As I drink my coffee this morning, I figure I’d just do a brain dump because nothing else is percolating to the top as a single post.

I have a couple of friends who have been great lately.  Saying and being there just when it seems I need them.  And both saying and reacting in a way that gets my attention – makes me listen and feel good versus making me continue to second guess myself.  And neither have been blowing smoke up my ass either.  It’s the perfect balance.  During times when I’ve felt incredibly lonely, it’s nice to have a small voice pop up and say the words I need to hear even if they are just in passing.

Work has been weird. Not weird bad or weird good – just weird.  The stress is taking its toll on people.  And as project managers, there really is only so much we can do to get our pieces done.  In my group, there are some of us who know this so don’t kill ourselves over it.  And there are some who believe working 20 hour days is going to some how magically get their teams to get their shit done or get leadership to do what they need to do.  There is what you can control and what you cannot.  And at the end of the day, you gotta know when to walk away.  I’m sure there are some who feel I’m a little too good about that, but hey, I’m 92% complete with 2 weeks to go. I’ll be at 100% on Monday.  Shrug – working 12hr days isn’t going to improve it in any meaningful way.

I do almost feel bad for my FIL.  Each time they have the girls over, he wigs out about something. And I’m sure – knowing my kids – they roll their eyes at him or stand up to him by saying he’s being stupid.  He is constantly correcting their grammer in a way that draws way too much attention to it – and detracts from what they are saying.  We correct it too, but in a more subtle way.  They both are onto his game and make fun of him.  In fact, each time he corrects certain things – they now change the sentence to exclude his issue so they can tell the story.  Yeah, he’s in for it as they get older.

What’s ironic is that, for the first time, this is pissing off G.  As he said the other night, “it’s one thing he raised me to be neurotic, but I will not let him do that to our kids.”

Wow.  This is bigger than some people may realize.

A point to ponder:
When something should have an easy answer that could be quickly given, the fact there is silence instead is, of and in itself, an answer. And not necessarily the one that was meant to be given.

Mom is doing okay.  She is improving in some parts, but having problems in others.  Her allergies have been acting up which causes her to not eat as it steals her appetite.  Her doc is upset because this is not helping her stomach issues.  So, they have her on a bunch of allergy meds to see if they can get it all sorted out for continued recovery.

Indigo is making a totem pole for a school project.  I am the lion on the totem. I’m not sure how I should take it.  Is it because I roar loud? Because I’m tough like a lion?  Yes, I mention the roar first because it seems to be attention getting with her.  She put a lot of thought into the animals she assigned to people.  Should be interesting to see how it progresses.

Monsoon season is upon us here in the PacificNW.  And my raincoat has had it.  The membrane is worn out, so no amount of spray or waterproofing wash is going to fix it.  Use an umbrella, you may suggest.  Not with the gusty winds we have.  So, a raincoat will be what I seek this weekend.  Being wet when I take it off may be entertaining for some, but cold for me.

And on that note, I’m off to work.  The train should be empty – thank goodness.  Let’s hope work is quiet enough I can sneak out early.

Happy Wednesday!