Friday Is Here

 

Good morning from a frigid and snowy Pennsylvania!  

Winter is not my friend and as much as I can feel that seasonal depression setting in I'm trying my hardest to fight it.  Here we are in day 10 of the new year and it's been a slow transition back to reality after a very restful Christmas break.  The decorations are stored back in its boxes and waiting to go up to the attic and I'm slowly putting the house back together.  The kids are back to school but my son's schedule has been different this week and next because of testing.  Since 11th grade doesn't have to take the state testing 9th and 10th grade does he does not have to go in until 10:45.  It's nice having a few extra hours of quality time with him in the morning.  

I was also proud of this moment on Wednesday evening when we got to watch him perform in the high school's jazz and concert band concert.  The last time we watched him on stage with his trumpet was in sixth grade.  In seventh grade, during all of that Covid commotion, he was told to put a hole in his mask so he could play and the end of the trumpet needed a special mask too.  We all found that to be ridiculous so he dropped out of band and then he developed migraines and spent the rest of middle school in cyber.  Now he's back to in person, still getting occasional headaches, but insists on pushing through them.  The noise of band doesn't seem to bother him.  It was great seeing him back to this.  I took videos and snapped pictures while trying desperately to hold back tears.  

And this cutie went back to dance classes yesterday after a long break.  

Now that the house is quiet - hubby at work, kids at school, dog sleeping soundly on the couch - I guess it's a good time to continue on some housework.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  

My prayers are with those in southern California right now.  I can't imagine how scary it feels to be in the midst of that devastation.  The homes that hold precious possessions and memories, the pets who weren't able to escape and the people who have been trapped - my heart has been heavy over this.  There's nothing else I can say.