24 December 2020 (6 years, 4 days after The Day)

 Christmas Eve 2020 seems to be more like a random Thursday of the week.  Our Christmas tree is up, presents are wrapped, and activities planned; however, the pandemic has made our activities a little lackluster as we strive to minimize contact.  Samantha's parents asked what we were doing for supper on Christmas and Samantha responded by saying "Wendy's".  I mean, when we just have immediate family over it is like a normal meal.  The kids seem to not care what we place in front of them and why should we kill ourselves in the kitchen only for the kids to respond with a "meh".  With the polarization of political views, views on national policy, COVID, etc I think the entire world is already counting down for 2021 with a hope that it brings less drama.  All I know is the pandemic coupled with my knee surgery has resulted in my weight loss reversing course.  I not only fell off the bandwagon but I ended up running the opposite direction.  It is discouraging for sure.  So - I am left with the following:

1. starting over trying to figure out how to integrate physical activity into my life when my normal lifestyle doesn't naturally include it.
2. pondering how it is possible for one to work so hard for months to "get in shape" and reverse course only taking weeks.  I feel it is like an incline.  You have to work to get up the hill and if you stop you fall back down very quickly.  I understand fully why some are like.. well - screw it... I'm ok with where I am at.

Claire has been having tantrums lately.  I believe it is because she is tired.  We are changing her diet to a reduced sugar diet.  The meds she is taking for seizures have side-effects of anger.  The neurologist suggested adding a supplement of vitamin B6.  This has helped tremendously but lately it seems she gets into fights with Ammon over the most mundane things.  Something like the following;

(Ammon) The Christmas tree is pretty.

(Claire) No, I said it was pretty!

(Ammon) I just said I liked it.  Why are you shouting?

(Claire) STOP SHOUTING AT ME!  ... MOM, AMMON IS SHOUTING AT ME!!!

(Ammon) ??

Poor Ammon gets the wrath of Claire on a constant basis.  He has a tendency to stand his ground which just prolongs the dumb disagreements they have.  I have found that with Claire these episodes are generally because she is either tired or hungry.  Samantha and I are trying to help her be more aware of her and help her eat or rest when she is needing it.

I picked up Emma Jean from college yesterday.  She got her grades back from the first semester and the lowest grade was an A-.  I am not surprised and am very happy for her.  She had a handful of tough classes so these were not easy A's.  Madilyn and Ammon both did well in their classes.  They turned their grades around to end on a positive note.  I am very pleased with their efforts.  It is weird with both Alex and Dylan gone.  We miss them.  Emma Jane, Spencer, and Hayes will be here tomorrow.  We always look forward to their visits.  Hayes is just a seriously cute kid.

So, yesterday, there was an issue at work.  I am taking this week and next on vacation; however, the issues in technology are generally woven into a ton of other processes and because technology never takes a vacation, it requires everyone to get involved regardless of the holiday schedule.  Resolving these problems requires looking past the symptoms to discover the root cause.  This problem solving effort often mandates a lot of individuals with various skills to combine together to find and address the issue. With so many people on vacation, I often feel like Dave in the image below as the end-user is generally wondering why a problem isn't being solved faster.

I believe technology integration with business systems is only increasing as time goes on.  No longer is there a filing cabinet, pad of paper, and a pen.  There are integrated systems that work together.  These systems decrease errors, improve efficiencies, and standardize processes to the point that people forget about how they work.  They are similar to the air conditioning system in your home.  You just don't think about it.  You only do when the AC doesn't work and then you have to call in someone to figure out why it isn't working.  The challenge with business systems and their integration with technology is there generally isn't a single person who knows the entire landscape.  These integrations are customized and not standard.  Even though these problems are complex I find the problem solving process invigorating as I work to better understand why something is awry.

I know I don't talk about work much but I figure from time to time it really is part of my life and not writing about it is a disservice to what this blog represents.

Well - it is 10:21 am.  I suppose I should get up and get going.  Until later -