Just Marching Along...

To recklessly misquote a book (that I've never read), the theme of this week could be summed up as "all quiet on the WestEnders front"...in this case, both literally and metaphorically.

You see, Husband's been away on one of his infrequent business trips, and it wasn't quite time for Derek to come home for Spring Break yet, which left the house occupied by...the two introverts of the family. Yep, it was just Riley and me--both of whom greatly relished the opportunity to spend many quality hours alone in our respective rooms. Sure, we came out and interacted with one another on a regular basis...but in general, there were long periods of blissful silence to be enjoyed. Heck, Riley's even decided that he likes cooking for himself, so he puttered around the kitchen concocting his own meals. Honestly, I don't know why I was even here....oh, right: motherly love and support, blah blah blah. (Eh, I'll have to assume I performed my duties in a satisfactory manner...since the child didn't lodge any complaints!)

And speaking of required tasks, I continued my search for gainful employment--but with a new...wrinkle, if you will. It recently struck me that there's a certain aspect of "figuring out what I want to be when I grow up"  this time around. What I mean is that I'm kind of wanting to branch out and re-purpose my skills...and somewhere along the line I realized that perhaps my same old resume wasn't necessarily telling my story the way it should. Besides, it's been so long since I finished grad school that I haven't had the benefit of on-campus help with these types of things, so I decided it was high time for a professional to take a look at my credentials, and polish them up for me.

So I found an expert located in NC (through the wonders of Google) and contacted her to see how all of this works. When we spoke the first time, I was feeling a little...direction-less, shall we say...about what, exactly, I wanted to do with my life. However, her pointed questions over the course of our conversation--and really, just talking about it out loud with another person--helped to focus and crystallize my objectives a little bit, which felt like an immediate improvement. Then she sent a detailed questionnaire for me to fill out, asking for all sorts of personal and job-related information, requiring deep self-reflection and thoughtful responses. (Of course my first reaction was, "Yay, homework!" Not even kidding, y'all...)

After I sent her my typed answers (complete with appendices and attached supporting documents...never let it be said I shirked on an assignment!), we scheduled another call to sort through all of it together, clarifying, organizing, and fleshing out the data when necessary. And I've gotta admit...this was kind of...fun. Not only because she happens to be someone who's super-easy to talk to, but also because it felt like, I don't know...a career counseling session, in a way? She consulted with me to tease out things like what skills I needed to highlight, what types of positions might be a good fit for my particular strengths and likes, and also, as she put it "what things you're good at, but do NOT want to do in your next job" (which she would then remove or downplay on my CV...which never occurred to me to do...there's just one of the reasons I'm paying her, yeah?)

I actually found the process pretty fascinating. Next she'll draft something for me to review, and we'll chat again to make any revisions I'd like to incorporate...and then hopefully I'll end up with a beautifully wrapped package that describes me in attractive and desirable terms, to submit to potential employers. To be continued...

Then the peaceful week tiptoed to its end, and it was time for me to drive to Charlotte and pick up Derek (whoo hoo!) at his friend's house for his mid-semester mini-vacay. Armed with road snacks and a peppy playlist, I tackled the--fortunately very easy, barring any traffic snafus--145 mile trip, stopping once, but only because once you approach the Queen City, you enter QT territory....and I never miss a chance to pop in and take advantage of their kick-butt food and drink selection. (If I had to characterize it, I'd say "like a next-level Sheetz experience". Does that help? You'll just have to take my word for it...or check it out yourselves!)

Of course, after 2 Derek-free months, it was delightful to catch up on the return trek. With several hours to kill, we covered updates on his classes and the newest crop of amusing friend stories, before settling in to address some of our perennial faves...namely the upcoming baseball season, and the current state of men's college basketball, heading into conference playoffs and the NCAA tournament. (What'd you think I was going to say, "an insightful analysis of global human rights, innovative ideas for saving the environment, and proposals for how to achieve world peace"? Sure, those are awesome and important...but c'mon, know your audience, people...)

