Yep!

Fifty-four miles, that’s the distance our adorable little train track has covered since we received it as a Christmas gift last year. Even though it hasn’t left the confines of our living room, Dave’s app keeps a running tally. Today, for the first time, we decided to set it up around the kitchen island, complete with Paw Patrol toys and imaginary battles between good and bad guys as it chugged by.

I find myself two hours into a 12-hour course on Compassion Fatigue. The primary lesson so far is the inevitability of pain, but the insight is that suffering, our response to that pain, isn’t necessary. Suffering is essentially a mindset that triggers a continuous cycle of perceived threats within us. While I’m slightly disappointed that this seems to be the only new piece of information thus far, if this is the pace of learning, with 10 hours remaining, I should gain at least five more tidbits of knowledge. Whoopie!

This year, Dave, Evelyn, and I have fully embraced the Halloween spirit. We’ve watched “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” are halfway through “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” and are planning to indulge in a spine-tingling adult horror movie tonight. With two extra-large pumpkins left over from our Halloween party, we decided to dedicate them to Evelyn’s favorite Paw Patrol characters. I carved Skye, while Dave painted Rubble. I received a sweet kiss on the cheek from Evelyn, along with her heartfelt “Mom, you did so great.” That’s the reason for the season, wouldn’t you agree?

As I turned my head to contemplate my next sentence, the brilliantly glowing full moon flashed its grand self, illuminating the night sky in all its glory. This sight triggered a memory from the last night’s party. By a small propane fire pit, my brother, my best friend Kristen, her fiancé, and I engaged in a discussion about music, including artists like Citizen Cope, Rammstein, VNV Nation, Tool, and more. Dave stepped outside with his phone, pointing it towards the sky, exclaiming, “Jupiter, it’s right under the moon.” His phone aligned perfectly with the moon, and my brother quickly switched his phone to camera mode, zooming in on Jupiter until it appeared as large as the moon itself. We, with our various Pixels and iPhones, barely managed to capture a small speck. When our friend Hope tried to capture the moon with her iPhone 13 Pro, I told her “Good luck”, belly laughing at our barely fingernail-sized moon compared to my brother’s full-screen size one.

A brief search for moon facts led me to a fascinating tidbit: the moon is currently ten times further away from Earth than when it first formed, and it continues to move away at a rate equivalent to the growth of our fingernails, approximately 3.78 cm per year.

Now, the question arises: should I watch one of those eerie Jordan Peele movies, like “Nope”? The last time I watched one of his films, I had a moment reminiscent of a 13-year-old Jaclynn, blindfolding my eyes with my hand, and I may have even turned it off. It’s just make-believe. Repeat after me, “It’s just make-believe.”

Alright, let’s do this! Even if I have to resort to the trusty hand method, it’s that time of year, and I’m determined to embrace the spooky atmosphere. I genuinely appreciate your visit tonight and hope you had a fantastic weekend.

Love, Jaclynn