Very happy to report that it stopped raining Monday afternoon and the flood waters mostly receded overnight so we could all return to work and school on Tuesday.
Monday was basically a screen free-for-all for the kids. I did some work but was still quite distracted. By maybe 3 or 4 it finally stopped raining. It had rained heavily for basically 24 hours straight, and we got at least 350 mm. Al and E were able to get out of the driveway by about 5 in fhe afternoon and did a much appreciated supermarket shop.
At about 6 I said to Al “I’m done.” I don’t often declare this but when I do, he knows not to expect much from me for the evening. He cooked us a delicious spaghetti bolognaise and sticky date pudding for dessert, what a legend. I meanwhile sipped on a glass of wine, watching American late night show monologues on YouTube. O was playing a colouring app on the tablet and I’d intermittently admire his work which was the extent of parenting I was up for. A was on my laptop getting Google’s AI Gemini to create illustrations for her because that’s her new obsession. Pretty funny listening to her voice to text instructions. “That’s good Gemini, but can you put babies in the picture?”
Yesterday the sun came out! School was back and the office was open. While it’s been wonderful to have things back to normal (and my heart goes out to those who still don’t have power and/or have a big clean up ahead- some colleagues and students are facing this), I am not feeling myself- more restless, tired, overwhelmed than usual. At 3 am when I couldn’t sleep, I realised it was an entire week of disruption and during that time the following happened (or didn’t happen):
used too much social media (to keep up to date with local cyclone related news) - initially helpful, now I’m back in the habit of checking incessantly and it makes me feel ick
Very little exercise
No reading, meditation or other nourishing activity
Task list and email inbox out of control
House got very messy
My parents were still away (they get home Thursday)!
So my plan of attack is to stay off my phone as much as possible for a few days including social media. Go to the gym tomorrow or Friday and long walks. Start to read a good book. -selected “Any Ordinary Day” by Leigh Sales (well known Australian journalist)- I read some of it a few years ago but never finished it. Now’s the time.
spend a couple of hours this morning collating and organising my tasks and clearing out my email. See my parents this weekend (hooray!) and tidy the house (hopefully when the kids are having a play date with Nana and Papa).
Wish me luck! Hope everyone’s week is going well.
I completely understand why you feel the way you do. When you’re thrown off your usual routines, it can weigh a person down! Especially when you’re limited in what you can do with the kids! Being trapped at home is not good for anyone. I’m glad you can return to some sense of normalcy and can hopefully refill your cup. I had a long couple of days of work, travel, and this afternoon I told my colleague that my battery was too low, so I laid down for a little bit in the afternoon, which really helped!