endings

 thursday was a big day. after another difficult night, i dropped mr smear off at school, picked up gd and accompanied her to the clinic to get her foot checked out, then to the hospital to defer mr smear's allergy test, and then i limped on to work.

it felt like a productive work day, and i was very pleased to end the day with a satisfying PR merge. in the middle of it, gd and i had our final guidance session with mr smear's therapist, which was very positive, and we're now awaiting further instructions.

the streets around azrieli were shut down in both directions by the protestors - i still don't get whose attention they're trying to get, because there doesn't appear to be anyone on the other side to negotiate a hostage deal with - and so i limped all the way home, taking a more exploratory route.

last night was difficult again, but considerably less so.

i dropped mr smear off at school this morning, then came home to watch most of the topol's fiddler on the roof with gd. then we picked mr smear up from school - we found him sitting on a chair near the entrance on his phone :( - and walked to our favorite coffee shop for sandwiches.

gco and i have kind of reconnected again, and i think he might be connected enough to be able to give me a boost regarding my mother's aliyah and south african aliyah in general. oh! and my mother finally has an aliyah interview appointment, only four years down the line.

i ran into someone i served with at the coffee shop, and it was pleasant but awkward.

after we got home, i suffered on the couch for a while - my knee's healing, but the muscles around my hips and butt are really sore and due to the knee i can't stretch properly - then eventually hopped into a hot bath which seems to have helped a bit. the rest of the afternoon has been... whatevs.

now looking forward to a quiet weekend.

...

we've just had a conversation with mr smear about holocaust remembrance day which is coming up. what a disturbing time to be dealing with this stuff... i'm legitimately nervous about what's going to happen when the sirens sound.