Day #285: Lunch Date With Max and How do You Find Time to Read So Much?

 I feel like if this blog is doing its job as a record of the pandemic (which it probably isn't,) then I should note for the record that the first vaccines were given in the U.S. today, including at 2 hospitals in Seattle. The first round of vaccines is going entirely to frontline health care workers.

I'm not a healthcare worker myself so I don't have much more to say than that, except that I really hope that as distribution goes forward whoever is making the decisions about how they are prioritized (that has to be a really truly awful job) remembers there are a lot of minimum wage essential workers out there (see grocery baggers, fast food workers, etc.) who don't have a lot of political clout or big unions advocating for them but should FOR SURE be high on that list.

Myself I'm not expecting to become a priority for several more months and that's okay. I hope the distribution goes well and the vaccine gets to people who need it as soon as it can and I'm certainly not a priority.

Also, if I am keeping track of life in this time, I should also note the electoral college met yesterday, it went as expected except security was required in a lot of states (for electors to vote, the world is an awful place.) Today, about 6 weeks late, Mitch McConnell, who is a festering sore of a human, congratulated the President Elect on his victory. I'm hoping this means McConnell will keep his people in line and there will be a minimum number of shenanigans when Congress ratifies the results in January.

I've never worried about a coup...we have a nice system in this country where a person isn't required to "leave" the Presidency, instead the Presidency leaves them, but I am worried about the rabble currently being roused being violent and someone (likely a 20 year old public servant just doing their job) being hurt. I wish I could feel celebratory about the inauguration but really I just want it to be over at this point.

ENOUGH with all that, that's more than enough, I'm really here to tell you that today I got to go on a lunch date with Max. He was so cute. I did what I used to do with James when he was this size but is hard to do with two of them, which is while the car was parked I got him out of his seat and let him sit in the passenger seat with me. He LOVED it. I really miss getting one on one time with him, which he was finally getting big enough this year to enjoy, and I wish I could give him the things James got at that age, like toddler gymnastics, which he would just love.

He'll be old enough for preschool in September but barely. We talked about it a bit last night. If 2020 has taught me ANYTHING it's to not make plans that far out, but assuming preschool will still be an option at that point my instinct is to keep him home another year, let him have some of those toddler experiences. But we shall see what 2021 brings, there's a lot of living to do before we get there.

We went to the library, libraries are amazing. They are offering remote printing now, of a document too big to print at home, that was great. And they pulled an extra book for James for me. Libraries really have been sanity saving.

We also went running. Max and I have started doing that when we can. It has to be in a park, we can't run on the street because there's no way for us to hold hands. But he loves to run and we run the same speed, it turns out. Doesn't speak highly of my fitness levels, but it gets my heart rate up and we get fresh air and have a good time.

Doing lots of end of year reading things...sorting goals and lists and books and whatnot. A question that comes up among my not so book lovery friends a lot is how I have the time to read so much. I hear this a lot from...well...everyone, I was gonna say mom friends, but everyone tells me they don't have time to read. So I thought I'd share here for anyone who's reading and cares how I find the time to read.

Big librarian disclaimer before I do this: reading isn't a competition. If you've read one book in the last five years but you loved it, you get no judgement from me. This is a hobby I love and it's also job related so I make time for it. Not everyone does. I hate gardening. I don't make time for that and I don't have the beautiful yard my neighbor has. It's cool. Not everyone is the same. This is just how I do it, since I get asked this a lot.

1) I read short books. Middle grade books (chapter books written for kids roughly 9-12, think Harry Potter #1) are awesome and I read a ton of them. This is for a few reasons. The main one is I like them. But I've also worked with this age demographic a lot so having a working knowledge of what's awesome and not so great in this area helps me in my job. They're also short, which helps me when my time is short. See also graphic novels and novels in verse.

2) I'm a fast reader. Always have been. Not everyone is and that's cool. Some people dig deep and devour books. I don't get as much out of them because I go through them so fast and often have to reread to jog my memory, which brings me to...

3) Audiobooks. I've had an on/off relationship with them because they don't always work for me...again, retention...but I've learned in 2020 these are GREAT when I want to reread something because I know the basics anyway so I don't get lost if I zone out here and there. If audiobooks work for you, this is a GREAT way to get reading in (and yes, it counts!)

4) I always have a book. I'm not an ebook person (again, no judgement, do what works) so for me it's a physical book, but whenever I get in my car to go anywhere I grab my book. That way if I'm waiting...for coffee, for library books, for a kid who's fallen asleep in the car to wake up...I have a book on me. I also keep a book in the bathroom (or take one in there.) I take a book when I go to put Max down for a nap so if he falls asleep on me I have something to read. When I'm sitting on the chair near the desk area supervising distance learning I have my book with me. I've read while breastfeeding a lot. I do a lot of reading in chunks of a few minutes here and there, which brings me to...

5) I read with distractions. I read while my kids are eating lunch. I read while they read (even Max will look through a book for a few minutes now.) I get interrupted A LOT (again, this is why giant tomes aren't good for me in this phase) and that's okay...I just read when I can. I want my kids to remember me as mom who played with them and then sat on her chair and read while they played. I take books to the playground. My most recent non-library job it drove me nuts when reading in the break room was considered rude. People who work in libraries read in the break room a lot. It's nice. Which brings me to...

6) I try to be early for things. I mean, this was in the days when we went places. I used to love to get to work 10-20 minutes early so I could sit in the library and read. I loved being early to pick my kid up from preschool and I could sit in the church library and read. 

7) It's a priority for me. Sometimes I let things go...fun things, like TV, and sometimes things I should be doing, like straightening my bedroom...to get more reading time. Not always possible, but I do it. I've also taken a lot of apps off my phone...like facebook isn't on there, Twitter isn't on there, so if I have time and I'm just sitting around it's easier to put the phone down and read. 

So yeah, that's me. If that's not you, that's okay. I don't judge people who tell me they don't have time to read or "only read audiobooks." (Again, it counts!) I just feel like I get judged a lot...oh, you must have so much time if you read that much. Not really. I'm a mom of 2 very young children....I'm on call with them pretty much 7-8 every day. I squeeze in reading time because I want to and that's how I do it.

Media consumption: I'm still working on that Jell-O book...I think that was what I was reading when I last wrote. It's alright. It's kind of a mishmash...it's not a recipe book but there are some and they are hilarious, lots of sidebars, that sort of book. It's been enjoyable. I am also still slowly working my way through my Advent devotional and Winter Hours by Mary Oliver. I've also been listening to the All-of-a-Kind family on audio and am about to finish Book 4 (there are 5 total.) I finished all 6 West Wing Christmas episodes and am very much looking for new TV to binge but nothing is grabbing me.

Today I'm grateful for talking to dad (he's doing better!,) dates with Max, the library being wonderful, online bookish friends, hugs from Josh, and reading the Vanderbeekers with James.