Rob #9 - Don't Stop Believin'

[Rob1231]

Update time! Just a few things goin' on in RobLand lately....

Ceramics class is fun, although I haven't really gotten the hang of the wheel yet. Most of my efforts end up getting wobbly and eventually collapsing under their own weight. Well, that's OK, challenges are good for the soul.

W is having a really rough time at work lately, feeling very stressed and under-appreciated. Naturally I am being supportive, offering suggestions (but not "fixing" ), and trying to keep some fun diversions lined up for us.

I'll give you one guess what aspect of our R is the first thing to go when W gets all stressed out.... Well, the lesson for me is to not take it personally, that's where I would have blown it in the pre-DB days. So, not a huge deal - just practicing my PMA, along with remembering the ol' mantra "Time and Patience".

Home ownership is adding a little stress ATM too. Don't think I have mentioned this before - our house, which we had custom-built 12 years ago, has to have all of the siding replaced. The stuff they used back then is called oriented strand board - think planks made of fancy particle board - which it turns out is utter cr@p. Hundreds of thousands of houses around the country are now faced with this junk rotting to pieces - there are places I can poke my finger right through it. We got a "token" settlement from the manufacturer, but it only paid for a small fraction of the replacement cost. It's always something!

D16 is gearing up for her Junior year of HS. She's already got piles of summer reading to do ("classics" like Wuthering Heights and Tess of the D'Urbervilles - ick!) And of course she's already falling behind and we're having to get after her about it. Gonna be a fun year!