Today has been one of those days where focusing feels almost impossible. I’ve been sitting here reading my cybersecurity book, but the information just isn’t sticking. Normally I can push through and retain what I’m reading, but today my mind keeps wandering. I think a big part of it is that I’m so excited about our upcoming trip. Instead of studying, all I want to do is start organizing and packing. There’s something satisfying about getting everything ready ahead of time, and my brain keeps telling me that packing is a much more appealing task than reading about cybersecurity.

I did at least accomplish one thing this morning. I filled all of Tommy’s medicine pill boxes for the next three weeks, so that’s one less thing I have to worry about before we leave. I also packed a travel-sized pill organizer for myself, which will make taking my medication while we’re away much easier. It feels good knowing that part is completely taken care of. Now I just need to convince myself to focus on studying instead of making packing lists in my head.

The internet has been acting up all day. So far this morning it has gone out three separate times before coming back online. Since I’ve mostly been reading, it hasn’t affected me too much, but it’s still incredibly frustrating. I usually spend part of the day texting Tommy, and when the internet drops, our messages either won’t send or arrive much later than they should. To make matters worse, the internet has been out at his work too, so his replies have been pretty sporadic. It makes the day feel strangely disconnected.

Surprisingly, the kids haven’t complained much about the outages. Usually when the internet goes down they come find me as though I have some magical ability to fix it. I usually just laugh and tell them there isn’t much I can do. Even so, the constant interruptions are getting annoying. It’s only a little windy outside, certainly not enough to explain why the internet keeps dropping. Hopefully whatever is causing it gets resolved soon.

Everest decided to give us another scare today by escaping from the backyard. She somehow managed to climb right over the back gate. Thankfully we noticed quickly and got her back inside, but it’s obvious we need to secure that gate better before she turns it into a regular escape route. She’s staying inside for the rest of the day until we can figure out a solution. She’s definitely more athletic and determined than we give her credit for.

Alex has been anxiously waiting for a package, so he went out to check the mail earlier than usual. At first I thought it was too early and I hadn’t seen any package notifications in my Informed Delivery email this morning. Every morning I get an email showing what mail is expected to arrive that day, and nothing stood out. As it turns out, the mail had already been delivered.

Among today’s mail was a notice from Karissa’s school saying they were missing a financial aid form. We logged into her FAFSA account together and completed what they needed. While we were looking through everything, it appears that because of her disability, she may qualify for having her student loans discharged or not having to repay them. I’m still not completely sure because the information is a little confusing, but from what we could see in her account, it currently shows that she doesn’t owe anything. I suppose we’ll find out more as we continue working through the process.

It feels strange to think about sometimes because I honestly forget that Karissa has a disability. It isn’t something that’s constantly on my mind because she’s simply Karissa to me. I don’t define her by it. But FAFSA apparently received information from Social Security confirming her disability status, which is why they requested the additional paperwork. We completed everything they asked for, and after we get back from vacation, we’ll call the school again to make sure the Financial Aid office has everything they need. It’s all a bit confusing, but I think we’ve taken care of everything for now.

The internet continued its disappearing act throughout the afternoon. It even went out again while I was on the phone with Karissa’s school and looking through her FASFA account, which only added to the frustration. It’s one thing when it interrupts casual browsing, but when I’m trying to get important things done, the repeated outages become much more aggravating.

Now I’m trying to settle back into studying, but my heart just isn’t in it today. My cybersecurity book is sitting open in front of me, yet my thoughts keep drifting to vacation. I’m excited to get away, and that excitement is making it incredibly difficult to concentrate.

After that, I tried to read for another hour, but I couldn’t stay focused for very long. Instead, I decided to be productive and put away all of the clean laundry. Once I finished that, I cleaned out the backpack I’m taking on the trip so everything would be organized and ready to pack.

I also took some time to write down our itinerary in my notebook, listing what we’re doing each day of the trip. I just want to have something written down. I can check it each day and when we’re on the trip I can take notes of what we did each day. So when I write my journal, I can remember what we have done.

Unfortunately, we lost the internet again. I think it’s gone out at least six or seven times today, which has been really frustrating. Right now, I’m just waiting for it to come back on so I can get back to what I was doing.

Tommy and I are going to the store when he gets home, so I’m going to get ready. The weather has turned cloudy and windy so I’m going to put jeans on instead of the shorts I’m wearing. I will try to write on Monday, but if I don’t, I will be back soon.