Sticking to the Plan

This post is in no way about sticking to the plan. In fact, this post wasn't supposed to be this post at all, it was supposed to be about my new hobby of X-Wing miniatures and how totally awesome it is.

Then, I got an email from school about Raptor-Son having pinkeye, and yesterday's plans changed.

I got the email about 11:30, a simple notification that he had pinkeye, and needed to be picked up. I guess they can't risk him infecting other kids, but it still makes it complicated to pick him up in the middle of the day. Naturally, I had agreed to watch a class for my department chair in the afternoon, so I now had to find coverage for two of my classes and one of his.

Fortunately, I work at a great school with a very flexible and understanding principal. I got our Latin teacher to cover all three classes, and was on the phone with the pediatrician before I got out the door. They had an opening in about two hours, which I took, and then went down and got the little man from school.

His eye was pretty gross, so I guess their diagnosis was correct. He was just eating (cheese pizza) when I got there, and he finished and got cleaned up. He fell asleep on the way home, so I got him in as gently as I could and let him nap on me for the two hours before his appointment.  He's been staying awake all morning lately, so he's really tired in the early afternoon, and I actually had to wake him up to go to the doctor. His eyes were all gross again, so at least I felt justified in taking a half day.

The doctor confirmed the pinkeye, and we went home for another nap and some eye drops. It's just strange how quickly an entire day's plans can be upended, fortunately for something relatively low key this time.

Christmas Time Was Here

Ooohh, man. Christmas.

The Wee Man is the first grandbaby on either side, which meant that gifts aplenty were coming in. He'd also been sick for a week with congestion, which meant he hadn't been sleeping well either.

We pretty much stuck to the Christmas script that we usually use, with a little Christmas at home in the early morning, then going over to my parent's, then the in-laws. Christmas Eve we usually spent at Midnight Mass with my parents, but that was obviously out this year. Instead, we went at 3:30 in downtown Cincinnati, where the Little Guy was super interested in seeing every single thing and every single person. It was also unseasonably warm, in the low 60's, meaning it didn't really feel like Christmas. After dinner at Bob Evan's, we headed home to wait for Santa Claus.

Our policy for Christmas is I think going to be fairly restrained. Some of our friends do a thing with four gifts: something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read. This effectively limits the flood of consumerism, while encouraging kids to think about needs vs wants, and avoids giant piles of plastic. At least until we get to the grandparents' anyway. For this year, we got him a crib monitor (need,) a rainbow teething necklace (want,) some little fuzzy boots that are hard for him to rip off (wear,) and The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear (read). Mostly, he was interested in the wrapping paper, and crawling around under the tree.

It was a great first Christmas, although I think next year will be even more fun when he'll understand a little bit more what's going on.

Be It Resolved

So I'll have a bigger Christmas post up later, but I wanted to start out 2016 with a declaration of resolutions. They aren't anything fancy, but a set of (I hope) realistic goals to accomplish for 2016. Honestly, they're probably things I should be doing already, but making a spreadsheet might help me keep better track of myself.

1. Read one book per week

This is probably the one I'm most excited about it. Since Raptor-Son's arrival, I haven't been reading as much I as used to, which was still less than I'd like to. I read several books throughout 2015, and I usually have at least one book that I'm working on, but I really want to make a concerted effort to read more this year. Last year's highlight was Neurotribes by Steve Silberman, which was a fascinating exploration of the history and cultural role of autism, a topic I knew next to nothing about. I want to read more this year. 

2. Write one post per week

Again, this is something I should be doing anyway. I have no desire to become a professional blogger or anything, but I've enjoyed writing here over the last nine months. I want to do it more, and become better at it. I'm working on finding a voice, and hopefully becoming a clearer writer. One of the things that bothers me is that I think my writing has devolved since I've been a teacher, and I've heard this before. The more bad writing you tend to read, the worse your own writing becomes.  With any luck, purposefully setting aside the time to write more will result in more readable posts. 

3. Exercise three to five times per week 

Classic, I know, and I'm usually pretty good about running. I fell off through the autumn as I got sick, and Raptor-Son got sick, and holiday events popped up, but now I'm back on the wagon. Or off the wagon. Whichever one means you're doing the thing. In four months, I'll run the Cincinnati Flying Pig Half-Marathon, so I need to get back into training for that. It's a race I've run three times so far, and I was signed up for it last year. With the arrival of the Wee Man, I didn't have time to train, and so I downgraded to the 10k. It went fine, but when I went to get my packet, I really regretted not training for the Half. This year, no regrets. 

Anyway, this is going to be my 2016, I hope. 2015 was pretty rockin', so this next year has a lot to live up to. It's my favorite kind of year (presidential election,) and the Little Guy is getting bigger and even more fun to play with, so I'm optimistic. Good luck with your own resolutions, and have a great year!