Day 54

Damian's school robotics team (Lakeview Academy's Galactic Lions, team 5898) made the cut and is going to the Georgia state tournament (to be held February 18th and 19th).  Their head coach put out an email today with all the details. 

Probably not a surprise, but I have mixed emotions about this. I'm happy the team is going, but (very?) sad that Damian won't be there. One thing that was more painful than I would have expected was the team photo, taken, presumably, sometime this week, that accompanied the email. Of course Damian wasn't in it. How could he be? That hit me in a tender spot. I imagined him being in the photo for a few moments and then had to look away. Too painful. On the bright side, the other kids in the photo all looked happy which was encouraging as Damian was close friends with most of them. Of course, I've also come to learn that an outward smile can often times be deceiving with the inner self being in conflict while the outer self presents a facade of calm or even, possibly, joy. For now, I'm just going to accept it at face value and assume they are all doing reasonably well and are happy to be going to the state tournament. 

I've been steadily working on installing a new microwave (mwv) in our kitchen. The mwv hangs under a wall cabinet over the stove. I got the old one out over the weekend and have made some repairs to the supporting cabinet. The previous unit was very heavy; so heavy that it caused the bottom of the cabinet to sag noticeably. I was able to figure out a way to pull the sag out of it (yeah, me!) and also filled in all the holes from the previous mounting job. Hopefully, when all is said and done, the bottles that we store in this cabinet will be happy to have a level, flat surface upon which to sit. 

I feel like I have most of the installation figured out. The only part that still causes me some trepidation is the duct work for the exhaust fan. I will figure it out but it may take some trial and error before I get it correct. Fortunately, duct material is cheap so even if I do mess it up, it shouldn't cost me much other than time spent. This project has been good for me because it's forcing me to use my brain and do some problem solving. So far, so good. Of course, there is no saying that it all won't turn to shit but, at this point, I'm optimistic for a good end result. 

Work is starting to ramp back up. I guess that's good. I still need to work on my concentration and focus, but they seem to be getting a little better every day. At this point, I have no problem sitting on calls and listening. So passive engagement vs. active engagement. I'll keep at it. What other choice do I have?  

Miss you, kiddo. 

 


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