I still don’t have a new normal, but this was about what I expected. On Thursday, I had some dental surgery that has a pretty long recovery time, so I knew going in that I would have enforced downtime. I am not sure which was worse: not knowing how bad it would be for the first round in August, or knowing and plopping my butt down in that dental chair anyway for this second round.
Adulting is so not fun at times.
There’s a huge difference between having time off and actually feeling rested. The first is a calendar entry. The second takes a little more work. I’ve been thinking about how much I want to make room for enjoyable activities rather than simply completing a list of deferred household chores.
I’m looking for ways to reduce friction in my everyday life. I don’t need an elaborate productivity system or a color-coded schedule that becomes another job; I just want better ways of handling the things that must be done. If FernGully is going to burn, it sure would be nice if it took some of the plates off my pile.
So this week was about easing back into things. A bit of laundry, some kitchen tidying, and generally putting the house back together after the wedding without immediately moving piles back to the foreground. I’m able to use the kids’ old rooms (I am one child away from an empty nest) to stage things as I start to recover, reorganize, and repurpose the house for its next phase: a more flexible household that accommodates adult children, guests, hobbies, and whatever else comes next.
I performed a minor miracle and resurrected my starved sourdough starter; the kids naturally absconded with the first loaves. I also made Scandinavian almond bars as an equivalent exchange for their help with prepping the house for the wedding and reception.
Since my daily household headcount is now much diminished, I am generally aiming for one big, very optional, it-is-an-invitation-not-a-summons meal on the weekend. I ended up making Korean beef for lunch on Saturday and having most of the kids over between their Halloween plans.
Other things I’m playing with:
- Taking watercolor lessons from Claude.
- Starting Mandarin with Duolingo.
- Putting together a sewing room/guest room.
- Tidying my office.
I’m also experimenting with using AI as a sort of external organizational assistant for my personal projects. I can see where it provides structure — fast — without having to keep every plan in my head.
I’m not rushing to establish a new routine immediately. For now, I’m experimenting, making small improvements, and figuring out what I want my days to look like. There’s still plenty to do, but I’m starting to enjoy having the time to decide what actually deserves my attention.
As we say at work, “Baby steps.”
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