Held Together With Coffee

Wednesday morning.

And the sinus infection has officially entered the house.

Again.

David missed school Monday.

Missing again today.

Zoey is home sick.

Asher fell asleep at 6 PM last night.

Jacob is holding on by a thread.

Even my wife is feeling rough.

The illness may have kept David out of Monday’s game, but Jacob had a surprise practice.

And honestly?

He did great.

I’ve noticed something about him lately.

If the ball is coming his direction, he refuses to let a grounder get past him.

Doesn’t matter if it’s awkward.

Doesn’t matter if he has to throw himself at it a little.

He’s going after it.

Not sure what tonight looks like for David’s game.

Medicine.

Fluids.

Rest.

Trying to survive the final seven days of school.

Zoey had a rough night too.

Caught with her phone again.

Grounded for the rest of the month.

Teenage angst meeting a tired, grizzled father at the end of a very long day.

Not exactly a winning combination.

But eventually we all came to terms.

Her room will get cleaned today.

When she’s feeling up to it.

School for me is moving full steam ahead.

One class has been light so far.

Actually fun.

The other one?

Research methods.

And it’s rough.

Every week is eight or more things due.

Researching research methods.

Then writing small papers about them.

Every week.

It’s a lot.

I managed to finish the work for my other class yesterday.

This one though?

I’m procrastinating even starting it.

I need to shake that fast.

Work has also been full.

Very full.

But honestly?

Right now it’s also my rock in the chaos.

Meeting after meeting.

Email after email.

Decision after decision.

All while good people are trying to pull things forward and make things better.

Needed work.

Important work.

Still exhausting.

And we’re only just beginning the early summer schedule.

Richmond every Saturday.

Leaving at 7 AM.

Swim lessons this weekend and the next few after that.

All building toward Zoey’s violin recital in June.

Long weeks somehow finding ways to feel even longer.

And somewhere near the end of all this, around June 1st or so, I’ve committed to getting back to streaming.

By then I’ll be deep into this semester.

The kids will be out of school.

Baseball season will officially end, even though baseball itself never really goes away around here.

Workouts increase.

The house starts shifting around for summer.

The chickens may finally make it outside.

Honestly?

I need a nap.

Today I’m going to tackle the research class.

I know I can get it done.

We’ll see what work allows.

I’m watching my calendar slowly disappear under meeting requests while trying to figure out lunch, dinner, medicine schedules, and keeping the house moving while everyone else recovers in the front rooms of the house.

And yes…

I’m sick too.

Just not in a position where I can really stop right now.

There are seasons where life feels balanced, and then there are seasons where everything overlaps at once. Work, sickness, parenting, responsibilities, exhaustion, all stacked together like some kind of endurance test. But sometimes the goal isn’t thriving. Sometimes the goal is simply keeping things moving forward with care, consistency, and enough grace to get everyone through to the next quieter moment.

This is a grounded moment where the engine is running a little rough, but we’re still moving forward anyway.

Much love. Stay safe. Wash your damn hands. I’ll see you Friday.