David's Marathon Day (skating, school, karate, and violin)!

The Long Winding Day!

What a day from 5:30 am to now 11:38 (correction 12:21 am) and ready to sign off.  But before I do I just had to record this insane day.  It was a marathon to be sure.  I don't know how he does it or how I do it for that matter.

We started out around 5:30 am with breakfast.  Oatmeal, grapes, and OJ for me.  Miso soup and OJ for the little man.  (He used to have chicken noodle soup for breakfast - now it is miso.)  I also pack his lunch in the morning, typically tomatoes, organic juice, apple sauce, and fried tofu.

Miso Soup

Fried Tofu (lunch snack)

David sneaking up on me after I called him down for breakfast via Facetime

David and I Finally Eating Breakfast

From there it is off to skating in the morning.  We make it by 7:00 am.  He is practicing for his competition later this month in Utah (US Figure Skating).

A Little Taste of his Routine on Ice in the Morning

After skating, it is time to run to school.  We must make it promptly at 8:04 or we are late.  Luckily we have not been late yet - last year or this year.

Oh but the day is not over, after school lets out, David Facetime's me and it is time to pick him up.  (I write, made my calls, and connect with colleagues via Zoom while he is in school). 

David and I typically make tea for each other during the afternoon depending on who is the busiest. If I am free and he is busy with his homework I will brew it and bring it to him.  If I am videoconferencing with colleagues he will quietly slip me a fresh cup of tea.  He is a good guy.

Completing his Homework 

While I Work in my Study

David often begins to work on his homework in the club while waiting for me to pick him up. He finishes his homework at home.  Interesting and accurate terminology - home work.

Practicing Violin 

Without a Shirt

In addition to homework, he has to practice on his violin, since he has a recital coming up next month.  His playing has been improving with leaps and bounds.

David Gaming

Playing Against his Hero Sundee (a major gamer)

Hey the man is a gamer - from the surround sound to the Omni upgrades to get faster fps.  He loves it. He wants to be a computer programmer when he grows up. (He has made his own apps at Stanford via ID Tech.

I make him dinner before karate (which is at 6:00).  I add a glass of milk to his favorite dish and some Earl Gray tea.

David's Dinner

The man has interesting tastes - of course that is my favorite tea too.  (You may have heard that Starbucks Teavana is closing down soon. Where will we get premium tea in the future? Time will tell.)

Ok - karate time and that was exhausting, I mean a great workout.  We are both testing later in the month so we are making sure we are getting as much instruction as possible.

Post Karate Libations

After karate, it is time for a Starbucks tea, a Jamba OJ or chocolate moo, or a coffee milk shake down the road (like Van Morrison's song). 

Somehow we made it through the entire day without a hitch (except we are both starting to feel it). We ran home (figuratively), so I could shower, let the dogs out, and get another bite to eat.

The little man eats well. I make sure he has plenty of veggies - asparagus cooked on the stove top using garlic, salt, pepper and a bit of olive oil (as you could see a bit earlier).

Time is of the essence. Usually we have violin lesson Saturday morning, but we ran a 5K race last weekend so Chin (David's violin instructor) was kind enough to switch our session to Tuesday at 8:00 pm.

We made it and on time.

Violin Practice

I brought Summer's violin to get it tuned. Primarily because when I try to play

Twinkle Twinkle (yes that's my level compared with David's classical music level), it doesn't sound quite right. Luckily I was correct and Chin tuned it up again.

However, in the process of asking him to tune it up, Chin encouraged David to try Summer's violin. It sounded beautiful.  Chin wants him to begin using the seriously upgrade instrument so it looks like David will be practicing on Summer's violin (hey Summer - is that ok?).

Somehow and miraculously we make it home (picking up a coffee milkshake for me and a mac and cheese for David).  

Finally, it is bath time, brushing the teeth ritual, a story and bedtime.  I take care of the dogs, wash the dishes, and type this marathon memory (and a few regular emails as well.  I am letting folks know about a cool new article of mine that just came out).

Time to say good night. 

Not all days are this long but many are.  I had to write this one up because it happens enough that I wanted to record it, take a snapshot.  It is a fulfilling life but does give you pause at times (especially because you have to complete a full days work in the time allotted for this busy man).

Even David asked why do we do this to ourselves.  I could not disagree - this was a rough one for both of us, but we are thankful we could juggle all these things we love.  

David wanted to do the 5K on Saturday so we are thankful his teacher Chin, who was willing to give us a make-up - even if it was at 8:00 pm after a long day.

We are also thankful that we have 5 more karate classes to make sure we know what we need to know for the test.

The same goes for skating. 

We are thankful we have a few more mornings to practice (even if it is very early in the morning), before his competition comes up in a few weeks in Utah.

Tomorrow is another day and it will be busy but it will resemble some sort of return to the "norm" at least in comparison to today and for that we are blissfully thankful.