It feels like a kids vacation as our daily to-do lists to is go out with the girls and play. Not complaining, actually I am loving it because it feels so special to spend every day exploring the city with them, and observe their plays, laughs, and excitement.
On mother’s day, we were picked up by my ex-assistant in Manila who moved to DC for work. She came with her kids and husband and took us to a lake park. We bought Chipotle for lunch, first time in like a decade.
Kids played in the playground (US is really outdoor playground paradise according to Sofia as there are so many)
I took the girls to Georgetown waterfront twice this week, we packed lunch and “ate” with the duckies 🙂 It is such a lovely place.
Almost every day we’d go to our favorite play ground near us, Rose Park. Every time we go, they are as excited as the first time. That’s kids, so easy to get excited and really enjoy playing. Also, I am so grateful that they have each other, no matter what are the circumstances, they find the way to have fun together
while they play for 1-2 hrs each time, I read my new kindle. I must say, I totally see the value of a kindle. I’ve been long time skeptical to switch from paper books to kindle, but now that I have it, I really like it. It’s light to bring everywhere, battery life is sooooo long, it automatically load kindle books I buy, it’s easy to read under sun or dark. Really happy with the purchase. Both Sofia and I love it.
I try to work few hours before we start our day, then during their afternoon nap/quiet time, and evening while they do few hours of distance learning. This way of working doesn’t feel like working full time although in total I work over 8/9 hrs everyday, it feels that I have more quality time with the girls. It feels indulgent to take them to playground for few hours during normal business hours. Who would know.
Poor husband has been working at manila time zone, having meetings that runs from 8/9 pm until 4/5 am. So I let him sleep quietly during the day. It’s funny that we share a bed but rarely sleep together these days.
None of these is usual, but it feels just right for where we are now. I am deeply grateful for this trip, more than I expected. I am sleeping past 6am these days if I don’t have early meetings, I can even nap in the afternoon, and my digestive system is finally working (has been dealing with GI distress for months). I just realized how much stress I was under until I came here. Both mental and physical stress was more than I realized, and this trip is really helping to reduce them.
If last year’s pandemic life was memorable for our family, this trip made it special. 🙂
Our New Journey 