Updates

Okay, okay, okay.

For all two or so readers still out there, this is for you. 😂


A recap on things over the past few weeks:


ANXIETY/IRRATIONAL FEARS

Still there, manifesting in ever more creative ways.  For Julia, it tends to manifest as worst-case scenario ailments late at night. 

A few examples:

JULIA: (coming into my bedroom in the middle of the night) Mommy?  I had a dream that there was a dragonfly under my pajamas and it was beating its wings against my chest, and now I'm scared it means I was having a seizure.

Okay, Julia.  I know that having dreams about dragonflies are common indicators of seizures, as are imagined sensations of insect wings beating against one's chest.  But let's just CALM YOUR HORSES here.


OR:

JULIA: (coming into my bedroom in the middle of the night) Mommy?  Now my leg feels weird, so I'm worried I'm having a seizure.

OR:

JULIA: I had a pain in my stomach for a second, and now I'm worried I have appendicitis.


For Madeleine, the anxiety manifests in imaginary toxins all around our house.

MADELEINE: Mommy?  I need to take a shower, but I need to use the upstairs shower.
ME: Why can't you use the downstairs shower while Julia's in the upstairs one?
MADELEINE: Because there's MOLD in it.  It's POISONOUS.

OR

MADELEINE: Now I can't take a shower anywhere.
ME: Yes you can! There's not poisonous mold in the shower!
MADELEINE: Yes there is.
ME: Then shower up here.
MADELEINE: I can't. There's a dead spider in there.
ME: So get it out.
MADELEINE: No, I can't. The shower is POISONED.
ME: Honey, it's not a poisonous spider.
MADELEINE: Yes it is. It's POISONED.


OR

MADELEINE: I need a new water bottle.
ME: You have a million.
MADELEINE: No. I can't use them. They all have carbon monoxide in them.


As you can see, we're being extremely reasonable and not overreacting AT ALL around here.



MUSIC

We continue to enjoy our family music-making.  Here are just a few examples of what we've been up to lately:



and





SWIMMING

Well, the summer swim team is cancelled, and the girls have tried their best to be troopers about it.  I was so impressed with Julia for not having a hysterical melt-down that I complimented her, which led to this late-at-night bedroom interruption incident.

JULIA: (coming into my bedroom) Mommy? I know you said you're so proud of me for not crying about the Sharks team, but I feel like I might have to cry a little.

However, the girls remain resilient in continuing to run longer distances and performing swim dryland workouts from their own bedrooms.  At any given moment of any given day I am used to hearing loud rhythmic thumps coming from either bedroom, as they perform squat jumps, Burpees, or other such exercises.

The most exciting news of all was that one of my co-workers invited the girls to her in-ground pool to do a swim workout, and they were OUT OF THEIR MINDS with happiness.  After a good 45 minutes of swimming laps, Madeleine was thrilled to try out the diving board, and as you can see, she's not afraid to show her true colors even at someone else's house:




SCHOOL

Two weeks to go.  My kids hate remote learning so much.  The dismal news is that it may very well continue in the fall.  But hopefully we can have as carefree a summer as possible whilst staying home and staying all together as we have for the past three months.  Wish us luck over here in the Rowe household!