I wonder if I’ve been busy, but not really. I have things on my to-do list, but not many deadlines. I take my kids back and forth to activities–basketball, library, coding. My afternoons and evenings sometimes have more going on, but my mornings and afternoons can be empty.

I finished coaching a basketball team with first and second graders. Their skill levels had a very large range: some of them were afraid of the ball; some of them could dribble down the court and make a layup on a fast break. In some ways, it was unfair to everyone, and yet we played anyway and I did my best to coach them, yelling from the sidelines. I both loved it and was very glad when it was over.

I started a writing group and I’ve been meeting twice a week, and again, there is a very large range in skill levels and interest. I want to be encouraging, and yet I remember that when I was young and really wanted to be a writer, people encouraged me and I took it too far and became too confident in my own abilities. Where is the balance in telling someone that they are doing okay, but that they still need to improve a lot?

We finished putting the drywall on our ceiling. We’ve had our ceiling open for such a long time. I thought it would make a big difference, but it turns out you don’t really look at your ceiling that often. I love all the progress we have made on our house. For so long, we were working on things behind walls. It’s good to be working on finishing those walls.

So much of the work we do will never be seen, but it is still so necessary.