I'm still making my way through Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham. I got bogged down in the early chapters discussing exactly how nuclear power generation works and how the design of the RBMK reactor was a recipe for disaster. It was all good stuff, just very detailed. They were the kind of details I had to read several times because my brain has been mush at the end of the day. Now, it seems like we're moving more into the narrative of what happened. It's all very tense - even for something that happened three decades ago. Books shared here are affiliate links for Bookshop.org.
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Greetings from Pittsburgh, PA! I'm in town for the ACRL Conference and had quite the delightful road trip up here. A colleague and I shared a car and proceeded to chat the entire way. It was a mix of work, personal life, and general discussion. I love working with great people. Here's where I'm at:
The links are paltry this week. That's because I unexpectedly ended up with another week of solo parenting AND daycare was closed at the end of the week. The Husband was away for business the first week of March. At that event, he ended up being the first of us to get COVID. We knew we couldn't make it much longer without one of us getting it. Luckily, he knew he was exposed and tested before he came home. He went directly to a hotel to isolate so that kiddo and I would not be in contact with him. While solo parenting is hard, I found that this time has shown me just how much I am capable of doing alone. (It helped that kiddo was on her best behavior most days.) I was able to do all the parenting, keep the house (somewhat) in order, run a few errands, get work done, and prepare for my weekend away. I'm tired but I'm also incredibly proud of myself. I thought this much time doing it all would leave me exhausted, frustrated, and, honestly, angry. Instead, I'm feeling pretty good. I know I can get through something like this again. I kept telling myself, "Just make it to Friday." Hubby and I were supposed to go away together for our friend ski trip. Instead of going together, I am here alone. It's nice to have this break, but it's not the same. This is the longest my husband and I have been apart in over a decade. We've been together for 16 years. In that time, I think the longest we've been apart is five days. This time, it's been 13 with one more night to go. I don't like it. There was one night I just burrowed into a blanket on the couch, put on a rom com, and moped. Admittedly, after learning of his positive test, I cried. Not because of the parenting to come but because I was so damn lonely. I'm an introvert. I like my alone time, but this was too much. Thank goodness for FaceTime and texting. That helped make the isolation feel less of a burden. But hubby better be prepared. Tomorrow, I am going to tackle hug him and not go for a while.
Currently, I am sitting in a big comfy chair, by a fire, watching some friends play the weirdest video game I've ever seen. I'm only able to do this because my husband, family, and friends handled my not so elegant melt down this morning after 10 days of solo parenting and abrupt, unexpected plan changes. You know you have a good support system when so many people rush to help (some from several states away). Thank you! Here are the other things that helped me get through the week:
I'm doing a little dance in my cubicle and item number one will tell you why. Keeping this intro short today because my brain is 100% zapped. Here's what I've been working on.
I was solo parenting for most of the week. All things considered, even with a 1:30AM wake up one night, it was a pretty good week. Kiddo was happy and cooperative. We had a lot of fun riding the metro too and from school, she helped me make dinner, and we both watched a little more Daniel Tiger than normal. Kids' shows like Daniel Tiger seep into your brain. DT, as it's referred to in our household, is more ear wormy than most. It's designed to be. Daniel and his community sing short songs to help them remember (and teach) lessons. Our kiddo has taken to repeating some of these. While her dad was gone this week, she sang several renditions of "Grown ups come back." When she visits the potty, she sings the song about flushing and washing your hands. At meals, we encourage her to eat by repeating the "try new foods" song. These ditties are useful for her and us. They are a friendly way to communicate skills we want her to adapt. Plus, they engage her in various processes making them more fun. But there is peril here as well. This week, a neighbor held the door open for me, I looked her dead in the eye and sang, "Thank you, for everything you do." Kiddo wasn't even with me. I turned beet red but she just chortled. I can only hope she's a parent too. Otherwise, we need to move.
After almost a week of solo parenting, I expected to be more tired. The kiddo even had a 1:30AM wake up this week! Somehow, I'm doing okay. My brain is all scattershot but it could have been worse. I'll take it! Here's what else was good this week:
Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster Adam Higginbotham I started reading this one at 2:00AM last night. Kiddo had a middle of the night accident and I was finding it difficult to get back to sleep. I thought a dense non-fiction might help me nod off. This is not a dense non-fiction. It reads like a thriller. It's not dull or boring in the least. In fact, you can see exactly why the producers of the miniseries Chernobyl used this as one of their main resources. Higginbotham opens with a look at the entire Soviet system and how it contributed to the disaster. Utterly fascinating! I can't wait to keep reading this one. Since I last posted, I also started and finished Wonton Terror by Vivien Chien. The murderer was not who I thought it would be. But the actual murderer made far more sense. I'm now debating if I want to binge read the rest of this series in a few months, or pace the books to savor the series. *Books shared here are affiliate links for Bookshop.org. Each month, I submit a monthly report to our library director. When the alert to get to work on February's went off, I refused to believe it. How in the heck is it the third month of the year already? It feels like time is flying by extra fast this semester. I'm positing that it's because none of my big projects have hard deadlines. They are all just long term projects I'm working on and no one is telling me it has to be done by X date. That just makes the weeks slip by more quickly. Here's what I've been focusing on:
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