Alicia was in China this week and it gave me a chance to spend a lot more time with the boys. The week was exhausting but it was a real delight to have so much time with them. From meals in the garden, to watching the late one evening, to finding ourselves asleep on the floor after a chaotic Saturday. We had fun.
Oscar spent time working on his narrative for a class ‘show and tell’ session. He took in the Pocket Operator KO and had grand plans for how he was going to make a rhythm using sounds recorded in the classroom. I was mighty impressed with how he structured the narrative but during his practice run I might have been a little bit too well behaved and compliant with recording sounds I knew he wanted. When he gave the talk in the classroom, people either wanted to make the same sounds as everyone else, or they refused to stay silent while others were recording. He got two experience two things that have become all to familiar for me; a talk that didn’t go to plan, and live demo falling apart when it worked perfectly during rehearsals.
As exhaustion set in towards the end of the week, I was reminded how much I appreciate a slow (tech free) start to the day. With the two boys waking up before me this week I was finding myself thrown into the daily routine well before I was physically or mentally ready. Jumping into things without having the time to warm up left me bouncing around between tasks never quite sure of what I should be finishing. I shifted my slow start back a little, using the time between dropping off the boys and my first meeting of the day to slow down and give myself space to think. This either involved sitting by the river or a walk to a different coffee shop. The laptop stayed behind and the phone stayed in my bag.
This week was a week of new music. On rotation were:
- Exit Wounds (EP) - Spacey Jane
- I Built You A Tower - Death Cab for Cutie
- you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love - Olivia Rodrigo
I also managed to pick up tickets to The Maine and Death Cab on consecutive nights in September. Really looking forward to both.
I’ve noticed that people have recently started speaking to me in Mandarin by default. I don’t think my Chinese has significantly improved over recent years so I wonder what it is that prompted a shift in default language. It always catches me out and takes me a long time to warm up when it happens. I’m genuinely grateful that people give me the chance to practise and put up with my childishly roundabout ways of explaining things. I’ll admit to a small moment of pride every time it happens.
Plus Minus Next
- ➕ Loved spending so much time with the boys
- ➕ Slow starts with a stroll by the river
- ➕ Getting out of the house for lunch
- ➕ Lots of new music
- ➖ Meal planning fell apart this week
- ➖ AI push seems to be showing signs of desperation
- → Make more use of my standing desk (after tidying the cables)
- → Commit to fewer things
Week in Pictures
success | so close
slow starts - I stood and watched as this man caught his first fish of the season. Moments later there was a second, and third.
timber - the smell of a working timber yard is incredible
waiting - We used to cross the railway daily, Oscar hoping the barriers would be shut, me hoping they wouldn’t.
early sun - I’ve no idea what this flower is called, but the orange gradient is beautiful
delight - Ethan went on an acorn hunt
early morning calls with Mum