#25 — Snow Storm

Janie,

Since when has February become such a busy month? I remember when February was the longest month of the year. I always thought it was a little cruel that they tried to gaslight everyone by making it a “short” 28 day month. Maybe it’s just me, but yesterday it was the 1st and today it’s almost half over and unfortunately, I don’t have much to show for it. There’s been a lot of.. obstacles in the way of progress over here.

Even now as I write to you, I’m trying to enjoy this rare opportunity - Silouan is off work due to the the threat of an incoming snow storm and also because his place of employment has banned working remotely. I was mad about it at first, but today I’m a fan because he gets a paid day off. Anyway, he took Sunny to the grocery store so I’ll eventually have a quiet house all to myself once Olga falls asleep. I put her down 45 minutes ago, and after a diaper change, some tears, and loud banging, she’s still wide awake.

I heard the distinct sound of freezing rain knocking on the window and already all the trees and shrubs are encased in a sheet of ice. I called Silouan to check in, he’s still at the store trying to figure out the egg situation. They’re all gone except for the questionable conventional eggs. Also, they’ve starting putting limits on how many you can buy. The egg shortage has begun, apparently. Olga is finally asleep. There may be chaos in the world, but I have this moment to enjoy. A snow storm out my window and leftover cold coffee in my mug from earlier this morning. Ahh. That’s nice.

After having a few moments to sit and think, I realized that I have made some progress in a few areas. Sleep training Olga has been a frustratingly slow process but I have hope that the hardest part is over. Olga was waking up every few hours and took anywhere between 1-3 hours of screaming to fall back asleep. Now, she still wakes somewhat frequently, but goes back down relatively quick. I’m starting to feel human again. I’ve also been increasing the intensity of my workouts and continue to see significant change. And, I’ve started reading again when I’m not too tired. Things are definitely starting to turn around!

Now that some of my more debilitating challenges are coming to an end, I can put more of my efforts towards finalizing plans for our garden and chicken coop (and dreaming about/planning our trip to the the U.P.!)

Quiet time is over. I hope you guys are doing well and staying cozy up there. We need to have a phone call soon!

-Lydia