On a note related to one of those topics, Derek wanted to be back in Chapel Hill by 6, to be ready for the tipoff of the big rematch between our hometown university and that other school 9 miles up the road. A little context: the animosity between the programs is a HUUUGE deal if you live here, but even ESPN has been known to refer to it as "one of the best rivalries in college sports". And you'll have to trust me when I tell you that the town basically wakes up on game day and starts getting hyped with their morning coffee (or Red Bull, or whatever the kids are drinking these days to get moving). Seriously, even the local police and fire departments get involved...by posting cautionary messages on social media about remembering to "celebrate carefully" in the event of a victory. You can practically feel the air vibrating with anticipation all day long--I swear, it's adorable.

Anyway, it turned out that several of Derek's closest High School buddies were also home for the weekend, so they got the gang together to watch the game, cheer on the Tarheels...and participate in the beloved post-win tradition..."the storming of Franklin Street". According to reports delivered by an exceedingly sleepy teenager the next morning, this was followed by meeting some other pals for a fast food infusion, before returning to our house with the core group to play FIFA19 at like midnight. (Yep, seems right on target for the college crowd--I, on the other hand, was in bed and trusted them to behave in the absence of parental supervision...which luckily they did not give me cause to regret...they're good boys...)

As it turned out, though, the night owl had company, dragging in the a.m., thanks to the blasted switch to Daylight Savings Time. I've never understood how a mere 60 minute-shift can mess me up so much, but Riley felt the same way, so at least I know I'm not the only one who gets their circadian rhythms in a twist....or what have you. But we had Stuff to Do, so we mustered what energy we could, and plowed on with our day...including such scintillating tasks as "attend church" (and try not to yawn more than absolutely necessary), "obtain haircuts" (for the shaggy Male Duo), "purchase items at Lowe's" (for Riley's latest engineering class project, which involves the design and construction of a model roller coaster, and which has quickly become the most expensive school assignment in the history of Team WestEnders....yaaayyy? More like "oy"...)

And finally, there was the...um...highlight?...of the day: a grocery store visit with the 2 adolescents-- before which I foolishly remarked, "I have a short list, but feel free to add to the cart, if you see or think of something you want!" Oh. Good. Grief. You'd think I was new at this, or something--what the HECK was I thinking? Well, let me clarify...Riley picked up only a bag of microwaveable potatoes, a staple that he requests once in a while, to change up his usual school lunch.

Meanwhile he and I had wandered through several aisles when we noticed that Derek seemed to be... missing. A few seconds later he sprinted up behind us, brushing crumbs off his face, and the rest of a cookie in his hand (you know, the complimentary ones, that they leave out for parents to give to their small children, to distract them and/or make them more cooperative during the boring shopping? Or, say, a 6-foot dude who's starving and can't pass up free grub. Siiighhhhh...). He then gleefully admitted that in a quick sweep of the produce section, he'd also managed to score samples of cheese, pineapple, bread with hummus, and chocolate cake. I rolled my eyes at him...but I did make him show me where to find the bite-size desserts...because life's too short to pass up bonus cake, I always say. (New. Life. Motto...)

Thus fortified, he then proceeded to interrupt my purposeful foraging by holding up random items and asking if he could have them. "Can I get (2-pound bag of) jerky?" (Hard pass.) "How about strawberry/rhubarb yogurt?" (I caused him mild concern, I think, when I made a show of considering this one for a minute. He quickly backpedaled and assured me that he was only joking. Ha! Remarkably, that was the last ridiculous thing he pretended to want. Mom Win...)

That concluded our chores for the weekend, and we were able to more or less take it easy for the rest of Sunday--and attempt to recover from the Lost Hour Hangover we were all suffering. Hopefully everyone will rebound for tomorrow...Husband has returned from England and will settle back into his typical work schedule, Riley will kick off a normal school week...leaving Derek and me to choose our own Monday adventure. What could possibly go wrong? Mwah hah hah!