This past week was super wonderful for the kids. They attended Camp Anna’s Place every day. Each night I helped them pack their lunch for the following day. I was still chopping the fruits and veggies and putting them in small containers, but Amy made her own sandwiches and sometimes made my lunch too! I also cut Sarah’s hot dog but on the one day she opted for a sunbutter and jam sandwich she made that herself. They were the ones to put their various containers into their lunch bags. I’m still involved with the process, but this is a huge shift from past school years when I would make their lunches without their participation.
The themes for Camp Anna’s Place were
Field Day: Wear Your Camp Anna shirt (Sarah didn’t but that’s ok)
All Over Anna’s Place: Dress like Anna (Sarah does this daily)
Mr. Dream Surprise: Dress like Mr. Dream Surprise (Anna’s cat)
Olympians!: Bring your leotard
Indoor Camping: Don’t forget your sleeping bag
They went swimming, went to a fun new playground, made leotards to fit American Girl dolls, went “fishing” in a cloth pond with pipe cleaner fish, made cat toys, drew still-life art pictures, did gymnastics, had dance parties, and made s’mores. Anna created pictures with a green-screen so it looks like Sarah is in the Goodnight Moon House. Sarah is wearing Anna’s Halloween costume from last year that was a house to match Sarah’s house costume. The picture of Amy makes it look like she is a princess in a castle. Sarah was super upset when camp was over so we arranged for the babysitting tomorrow and Tuesday to also be at Anna’s place instead of at our house.
We have arranged a regular weekly playtime that will start this week. Every Wednesday afternoon Anna will come for Anna Mouse School House to give Sarah some extra tutoring in school subjects for an hour. After that there will be two hours of play time with Amy participating too. I’m relieved to have found this way for Anna to continue to be a regular part of our lives. I was feeling some grief about going from almost daily Anna time for the past year and a half to basically none due to the start of in-person school. This weekly few hours seems like a perfect solution.
Amy is super excited to start fifth grade on Wednesday. It will be in person, masked, and at a 3ft distance when possible. Sarah starts 7th grade on Aug 26. I’m still waiting to know if Sarah will ride the bus or not. There is a shortage of drivers in Pittsburgh and I can certainly drive her if needed, but if her bus route will still be happening then I want her to be on it.
Every day a new baby is born to add to Sarah’s list of babies that I will miss when she is away at Anna’s or at school. The newest babies are Baby Lawnmower, Baby Motor, Baby Cord, and Baby Bus. Sarah also loves it when we Snuggle. Snuggling now officially means I hug and sort of tickle her back while saying “snuggle, snuggle, snuggle” and mush my nose into her cheek or give her kisses.
I’ve never really been one to put stock in special rocks or crystals, but this week I was on the receiving end of some bad energy and unkindness. It was really ruffling my feathers and I really wanted it to stop. Friday morning I looked up what gems could protect me from bad energy. I wore everything I had with crystals or hematite and put black obsidian and a clear crystal in my pockets. I don’t know if it was the placebo effect or the person just losing oomph to send bad energy my way or what, but I definitely felt better, stronger, and more protected. And the bad energy via rude emails stopped.
Friday night Sarah wasn’t feeling the best and was needing to spit up some phlegm. This happens every so often for her and doesn’t seem to relate to an actual bug. Friday night and last night Amy wasn’t feeling the best, but during the day yesterday she was fine and she feels well now. We have had this pattern of sickness/wellness in the past. I think that it is actually stemming from super deep feelings and fears that are easy not to feel during the day but harder to ignore at night. That doesn’t necessarily make anything better to know it may be feelings rather than a bug, but maybe realizing it can eventually help me not get all scared myself. Every time either kid seems slightly unwell I get myself all worked up with fear and anticipation of bad things to come and with trying to summon some mom-magic to instantly make them well. Usually the kid side of things ends up being mild and passing within a day or two. I always give myself a couple of nights of an upset stomach that I know is one hundred percent my fears, and yet as of now I’m still not able to fully process the fears or let go of them. The meta-level perspective helps a bit, but doesn’t just resolve the matter.
I hope you are all well and that you have only good energy flowing your way.
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