~Transitions~

My last post mentioned the importance of perseverance, and how I was trying to persevere in my job hunt despite the rejections and/or other obstacles I was facing. And surprise! Persevering worked. I got a job. And not just any job…a *good* job that feels like a genuinely *good* fit, albeit <2 weeks in.

The timing couldn’t have been better. I interviewed in late July, got an offer in early August, and was able to plan my start date for the same week that Ashwin started daycare. Literally zero weird in-between period where he was gone and I had nothing to do. The job is highly interesting and the people I’m working with have been lovely and welcoming. It feels right, it actually feels really right and I’m so thankful.

Daycare…is another beast. I mean, I do still think it’s good for him, but the transition has obviously not been smooth, nor did I expect it to be considering he’s spent his entire life in the care of either his parents or his grandparents. Daycare is a really foreign new thing, and even though it’s a fantastic facility with sweet and skilled teachers whom I trust, it’s been hard on all of us. We’re talking full-on dropoff meltdowns with his teachers having to pry him off my body. I don’t recommend starting your workday that way. BUT, when we picked him up yesterday afternoon, he WASN’T CRYING for the first time and seeing a smile on his face just…warmed me all over. I’m hoping we’re past the worst of it, but because he only goes two days a week, it’s anyone’s guess how he’ll react next week when it’s time to go again.

Kids, man. Who knew we’d be like this.

***

In other news, I continue my never-ending quest to make mom friends. I may have embarrassed myself a bit doing so a couple weeks ago. Ashwin and I were out walking the neighborhood, as we did pretty much every day, and happened upon a neighbor family hanging out on their lawn. We chatted, and it turned out that the couple had a little boy almost exactly Ashwin’s age. They sort of played alongside each other like toddlers do for awhile, and I chatted some more with the boy’s mom while her husband did yard work. She seemed about my age, maybe a little younger, and frankly those two factors – child close to Ashwin’s age, mom close-ish to my age – are all the compatibility I need to get started on trying to make a friend these days. As we talked, I think I probably came across a little desperate. I shared some things that most people probably would not share until they’d hung out with someone more than once. I was acting, let’s just say it, pretty thirsty.

The whole interaction was probably less than 30 minutes. I’m trying not to shame myself about it too much, because I don’t think anything I said was *too* terribly cringe and also because…this is kind of the best way I know how to make friends. And it works with some people, but not others. Vulnerability is not the only way to get to know people, but it has in my experience proved itself to be the fastest. But if I could do this particular interaction over again, I’d probably button myself up a little more and act like I’d spoken to another adult woman before.

***

What I’m Reading

I finished Dirtbag, Massachusetts which was okay but honestly over-hyped. I blame the Buzzfeed Industrial Complex.

What I’m Watching

Reservation Dogs. Every episode is so different, even though you’re following all the same characters in mostly the same setting. Also MasterChef: Back To Win because MasterChef is something V and I have watched together for years and years and we both really love Gordon Ramsay. Tonight, of course, brings the NFL back into our lives and we’re both in two different fantasy leagues, so that’s about to take over our Sundays.

What I’m Listening To

Until yesterday, a hell of a lot more FM radio than I’d like, because I was having major cell phone issues for a few weeks and couldn’t listen to my own music or podcasts in the car. I learned that the “oldies” station in our area now plays the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, which means there’s plenty of song material from *my* childhood and not *my parents’* childhood as I am used to hearing from that station. The passage of time, ah, et cetera. In actuality most of what they played was ’80s, and they were really overplaying “Walk Like An Egyptian”.

What I’m Looking Forward To

…Do I even need to say it?

So to that end I’ve been trying to “decorate the house for fall” which I put in quotes only because it’s not something I’ve ever really done before and I have no idea what I’m doing other than trying *desperately*…**DESPERATELY**…to avoid this genre of aesthetics and decor: