Adventures of the Everyday Kind

I do have more trouble when I step away and then try to sum up days at a time here. Each day is an adventure, even when the adventures are of a small kind. Yesterday we went to my mom's and she made homemade pasta with the kids.I played with manual settings on my camera as Ian stood in front of a white wall. One of my favorite smirks :) The lighting was far from perfect. And children move! All of the time, so I felt lucky to capture these two images. A lot of blurry shots ended up deleted. I do feel more powerful, though, as I tinker with settings. I can figure out new tricks.

Though that is my latest challenge. I am creatively burnt. Fried. Spent. All of the above and more. I feel like a long desert. Or a ghost forest, all skeletal trees. That sound good for October.

I did spend a lot of springtime burning creative fires day and night for our big secret project (information soon I hope). And I am bringing lots of creativity to my classroom...

It feels deeper than that though. A well that is more dust than water. This ankle continues to flare up. My big fear that tendons would tighten has completely come true. So each step is an awkward attempt to get my heel touching the ground. And it hurts. Every day. Dull, constant soreness that saps at my strength and hope for better days.

Then, stress builds like storm-clouds at home as my husband has exhausted unemployment benefits and my health insurance went up. Again. Basically, half of my teaching salary goes to paying my health insurance bill. And that doesn't count the kids and husband.

Stress much? Overstressed.

The kids have this week off of school. Me too! Though I brought home bags of paperwork. But it will be Monday still. Sleeping in! Hurrah! But no pumpkin patch trip this year. No visiting family in the Bay Area or Monterey or Tahoe. No adventures except cleaning rooms and maybe a few Halloween crafts if I can muster the energy.

I have found Sundays are challenging for me. Perhaps the crash after a busy week. I will feel more positive tomorrow. After sleeping as long as I possible can sleep in the morning :)

Time to enjoy the little adventures. And recharge. Be inspired. By all these amazing adventures that happen everyday.With good wishes for your adventures, of the big and small kind :)