EDLM December 9, 2021
The alarm goes off and it’s 6:39. I must have hit snooze at 6:30. I don’t remember hearing it. I was up later last night than normal, well past 11:00 after slowly winding down after a Christmas party with girlfriends, a book club of sorts. I look out the bedroom window facing east and the sky is a stunning red. I don’t move. I simply enjoy watching in amazement.
I get up, close the window and turn off the fan blowing cold air into the room. I prefer about 65 however my aging in-laws need 70+. I dress in shorts and t-shirt and go to the bathroom. I feed a hungry cat, pet our garage cat while getting the cat food, wash my hands, take the dog outside after adding a coat and my feet get cold quickly on the concrete porch. I am able to admire the brilliance of the sky during most of this. I consider taking a picture and remind myself to make the phone repair or replacement a priority. It’s not been working properly for nearly a year now. I place a thick blanket on the floor for my knees and do pushups, 75 today but my daily motivation is waning.
I shower and wash my hair, washing just every three or four days now. I tried this at the beginning of covid and it works. I do some hip exercises in the warm shower, and throughout the day. I am using Debbie’s Handmade soap. Ahhhh, peppermint, refreshing. I wear some make-up today with a couple events to attend. More self-care more often.
I tap my phone and it’s 7:57. Hop to it, hop to it. I need to get to work. I quickly dress and pack grapes and leftover wrap slices for breakfast. I fill my water bottle and think 40 ounces is not enough, the air is dry, and I will not refill with city water. I just can’t.
I realize while driving in to the office that I forgot to bring my bottles to get soap refills at Debbie’s. I will need to remember tomorrow. Also, need to pick up bars of soap for my kid that put an order in last night. I’m going to visit soon.
I’m listening to WBST and Putin is being aggressive towards Ukraine, this guy is a real piece of work. Ball hospital’s covid numbers are provided, they are up, not record levels but much closer than three weeks ago. The Omicron variant is not here, yet. This is Delta. The President signed an executive order requiring the federal government to be carbon neutral by 2050, …that’s aggressive. At this point, I’d like them to just play some instrumental Christmas music, or bring in a human-interest story. I take my tumbler into the office for tea, hot flavored city water will work.
My first task is solving an error I found end of day, yesterday. A couple documents have numbers that don’t reconcile so pretty easy to correct. A colleague comes in for work stuff and we eventually talk about covid. To boost or not to boost, or to boost now or boost later? He and his wife are also discussing it.
I’m back to work and out the window I see four young ladies walking down the street bundled with warm clothes on except flat shoes exposing half their feet, no socks, and short pants. Makes me giggle. I’m getting messages via LinkedIn regarding a job opportunity. I will have to reach out later this evening. I woke up too late and have too much work to do it now.
A couple new colleagues show up for introductions and noted it was nice to see my background. We note in video calls that people use all kinds of backgrounds that may not be real. Video calls is part of my daily work life, now.
I walk with colleagues to the convention center for the Indiana Economic Outlook. The last time we did anything like this as a group was two years ago, and probably the same event. It was enjoyable and felt like a piece of my life puzzle was returned to fill in a spot that has been annoyingly empty. Lots of people are socializing, with masks on. I hear plenty of information and data to ponder, as usual. I return to the office and work throughout the afternoon.
I get a text via the family text thread from one kid who says they do not have to ask who sent the camera system. And, the other saying to not let their dad have access to the camera so he can’t just start randomly talking to you. Haha! This happened to me recently. I was down by the shed carrying our cat, one that was new and acclimating. He starts talking to me and we have a conversation through the camera. It’s very convenient.
I leave the office in time for a gathering of old friends and colleagues. I wish I was more comfortable in this setting to stay and enjoy, but I’m not. There are many people, I’m not sure of vaccine status or daily habits, and I cut this short. My husband picks me up for dinner. We sit at the bar and talk to the bartender just like date nights of past. No one is sitting near us. My husband orders a salad, and I order soup, just like date nights of past. We talk about our life. I tear up briefly while letting him know how much I appreciate him providing grandpa services. He responds that he loves his day job. And, he’s getting better reading kid’s books. He’s adding accents and sounds effects. I love it. He has a text discussion about his day with our grandbaby with the kids and we laugh a bit about being out eaten by a baby.
We drive to get my car at work and drive home. There are many houses with Christmas lights spreading cheer. I noticed I missed a call with a friend about joining a non-profit board. My ringer was off and I will connect tomorrow. I settle into bed with another 40 ounces of water and begin my daily journal. It’s like 7:30 pm. I’m hoping to finish the water quickly so I’m not up in the middle of the night but…
A friend returns a missed call from me. We talk about lots but the ending conversation was that her hospital employer is giving bonuses to bed-side nurses for loyalty and commitment based on tenure. She’s a specialized nurse who could be called to help patients throughout the hospital and she doesn’t qualify. What the hell? If she becomes a bed-side nurse she would get a $6 an hour raise. That’s $13k a year. I guess they don’t want to keep their specialized nurses. This is after prior discussions of the several thousands of dollars paid to contract nurses a week but not the nurses committed to the hospital day after day and year after year. Something is not right.
My husband spends some time with his parents and eventually joins me in bed and asks me to look at his rash, a contact rash developed a few days ago. And, right after he begins joking about my diary day writings. He says, “It’s day 1835 of the covid pandemic, we’ve had our 16th shot, and my husband’s rash is healing.” Haha. Our cat is sitting in the window that is open and our dog is on the floor sleeping. My husband turns the light out on me and falls asleep in like two seconds. I take a few last notes with my phone light on, turn on a sleep story, Lofoten Islands, stop the story to go on a bathroom run, of course after all the water, and return to turn on the story and go to sleep. I’m guessing it’s about 10:00.