One week later…

Monday, June 17, 2019:

It feels like we have been busy, but really we have just been in a post vacation stupor. We fumbled our way through the week trying to establish a new routine. It’s actually harder to create a routine without the structure of a job to plan your activities around. Initially it seemed like a pretty awesome problem to have. We could just stay carefree and loose with it. But there were chores to tackle and we still had so much unpacking to finish. Pesky grown-up responsibilities are a pain in the butt and haunt you until you actually do them. We finally finished them all yesterday – thankfully!

Plus, it’s a little difficult to plan the day out too far in advance because we don’t know how Fred is going to feel at any given moment or what kind of energy he will wake up with. So it is kind of an odd limbo.  We usually wait until after breakfast to plan anything for the day, and even then, we stay flexible.

One activity does come to us quite naturally… Enjoying the evenings sitting on the couch eating ice cream. We have been home just over a week now and we have eaten ice cream most of those days. We had to clean two solid inches of frostbite off the ice cream that we left in the freezer. But it was still pretty tasty at the bottom. The grocery store doesn’t have this flavor currently so we can’t get a fresh batch yet.

Another daily pass time seems to be the 3pm Digestive Biscuit snack. Nadine sent Fred a care package that will keep him set for weeks! Fred’s appetite has slowed a bit and things that he once favored have suddenly become off-limits. But these are holding strong. Pop Tarts on the other hand, have sadly been cut from the go-to list.

We have eaten our share of Tacos this week. They seem to sit well at the moment. El Burrito has replaced Chick-Fil-A for our go-to meal choice.  Honestly, we would still probably eat a ton of Chick-Fil-A. It is just too far away for a quick meal 😦

You just can’t keep the man from cleaning something. It makes him so dang happy. My mom and niece left a trail of glitter behind when they house sat for us. Fred has been eagerly awaiting the day he felt well enough that he could vacuum the house to get rid of the glitter. I thought I cleaned it all up before he could get to it, but he found more. He is much more thorough than I am apparently.

We thought the baby pigeons had finally flown away. Fred was so excited to get out on the patio and clean all the poop. He started with the shop-vac and tackled that nasty corner.  Then he went to move the BBQ. We found that the babies had left the nest but they had moved up under the BBQ apron. That was not going to work for Fred. We re-nested them in a box near the BBQ and finished vacuuming the patio. The Momma and Daddy pigeons seemed totally fine with the new living arrangements and have still been caring for the babies. Fred is counting down the days until he can really finish cleaning the patio. He can’t wait to hose it down properly.

He finally got a haircut. His mom Jacqui mentioned his shaggy hair a few times during the trip. We talked about finding a barber while we were adventuring but we just never made time for it. His head looks so much smaller! He is like a chameleon with his haircuts. Each one makes him look so different.  

Father’s Day started off rough for Fred. He woke up feeling very lethargic and his tummy was unsettled. He likes to use his politician smile and positive catch phrases to fool me into believing he feels good, but I can always tell. When his kids called to wish him Happy Father’s Day and he had the chance to video chat with his grandkids, it was like a magic potion had energized him. Talking with them really turned his day around.

We went out for our first birding trip to the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area today. We saw a ton of snowy egrets, blue herons, and black birds but not much else. It felt great to get back into the birding grove.

We had picked up In & Out burgers, fries, and a chocolate milkshake to share before we drove out to Yolo. We had a little picnic near the water. Fred thought it would be funny to lock me out of the Jeep when we went to leave. He wouldn’t unlock the door until I screamed at the top of my lungs. So I reluctantly screamed. The raw emotion that bellowed out of me surprised us both. It didn’t stop until I totally ran out of air and almost puked. Afterward, we both kind of paused in astonishment.

Apparently, I needed that more than either of us knew. It opened up a great dialogue between us about our personal and collective growth along this journey. The goofy prank turned into quite a tender moment.

I think this was the thing that made it feel like we were really home. It’s funny. It wasn’t grocery shopping, mounds of laundry, or sleeping in or own bed. It was birding.