Husband and I were the ones who moved far away from our families. He was career military and had a second career in Texas. We’re a thousand miles from closest relatives except for our son who lives nearby. The upside has been living in lots of interesting places and meeting people we would never have met back “home”. The downside is missing a lifetime of births, deaths, birthdays and holidays. Although we’ve always tried to make at least one trip back each year, it’s not the same obviously. But our lives are rooted here now, our son is here, friends and social connections.
Unfortunately due to covid we haven’t been able to visit the extended family in nearly 2 years. And none of us is getting younger! We tried to visit this fall but infection rates were up and a few crazy family members won’t get vaccinated.

That sounds pretty wonderful, Alexandra and Connie. You've created such supportive, loving spaces for your "babies" ( they will be forever won't they? )
Yooly, that must have been tough through this pandemic. I have one son who is not yet vaccinated, he is somewhere betweeen those two camps. Legitimately afraid, especially afraid of any future repercussion on as yet unborn children. There is no solid science for that one yet, so I'm expecting he won't be getting vaccinated until at least midway through next year? Once children of vaccinated people are born with no vaccine related issues? I have a hard time arguing with him on this one because my arguments would just be speculation at this point too. It is scary to think, though, how long it might be before he accepts all is safe. What if something pops up when a child is learning to talk, to walk, to do math...and on and on.

I slept late but I'm actually getting the master bedroom cleaned and tidied. And doing a lot of figuring out where to put things.

I had had all the stuff to wrap presents in the guest room. But Eldest Son is now occupying it as a bedroom, and I don't want to be going in there all the time to get stuff out, especially since it's HIS SPACE while he lives here, and leaving it to him is part of the privacy every adult should have. So I have to find somewhere else to put it, and that is proving a little difficult.

Hope the numbers go/stay down between now and then so that your surgery isn't postponed.

Went to the store and I have ALL THE MEAT to deal with, oof. There were also a lot of people and I had to stand a long time so my back was really unhappy by the time I got home, and after lunch I laid down and slept for a couple hours. Got up around three, put dried blueberries in vodka in a canning jar, and put cranberries in Triple Sec in a canning jar, and now when I want them for baking those will be rehydrated.

I also cut four large chicken breasts for cutlets (I got 12 cutlets, nicely trimmed) and the trimmings and such are enough to bag and set aside for chicken curry or peanut chicken, something like that. I have another four breasts but I will seal those each up individually and they can freeze like that and I'll have them for later use. I like having some things in there that aren't already purposed. Gives me a sense of possibility.

There's pork chunks I need to batter and fry for future Chinese meals, and I need to make several sorts of rice and bag those in two ounce bags, and I need to make apple spice muffins for Son for work, and I need to make a steak, grilled onion, and mushroom quichecake; we just pulled the sausage-cheddar one out of the freezer to start on it tomorrow morning, and I like having one in the freezer. So I know what I'm doing over Friday-Sunday....precooking! But it does make my life SO much easier, and I do like to cook.

Boyfriend GOT A JOB!!!! SUCH a relief. It's a hybrid job but he's only 15-20 minutes away from the hospital campus, and he has a dedicated home office, of course. He'll be working as a data architect for the large hospital system. The money is good, but more than that, he's using his skills working with data in a way that he feels ethically good about. He has had other jobs where it would be more about "let's see how much we can dig into people's lives to sell them more stuff they don't need" and he just doesn't feel right about contributing to that. But we were getting to the economic point where he was going to have to take a job doing something he hates just to pay the mortgage. So this is a GREAT relief on so many levels.

Probably not going to have the engagement ring by Christmas, because we want a new couch with integrated recliners available for when I have the breast reduction, and it's becoming clear that at some point that ankle tendon will need repair so I can be more active. And tendon surgery is twelve weeks non-weight-bearing. I want somewhere good to sit and elevate the ankle. (I have great experience with foot surgery recovery.) We are all breathing a great sigh of relief.

That is awesome news about the job! I am sure it is a great weight off of all of your shoulders.

And that is a LOT of work to precook! I know it helps in the long run, but honestly I was feeling exhausted and sore just reading about it. I DO really like the rice idea. Does it reheat okay? I get the frozen rice from Trader Joe's sometimes, but it would be cheaper to do it myself. With the Instant Pot rice is super easy to make too.

We're not legally married yet, PAV, so I can't get on his insurance yet. Prior conditions aren't such a thing any more. If need be, I'll go into my doctor and say, "Hey, when I start to exercise I get this dull warm ache down here in the back of my ankle that feels like something's really wrong." and I'll go through getting another MRI on it probably and get told I have a torn ankle tendon again, but this time I have the support and the finances to have surgery.

My day isn’t going really great….my biopsy on my arm is still seeping and I can’t swim…it is hot and humid outside….Willow lunged after a squirrel in the back yard and I barely escaped a nose dive across the backyard,my face and nose now have scabs on them and look horrible,I am not in the mood to eat healthy, I just ate a bag of M&Ms I don’t even like but they were just laying there and now I am in a worse mood….the only good thing is I have a doc appointment with my doc that is leaving next week so I will have to get back at it eating right so I will not disappoint him or myself!

I didn’t realize the dermatologist was going to drill a hole in my arm…it looks like I was shot!…no idea what it was that appeared on my arm…just a hard red spot….not a mole or a bump or a bruise…..my luck it will probably be some rare deformity that I will have to search the continent for answers lol

Maybe it was some crazy implant that causes food binges! And now it's gone. That's why you weren't pleased with those M&Ms - not even for a moment. 🤞🏻

I finally got in to see the physical therapist and it was like a huge weight was lifted — I was right, not my back. There are a number of things going on with my hips and legs (and are creating the arthritis flares) but the great news was all are soft tissue and can be worked through fairly quickly. Just in the short session today, some of the rotation in my hips, knees, and feet were returned. It’s been a real *kitten* having little to know internal rotation. The therapist thinks once he and I develop a good stretching plan, get the inflammation under control, and he sets me loose on the world again that I’ll feel like a million bucks and be back to my normal routine. Huge mental boost!

I totally respect homemaking and experienced similar condescending attitudes about that role. While my husband was active duty we moved every 2-3 years. One year we moved 3 times to three different states. Our son survived Third grade somehow. Due to licensing and various state requirements, I had to give up my teaching career until he retired. So I did the packing and unpacking, found school for son, was a caregiver for my mom who lived with us and full time cook. Located shopping, arranged services, utilities for home in each new town. Dependents can’t get eye or dental care on base so had to find that too. And the cross country drives with two cars. Maine to Illinois in January. That was the move when the moving van caught fire along some freeway and everything we owned burned.

In the midst of that chaotic lifestyle, I had a good friend once ask me what I did all day since I didn’t have a job!!! So I’m a big supporter of all homemakers.

I would never undervalue the work of a homemaker.

My husband had to give up work at the age of 34 - about 5 years after he started dialysing - because the strain on his body was just too great. I became sole breadwinner while he looked after the house. I regularly left for work at 5am and didn't get home until 7pm, and it was always wonderful to come home to a home-cooked meal, to drawers full of fresh laundry, to a clean and tidy home. I've always considered his contribution to our standard of financial/home comfort at least equal to mine.