we sat on the deck, and between yogurt breaks and tossing the ball for Clover, we finally finished the homework. The Boy was trying his best to make the process more difficult than it needed to be, and I just wanted to get through it all, because I knew what we were planning next:
Today’s task: find a way to cross the creek. We found one, made another. Something tells me we’ll be spending more and more time out there as the weather warms.
Finally, a small dinner with Aunt D, who’s come to stay with her big brother and help out with everything.