Monday I handed in my resignation letter to my job. After all the emotional upheaval of that, I basically collapsed into a pool of good for a while.

Thankfully, we had a normal week: Benji with grandparents on Monday, at school half-days Tuesday through Thursday, and speech therapy/play day on Friday, with me working during those times. We even managed to ride our bike to school every day this week, even though we fought blustery winds on Wednesday (and let me say, cargo bikes + wind = exciting biking) and we had to bundle up very warmly on Thursday. Ian found ice on the car windshield Thursday morning, but fortunately the ground remained just wet. And, despite skepticism from other preschool moms, I used the cargo bike to transport a good-sized paper bag home.

Mom and Dad arrived back from their two-week trip to Italy, and we fed them “butternut” squash soup. Yes, the scare quotes intentional, because I actually made Sunshine Kabocha squash soup, which is similar but if anything a good bit sweeter than butternut. We helped my parents stay awake for a few hours in the evening, and Benji was delighted to see them.

Yesterday, we unpacked our Christmas decorations, and Benji helped me put out our nativity set. He also has embraced our advent calendar with great enthusiasm, since it has a chocolate for each day. This morning, Benji got up and I said, “Did you sleep well?” He said: “Yum.” Me: “Yum?” Benji: “Yum! Yum! Yummy yum yum!” –and he ran right to our advent calendar. How had I forgotten that for advent we’re starting each day with chocolate??

Overall, after a very long, very emotionally exhausting Thanksgiving week, this week of normalcy has proven a blessing and a balm. Benji acts much more pleasant when he’s not around us 24/7, and Ian and I parent more patiently when we have breaks. Clearly we’re not cut out for homeschooling. I am just appreciating this time we have and not worrying about what’s coming next — which is, I imagine, the best way to live anyway.