Back to misc. posts!

Hi! I’m done with the London posts (minus maybe one other I have floating around, but that’s more of a “general thoughts/ observations about London” type of post), so I’m excited to be back in real time voice now.

Re-entry

Re-entry all went fine. The kids seemed to bounce right back. Literally the next 2 days after our 1 a.m. arrival + time zone changes, Asher worked two 4 hour lifeguard shifts and then went to the gym with friends. (i.e. he was so busy all weekend he never even unpacked). Meanwhile, I did unpack and we did all the grown up things like get groceries, etc., but I definitely felt tired! My sleep has still kind of been wonky all week, honestly (waking up super early (3:30-4:00) many days, which then means I’m zonked at like 7:30 p.m…). I have no idea how Coco does it with constantly flying across 12+ hour time zone changes! No thank you… that sounds so unappealing to me! 😩

My back:

You may recall I was really worried about how my chronic lower back issues would hold up on the trip. I’m happy to report: overall, I had very minimal pain, despite a lot of standing!!!

The first day at the Tower of London it was really bugging me, but then it’s like the rest of the trip it just sort of… disappeared. I felt it a little here and there, but way less than usual. It really didn’t impact the trip!! 🎉

This was great, obviously, but also is kind of a head scratcher. WHY did it not hurt?? (thinking about this, suspiciously…)

Was it because:

a) I started taking Meloxicam (a prescription anti-inflammatory) before the trip?

b) I was not sitting at a desk all day? (my back does not normally hurt when I sit, it’s when I stand, but does all the prolonged sitting then somehow cause pain when I’m standing?)

c) I was not strength training…. ? (i.e. does my weight lifting exacerbate my back problems..?)

d) I was sleeping on a different, firmer-than-usual mattress?

I really don’t know. Most likely, a combination of the above. I do fear that exercise “irritates” my back (not even just strength training- I have noticed increased pain even after some cardio dance or kickboxing videos involving twisting, and after yoga videos sometimes). But I don’t think that it always bothers it, either… it’s very confusing. Typically my back feels fine during exercise, but I will start to feel it in the day or so after…but then it’s very hard to identify which exercise, if any, may have caused it. Ugh.

Anyway, I don’t know. I realize I probably need to try and isolate a variable. I mean, I’m basically going back to my regular life now, which includes exercise AND sitting many hours at a desk AND sleeping on my usual mattress.

I’m still taking the meloxicam, so if somehow that’s just a miracle drug for me, well, I guess time will tell. (Also complicated, because I don’t think you’re supposed to take meloxicam like, forever. So… if it turns out it does almost completely relieve my pain, then what?)

I am not 100% optimistic about the exercise piece, because I worked out last night and I feel like I am “noticing” my back a little already this morning… 😑 (As part of my PT therapy they reviewed my exercise form and had no concerns at all, so I don’t believe I’m “doing anything wrong”).

Kids

In other news, spring stuff resumed right away on Monday.

Ethan, after having the whole winter off from a school sport, jumped right into tennis try-outs. He was lifting weights after school a couple days a week all winter, but I’m glad he’s back to a more structured sport now! He’s so enthusiastic about tennis and it sounds like try-outs are going well and he’s enjoying being back with his “tennis friends”.

Asher also started up with the spring session of club swim. This is his first time all year now not being involved in a school sport. I realized yesterday, as I drove him to 5:00 p.m. swim practice, that I got really spoiled with him being able to just stay after school for practice during high school volleyball and swim seasons!! All we had to do was pick him up after, somewhere in the ~6-7 p.m. range, and honestly Ivan did that pick up probably 65-75% of the time.

For the first time in like 10 years, I did minimal extracurricular driving this fall + winter. But now Asher’s practices are at 5 p.m. 3 days a week, which will be all on me for getting him there. (Practices 6:30- 8 the other 2 days.) I normally work until at least 5 p.m., sometimes a little later, so it will be an adjustment.

Soon Ethan’s after school tennis matches will start up, so we’ll throw that in the mix as well. Both boys have AP tests to start getting ready for in May, Asher has a school awards ceremony next week already, the club swim awards banquet is Sunday, and I just heard about a weeknight evening “preparing for college” night presentation at Ethan’s school we should go to. Hard to believe we’re already ramping up for the end of the school year….. ?!

Ethan is also currently on the hunt for a different summer job. (He has put in several applications but never seems to hear back! He’s a 4.0 student with already over 2.5 years of consistent customer service work experience, which has to be more than most kids his age! What more can they want from a teen employee?!?)

At least we have one child who is decidedly the laziest and didn’t join a single extracurricular activity this year and has no events (besides a much needed haircut!) on the calendar:

Daily Gratitude:

I am grateful for a fairly low key workweek to return to. Moderately busy but nothing too crazy, for which I’m grateful.