I am trying hard to adjust my attitude today. 

It’s Friday, and there is no in-person school for my daughter at her high school.

The high school only wants students in person one day a week; the rest of the week is virtual.  Wednesdays are only half-days, giving teachers additional time to create all their presentations necessary to Zoom-based learning these days. 

But the career center offers a class my daughter is very enthused about:  early childhood education.  Unlike the high school (located in the same building but servicing several different schools), the career center would like their students in the classroom four days a week. 

We are developing a rhythm now.  Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays, my daughter wants to physically be at the school complex from 8:30 to 10:00.   Tuesdays, she stays all day.  Wednesdays she’s home… until the end of the day, because rounding out every afternoon is soccer.  There is either practice from 4:30 to 6:30, or else a game. 

Also stuffed into today’s schedule was a visit with our caring veterinarian for treatment of an infection on our yellow Lab—for which I am, of course, immensely grateful.  I also welcomed a disruption from a friend with a little yellow Lab puppy, only thirteen weeks’ old and pure cuteness and energy.

Still, my Friday is disjointed, with snatches of time lacking focus and quality.  I am frustrated and irritable.

But my daughter is over the moon.  Every trip is yet another chance to drive, another opportunity to feel more confident, another moment she can prove to the whole wide world how fast she’s growing up. 

The silver lining is not meant for me today!