Suddenly, many people on TikTok are talking about Gilmore Girls Fall, and I can’t help but laugh at how an old show like that is taking over again. It makes sense, though—the cozy, small-town vibe and witty banter are perfect for autumn. I used to never miss an episode when it was on TV, and seeing it trend now feels a bit nostalgic. Some shows just never lose their charm.
Labor Day was relaxing. Tommy and I worked on my desk, though the polyurethane took much longer to dry than we expected. I’m a little worried since the weather is cooling down again, and we still aren’t finished. Cooler temperatures can really slow the drying process. Tommy said it’s just a “false Fall,” and I’m taking that to mean the warmth will return. I hope he’s right—just enough to help the desk dry so we can finish it.
On Saturday, we went to our friends’ house for a birthday party. It was a fun day—we played games and went swimming. Instead of cake, we had bread pudding, which turned out to be really good.
On Sunday, Tommy and I went to Costco to pick up Chris’s cake, then we picked him up afterward. Merlin was thrilled to see his friend, Everest, Chris’s dog. While Kel worked on the roast, I helped out and kept her company, and Tommy was busy with his fantasy football draft. Later, we all sang Happy Birthday to Chris and enjoyed some cake together.
I grabbed some water, hoping it would help curb my hunger. I’m starving, but it’s not lunchtime yet—I still have about an hour to go. Coffee usually works better for me when I’m this hungry, so I might make a cup soon. The smell of breakfast is drifting in from the kitchen—Alexis is cooking for herself and Alex. Meanwhile, Alex is hunting for the remote, and I hope he finds it soon. If the TV distracts him, maybe I can get a little peace to focus. Right now, though, my hunger has me restless and looking for any distraction from coding.
Alex is watching a documentary on the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. I thought it happened in 1999, but I guess I was wrong. He asked me how old I was when it happened. I was 18 when it happened.
I’ve actually been to the Oklahoma City Memorial. We went while we were in Oklahoma City for Karissa’s heart surgery. The day after her surgery, the nurses encouraged us to leave the hospital for a little while. We had been sitting by her side constantly, watching her even though there wasn’t much we could do—she was in the nurses’ care. They assured us they would look after her, and reminded us that it was important to take breaks.
So we went to the zoo and then stopped by the memorial. We didn’t stay out long; we weren’t really in the mood to do much. Since we were there for a month, we tried to step out of the hospital every now and then.
After that month, Karissa finally gained 0.05 ounces, which was enough for the doctors to give us the go-ahead to take her home. I remember being terrified because it was over 100 degrees outside with high humidity. Before surgery, she wasn’t allowed to be in the heat, but the doctor assured us she’d be fine now. And she was. Once she was home, she began gaining weight quickly—five pounds in just a month. It felt incredible to see her finally thriving.
She was finally able to start physical therapy. I didn’t even know they had physical therapy for babies, but they do. She needed it because her muscles weren’t as developed as most five-month-olds. Since she had to stay on her back until she was four months old, and we couldn’t let her exert herself due to her heart, her muscles never had the chance to develop properly.
No, she didn’t like physical therapy. She hated tummy time but enjoyed learning to sit up. She continued therapy for about six or seven months, until she finally started crawling.
Okay, back to coding. I just had a sandwich for lunch and made myself some coffee. I’ve been eyeing the Hobonichi Weeks planner for next year, but I’ll have to wait until next month to get it. The water bill was a bit high, so I need to save a little more first. That’s fine, though—the one I want is sold out right now anyway, so I’ll just wait until it’s back in stock. The planner is available on the original site, but since it ships from Japan, it would incur tariffs and additional fees, so ordering that way isn’t an option.
It’s been a few hours, and I think I’ll finally put the clothes away soon. I did laundry yesterday, but I still haven’t gotten around to folding and putting things away. Tommy and I also need to pick up some lettuce for his lunch salads—the lettuce we had today wasn’t good, so he ended up going out for lunch. We should also grab the mail since we haven’t checked it in a week, and both Tommy and the girls have some mail waiting for them.
It’s thundering and pouring outside, and the power just glitched. Every time it happens, my computer shuts off—even though the UPS is supposed to stop that. Instead, the UPS shuts off too, which just takes the computer down with it. It took me a while to get my computer back on, but it finally worked. Figured I should post this before the power goes out again.
