The Pulse: The Final Countdown
- May 17
- 3 min read
Well, I made it through last week, mostly unscathed. I can say I probably wasn't the most cheery, nearly-turned-40-year-old. I think it was the expectations I had in my head, and what I thought I had worked through with my therapist, not necessarily aligning with reality. Live and learn, I guess.
However, when I was loved on, it was to the full extent, it made my heart full. I felt seen and cared for, and it’s all about balance. I even had some helpers assist with gathering and enjoying the rest of my birthday treats—that was definitely some good quality time. They were treated to a free cheeseburger and corndog, shared a scoop of ice cream and we continued with some ice cream and a bundlet after dinner. However, the pH tinting lip balm was all mine ;)
The week was definitely top-heavy with group training and spin, a spring chorus concert, and back-to-back baseball games. My client load was lighter than normal, which was a double-edged sword. There was nothing to really distract me, but it also allowed some much-needed downtime to rest an irritated shoulder and a constant, base-of-the-skull headache. The landing of the week was lighter with the boys' end-of-year parties, another set of back-to-back baseball games, an end-of-season baseball celebration, and a One Knox soccer game.
The 5-Summer Tug
One more week... the final days of the 2025–2026 school year are here. It’s absolutely insane that another year of school is done and we're working on summers 13 and 8. They seem overwhelming as they approach but fly by, and the ache of thinking I only have five more summers left with my oldest tugs just a bit.
That said, summer is a little more structured this go-around, but we'll still have some fun outings and vacations. I do like to sprinkle in some education and try to make it fun by finding programs that award prizes. My free time this past week allowed me to find a handful of reading programs and download several free math worksheets, writing prompts, critical thinking assignments, and life tasks for them to work on to earn their screen time. I'll get to putting those up shortly. I want to make reading fun and build a love for it that they'll have forever—hopefully, their packets help with this.
The Birthweek "Wing-It" Menu
Meal-plan-wise, I shifted from the plan and winged it a bit based on what I was craving. I mean, it was my birthweek. One dinner shift was to mac and cheese with creamy shrimp and roasted broccoli.
Sam's Prep: A faux Hawaiian bowl of fried spam, black beans, roasted plantains, rice, and a sriracha mayo sauce (I'll add fried eggs to top that off). I'll still be snack-boxing it with some shaved ham, string cheese, wasabi peas, tomatoes, and whatever flavored nuts I have on hand. I also grabbed some strawberries to toss with Greek yogurt and my protein granola.
The Sweet Side: I managed to make a batch of our favorite sticky buns, straight from America's Test Kitchen, and we enjoyed those this morning. I still love their bloopers reel...its me every time I make them. So...freaking...good.
The Boys' Lunches: The boys have been enjoying homemade uncrustables. We've been making traditional combos: chocolate PB and fluff, PB and fluff, and PB and honey. Throw in some peppers and blueberries or apples, and lunches have been easy. They'll get one more school lunch as they start out the week, and then it seems the cafeteria has the same idea as me on Sundays and is clearly out of stock!
The Boys' Dinners: Meals this week for the kiddos will consist of cheesy tortellini and meatballs in a marinara sauce, or bang-bang shrimp tacos.
Looking Ahead: R&R and the Road Trip
This week, the littles are staying with my parents for an evening, and I get some solo time with my oldest for a night of his choice.
We're rolling into Memorial Day weekend with a little more time for R&R, a MEDIC platelet donation, maybe a boat ride, and a relaxed day of clients. I'll also be planning for a road trip with the boys to see Gigi, so I'll be prepping for that. I'm going to try to capture what we do for entertainment on the road, as well as a new envelope system that I hope works well enough for us to repeat later in the summer.
So, here's to the last week of the school year and prepping for the start of summer. But before we look forward, I'll look back to the '80s for my spin ride tomorrow night—playlist below!
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