Bobby has a community service requirement at this school - five hours per semester - and last night we did half of it. One of my oldest dance friends runs a non-profit to make and distribute burritos to unhoused folks on LA’s skid row. I’ve donated to them from time to time, and always meant to go join in and volunteer, but this requirement finally got me to actually make a plan and go. I was very apprehensive - my general terror of interacting with new people was at an all-time high - but luckily we spent the hours making the burritos and didn’t make it to downtown (gotta be honest - skid row is pretty gnarly). The boys pitched in and did great - it didn’t hurt that the first person we saw was the boys’ babysitter who apparently volunteers every month. It was tiring, but I enjoyed it, and hopefully the boys will get a sense of satisfaction about it even though it’s not as fun as video games. I figure we’ll just do this every couple of months or so; I told another parent in case they were looking for volunteer opportunities for their kid, too. It’s not often I get parenting wins, but I feel like this was one.
Oh, and Bobby got straight A’s this semester so far. So I guess that’s two.
Tomorrow we have a Spooktacular day planned - pumpkin patch in the morning (sadly, the donor sibs couldn’t join us this time, but we’re going to try to get together this December), then costume shopping, then the puppet show (I had asked the boys if they were still interested in going to this, and Bobby immediately said, “YES. HOW IS THIS EVEN A QUESTION.”). Bobby decided he wasn’t too keen on being a plague doctor, so we returned his costume - I think he was weirded out by the bird beak mask (in my opinion, the best part). I hope to find something suitably ridiculous for myself.
And so begins the Holiday Trifecta. We’ll have a nice night of trick or treating in Eagle Rock as we’ve done the last few years, then for Thanksgiving week we’ll remodel the boys’ room, then at Christmas we’ll go to Utah and hike The Wave (planning and booking this trip is another thing I’ve been grossly procrastinating about). In the meantime I’ve got an event to plan and hiring and firing to do.
I had my annual checkup, which went well. I don’t know if I started the conversation but we pretty much spent the entire visit talking about menopause (which I’m not in yet). That topic really does take over your whole life when you’re in your fifties. My doctor is not opposed to HRT, nor am I, but I wouldn’t do it unless the symptoms were really unbearable. According to this week’s Science Vs. podcast, although HRT has gotten a bad rap in the past, there still are some risks (breast cancer, heart attacks). It seems like it’s a “how bad is it that you’re willing to accept this small risk”-type situation. How bad, indeed. Only time will tell. For now, these slightly irregular periods, having long outgrown their use, continue to be a nuisance.
Here we are being volunteer-type people.
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