miriam beth

 this semester--potentially the longest in my life (remember that last year i ended my year online with a well meaning professor who completely dropped the ball and the year before that i was moving AND getting my diagnosis for hashimotos) is over. my friends, this is a triumph. it did not start well and at one point i was closerthanthis to quitting. 

i finished! and i am living to tell the tale. and the tale is this: i had covid and haven't been able to breathe plus for all of january every single child was home and then halfway through february half of them went back to school in person and in mid april the final children went back to school and suddenly the fact that we are six students, five schools, and three districts became abundantly clear and i pretty much moved into my car and just dropped children off and picked children up and there was nothing to be done about it. perhaps, just perhaps, this year of letting the mother down is over. 

one can only hope. 

in the meantime, the millions of plans i have been concocting as a coping mechanism are in effect....now. starting with a mural being painted on the girls' bedroom wall by my friend cara, and a couple trips to joanns and another to home depot for more paint. i am going to enjoy this summer, i can tell. 

things i learned in physiology: i was older than my teacher. that's a first. it was weird. 

crash course videos from youtube are incredibly helpful. 

the sa node is fascinating. so is the immune system. 

prioritize studying. if nathan is gone with grandma, don't do the dishes or laundry. study instead.  

i can do anything. 

shoutout to rebecca and ryan. this A goes to you because without you i would have literally never, ever, ever been alone. 

(highlight of the semester was when nathan sat on my lap and raised his hand in the zoom and then my teacher called on him saying, "yes, miriam's son." and then nathan requested my teacher juggle AND MY TEACHER JUGGLED and then nathan later described him as "your super awesome teacher who can juggle things.")