Miser Family Muscle Update

Life continues to be rich and full in the Miser Family Household.  This week, we're full of muscles, from top to bottom!  

L2 takes it from the top, saying, "Post meditation, mental muscles main thing I have been working on recently ".   Y peeps at us with, "Eyelid muscles working overtime at this month-long audition but also learning SO much and loving Arizona! 5 days left.".  (Why Arizona?  Earlier, she'd written, "At U of Az Tucson for medicine audition. Working 12hr days so pretty much work, eat maybe, sleep, repeat. But It’s an awesome crazy bc this is what I want to do for my job.")  Next up, I-daughter shares, "I'll showcase a less gym-centric muscle: my tongue!"  This one totally deserves a close-up.  Behold!

B-child exercises her neck muscles (if your head was 1/4 the size of your body, you'd need strong muscles to pick it up, too!).  And D. shows his upper body strength by baby wearing while mowing the lawn...

In the next row, my Sister-in-law says, "I don’t feel to comfortable in the gym these days, so I got this Echelon Reflect and a few dumbbells.  I am trying to convince [my husband] to let me donate our guest bedroom set and turn the room into a home gym.  He’s not on board."   L1 is "working on the triceps"; J-son has muscles on his muscles; and my sisters and I are a trio of second-century powerhouses, if I do say so myself.  

K-daughter first worried that "Yaaaaaaaa.... I don't have time to do much of anything but chase the 5 yr old around and take walks. These count as exercise, right? Lol",  but I reminded her that she's been super active at making stuff with mussels (er, muscles).  Behold those awesome swimmers and mermaids, carved by her and painted by A-child.  Whoop!  And since we're heading into the deep, we can appreciate the well-developed calves displayed by my guy, by N-son, and by Amelia the dog. 

So what have we been up to lately, with all those muscles?  N-son is using his to help out his brother-in-laws.  Recently, they were working on a project just 10 miles from the White House, he wants me to tell you! I don't think he got to see either number 45 or number 46; mostly he just got to do a lot of work.  

Me, I'm likewise slogging through my heavy course load.   I thought I might actually get a chance to come up for air this weekend, but then . . . more cheating.  Man, I hate online exams.  So much.  So, so much.  This was four students (two of whom I really like a lot) collaborating via Facetime during the half-hour quiz.  Grump, grump, grump.  I spent hours writing letters, holding meetings, and documenting stuff.  The only good thing to say about this is that they all confessed and apologized, and I do think two of them are sincerely remorseful, and another one is going to get tested for ADHD and exam anxiety, which might be a long-term benefit to that particular student.  

That being said, my classes are generally going about as well as you could expect under the conditions.  There's a huge part of me looking forward to a week from now, when the classes are over (over!), and I don't have to get up at 5:30 every day and spend the next 6+ hours zooming through classes and the 4 hours after that grading like mad to be ready for the next day.  But there's also a part of me that tries to remind myself that "this is my life, too, right now; this module is a life experience that I'm never going to have again, and I ought to pay attention to the experience".  I keep telling my students that they get good at what they practice (like, if they practice doing homework with their friends via Facetime, it's not a huge surprise that stress pushes them into doing quizzes that way).   And I know that living my life waiting for the future doesn't help me when I get to the future and want to start living in the now.  

At any rate, I'm trying to enjoy the experience of zoom-teaching students who are simultaneously in Italy, Shanghai, Missouri, and the dorms just down the street from me.

The reason I chose the "muscle" theme is to complement this week's interview, with J-son.  We don't hear much from him lately, but he hasn't totally disappeared: just last weekend, in fact, my husband had taken both our sons to New York State to help a friend of his pack and move boxes.   N-son cornered J-son last weekend and got him to chat over the phone with me.  Here's what J-son has to say for himself.  

What things were you doing a year ago that you're not doing now?

Before the pandemic, I went to the gym a lot, and tried to get into boxing gyms.  The pandemic shut that down for a while; I'm starting that up again.  A year ago, I was living with a friend, but now I've moved in with my girlfriend; I'm truly blessed to be with her.  We have four cats.

What occupies your days, nowadays?  

• Spending time with my girlfriend.
• Running, hiking, sightseeing, and generally being outside as much as I can (with a mask on).  I've lost 20 pounds.
• Working on my mindset:  I wake up and just focus on doing what I want to do: I work out and tire myself out.
• No job, but I do wash cars at a car wash (3 days/week, 6 hrs/day) to pick up a bit of spending money.
• I'm thinking about getting my license and growing up.  

Tell me a bit about your hobbies

Boxing, going to the gym, weightlifting, and spending time with the cats.  (Did I mention there are 4 of them?)

When you treat yourself to a bit of "me" time or special indulgences, what does that involve for you?

Bling (chains), shoes -- I love looking at expensive shoes.  Like, I really like Jordans.  Style (translation for mom:  "expensive shirts").  Morning runs.

Five years from now, what kinds of things do you hope you'll be doing that you haven't done yet or aren't doing now? 

I'd love to be a boxing coach, or at least be working toward learning how to do that.

Describe some of your favorite household gadgets or treasures. 

shoes, clothes, my PS4, and an air fryer.  We use that air fryer all the time.

Are there any questions I should have asked you, but didn't? 

"What kinds of things are you thinking a lot about these days?"

I'm spending a lot of time thinking about what life actually is, and about how being an adult is, the ways it's different than being a child.  

And on that contemplative note, I'll sign off.  That's the news from our family, which continues to be rich in our adventures.  My you and yours be similarly prosperous.