This weekend was a bit of a blur. Bryce has a paper and presentation on the paper due shortly after my surgical procedure on Wednesday, so he was working for most of the weekend and I was trying to take up some slack and get my own work done for this coming week (sub plans, finalize lesson plans, make sure they are sub-friendly...) since I'm only teaching two days thanks to torturous-sounding uterus surgery.
Nestled in there was the adoption agency holiday party. We decided to go for an hour, and this year we actually stuck to it. Our policy is that when Santa comes, we skedaddle...because really, what point is there in us standing at the periphery, watching other people's children receive prizes from a bearded stranger in a weird red suit?
I made gluten free brownies and we saw people that we knew and so felt a TINY bit more comfortable than last year when we were meeting our mentors for the first time. We even introduced ourselves to a couple who seemed awkwardly in the corner as we had been last year, but the overwhelmingness of the party as a new prospective adoptive parent was too much and one person had to excuse herself to cry...thank goodness before we left she found us to say that it wasn't us who upset her (because we were worried our comforting, "we felt this way last year" might have been upsetting because of the implied wait length...whew that we weren't cry-causers).
A bittersweet moment was seeing friends from our neighborhood who we met for the first time last holiday party, not knowing we were neighbors, and they had been homestudy certified for just a couple months. They brought their new son to this party, and we...well, we brought brownies and a better sense of when to call it good and leave than last year.
It's good to go, to meet new people, to spend time with our mentor family, to see what we hope is a peek into our future. But it's also good to take off early, get a little more work done, and then reward ourselves with Five Guys and a rare Sunday night movie at the fancy recliner theater.
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And I'm glad you took time to reward yourself for going to this event. Because though there is good there, it's still hard.
ReplyDeleteMay Bryce's paper and presentation go smoothly and know that I'm thinking of you all this week as you prepare and undergo surgery.
Thank you...in a weird way, even though it should have been harder this year, it was weirdly easier. Because we knew what to expect and knew people, maybe? Because we've surrendered ourselves to waiting way longer than we had anticipated thanks to agency timeframe averages given? Who knows. :)
DeleteI'll pass your thoughts on to Bryce about his paper and presentation, it's a doozy. I hope tomorrow goes okay, I'm more nervous about the dilation than the surgery itself. Nope, that's a lie. I'm equally anxious and nauseous about both. The dilation just sounds so awful. I hope I am swimming in a sea of painkillers tomorrow evening... THanks for your thoughts!
Ah the good and the bad balanced out with Five Guys. I think that's entirely fair. :)
ReplyDeleteFive Guys is the best for a crappy day, or a reward for something hard, or just when you want a salt-fat-bomb dinner. :)
DeleteSounds like it went overall and nice you had several people to chat too there. Leaving before Santa and going for a cinema night sounded just right. I'm wishing you all the best for your surgical procedure, hoping it all goes complication free and that you'll feel fine afterwards. I can see how logically it makes a lot of sense but emotionally it is obviously bringing up lots of difficult feelings. I hope 2017 will be a great year for you and Bryce.
ReplyDeleteIt was good to go, and good to leave when we did. :) Thank you for your wishes for 2017, I wish the same for you!
DeleteSounds like you were able to strike a good balance with the party and then reward yourself with Five Guys and movie later. Good luck with the surgery and Bryce for the paper/presentation. Sending thoughts and hoping all go well.
ReplyDeleteYes, balance was everything on Sunday! Thanks so much for all the good wishes, I hope this week is way better than I suspected it would be.
DeleteAs I'm reading this just after midnight on Wednesday, I'm guessing your surgery is done. Still sending tons of good vibes for a speedy recovery. Kudos to you for making the lemon/party into lemonade!
ReplyDeleteAh, the seaweed part is done. The surgery is midday today, so I am in the thirsty-hungry-anxious part of things, but soon it will all be over!
DeleteA full day. Excellent choice to limited and balance.
ReplyDeleteNote to self: Five Guys sooner rather than too much later. :-)
Yes! Oh, it was so deliciously awful for the body. Not something to do every day, but when used strategically... Five Guys is AMAZING. I'm getting better at setting those limits and seeking balance, a little proud of myself for Sunday!
DeleteI hope your surgical procedure went well today - thinking of you
ReplyDeleteThank you! Update pending... :)
DeleteI'm glad you went and had the experience (who knows what those connections hold for your future, too) but, yeah, staying to the end seems unnecessary. You know when you've had enough, and I'm glad you guys took that time for yourself, too.
ReplyDeleteTrue, true -- so important to have connections, no matter how uncomfortable the experience can be. I guess it takes time to decide when it's okay to jet early and not feel bad about it, but I think we're there! :)
DeleteI've been thinking about you. It's Thursday and hopefully you are recovering well after a successful and easy surgery.
ReplyDeleteI think a a developing sense of when to leave is a really good thing.
I've been AWOL for a while, so I'm off to read about your torturous (I hope not too much) surgery. Hope it has gone well.
ReplyDeleteI also want to applaud you both for leaving when you wanted and needed to leave, and for rewarding yourself.