It’s that season. You know the one. Or many. Where you are so busy. Or, rather, WE are so busy.

It’s grant season. I am training team members, and I am training new submitters. And I am doing my own work. It’s so busy.

It’s show choir season. First performance Friday, many performances to come, and then competitions. I’ve got pics of rehearsal later.

It’s sick season. Not us, not our family thankfully, since we seem to have done ALL that between October and December. But, this does often mean light staff, missed meetings, missed training sessions, and additional work for those who can actually stay healthy. And TONS of disinfectants.

It’s the season where I forget EVERYTHING. Keeping just what I need in my brain and dumping the rest. What does that mean for you? No knitting photo. I meant to take one of the sleeve I am working on. That’s right, one sleeve. Because after I showed off the cuffs the other day, I realized that I much preferred working with the tiny circs, and decided to proceed on just one sleeve at a time. I don’t yet have two size 3 tiny circs in my needle stash. Anyhow, point being, I forgot repeatedly to get a photo. I also forgot to bring the sleeve to work to knit on during lunch break. Twice. Ugh.

It’s that season.

Yesterday was full dress show choir rehearsal. I had exactly 10 minutes at home to grab a snack and change after work before we left for rehearsal at the high school. Thankfully Miss Butterfly was mature and helpful, making sure she walked the dog and did some chores so that I didn’t fall completely behind in my evening. And so that Lizzie didn’t suffer too much from her extended kennel stay. (Poor girl!) Off we went to rehearsal, the one and ONLY rehearsal they’ll get in full dress and on stage before Friday’s performance. I got to stay and knit during rehearsal. There was a gal in front of me recording the performance and knitting too. Maybe that’s how many people get started knitting. There’s this thought that grandmas knit. But maybe they started when they had to do SOMETHING while waiting on their kids during activities. And then it stuck.

Photos from rehearsal. I’ll be honest, when they were blocking and doing run throughs  of problematic parts, I was a little worried about them. But then when they ran through the entire performance? Well, that was a different story entirely. They had it together, they were reasonably good, they NEED to sing out more. The last soloist was such a surprising young woman, she got up there and belted it out and it sent shivers right down my spine. Nice job girl. I’ll tell her for real next time I see her, but apparently Miss Butterfly has already expressed to the soloist that this is the part of the performance that really shines. Miss Butterfly left the stage and got changed, arriving at the car a hot sweaty mess.

We got home, where we had….exactly 10 minutes to prepare for heading out for pub trivia night. We’d made a team of 6, some friends and I. But one canceled last minute, and Miss Butterfly was then invited. At halftime we were in 3rd place tied with 2 other teams, there were 3 teams tied for 2nd, and two teams tied for 1st. We were content to accept the idea that we weren’t going to win this one. UNTIL WE DID! We must have made a serious comeback in that second half, because we tied for first and then won the tie breaker. Miss Butterfly said “CAN WE COME BACK NEXT WEEK?!?!” And really, she was quite helpful, knowing all the pop culture a 13 year old knows. We really kicked butt in the song portion of the night, thanks to her.

We went out to dinner as a family after trivia, not arriving home until 10. We were all extremely exhausted. Just absolutely DONE. And poor Lizzie became a nut as soon as she got out of her kennel. We all ended up going outdoors (she likes everyone to be in one place) and stood there while she ran all over the yard, never stopping unless it was to bound up to one of us and jump repeatedly. Then back to tearing around the yard like a maniac. Once we went in she did everything in her power to get us all playing with her, including making up new games on the spot. Miss Butterfly went to bed, then I tried to fall in bed only to have a dog prancing back and forth on my bed. Then trying to settle down as she normally would but then panting so hard the entire bed shook. Finally Mr. Ink took her out of the room and gave her another walk, and made sure she stayed up with him for a few more hours. And there’s the price we pay for having a dog. (Since this is the first time we’ve had an evening like that since we got her 6 months ago, I think we can assume it’s a rarity.)

During trivia I got smart and grabbed my in progress sock to work on while thinking of answers. It was perfect. After all, these socks have been on the needles since July now, and I’d like to be done with them. I had pulled them out for the latest star wars movie and gotten well down the body of the foot so I knew they were nearing the end. Let’s just say next time I’ll make sure I’ve got more to work on during trivia! After all, I finished the body of the foot completely during trivia and had to put it down. This morning I knit the toe. Tonight? I’ll get that heel done and have a new pair of socks ready to be sent out.

Anyhow, that’s it from my crazy corner of the world! I’ll probably get that sleeve photo tonight as well, so stay tuned! I plan to spend the evening in my chair with a throw or something, ideally moving as little as possible after chores are done. I am TOO exhausted, and most of it’s people exhaustion. The kind an introvert feels so acutely. Tonight a recharge is in order.