In which my heroic efforts come to naught
Some days just drop in on us.
Because I am a hero, instead of hitting snooze this morning, I got up when the alarm went off. I took my meds, fed the cats, unloaded the dishwasher, and even dumped the recycling bin outside while it was merely full, rather than overflowing. Julia and the children were up on time too, and began working on breakfast and lunches. I got a load of laundry going and went out to start the car, because it had snowed overnight and I wanted it to be nice and toasty for the drive to school—which, for once, we were ready for with plenty of time to spare.
If you're part of the Madison Metropolitan School District, you may have chuckled just now. Because as soon as all that was done, and I had planted myself on the couch to enjoy a well-deserved round of Wordle, there came from the kitchen a murmur, which in short order became very nearly a clamor. "Wait. Are the kids off from school today?" Julia asked.
I knew the answer before I double-checked my calendar, and you do too. It's a staff-only day.
There is no grand moral or lesson to this story; no highly esteemed deed is commemorated here. I'm grumpy and need breakfast, and I got annoyed at Julia and now she's annoyed at me too, and the children are being great, actually, but there is such a long list of bullshit to get through, and I am tired of reminders that this too shall pass. I know it shall pass. If you wait long enough, everything passes. Except that it doesn't pass, really—if you don't do the bullshit on your list, it is transmogrified into even worse bullshit, with late fees and missed opportunities. I don't know. I guess what I'm saying is: I need a staff-only day too. Good luck out there.
Good to Know
Joe Biden pardoned Hunter. Donald Trump called it "Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!" and other Republicans said it was Very Bad because the president had promised not to pardon his son, because Republicans hate it when presidents break promises and do things for their kids. I suspect if Trump had lost, Biden wouldn't have felt compelled to pardon Hunter, but I can't blame him either way. The case against Hunter was never about justice and always about attacking his father.
"You are an abuser of women." On one hand, Pete Hegseth—Trump's nominee for Secretary of Defense—is a Fox News host with no experience in government, but on the other, he's a problem drinker and serial sexual harasser who "was forced to step down by both of the two nonprofit advocacy groups that he ran." If you haven't read the letter his own mother sent him in 2018, it's a doozy.
The Fun Part
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