Two weeks ago, I headed to Virginia to insert myself into my sister's life. (My sister and I both struggle with depression and so catching up on the phone can be really hard. Sometimes it's best just to go there and be in her space for a bit). The main reason why I picked this particular week was because my nephew was young Simba in his school's production of The Lion King: kids version. When he told us that he wanted to try out for this, we were all a little surprised. Prior to this, Malakai never really expressed any interested in singing or acting, especially in front of a crowd. Who was this child? I had to see this for myself.
I got to Virginia in time to see him in his Saturday show. He did so great! I was really proud of him for being brave and preforming multiple times in front of a crowd. The whole thing was really cute.
My parents came up for his show too. So I got to hang out with most of my family that weekend, which is always a bonus. That weekend we also got lots of coffee, went to the shops at Agora, spent a lot of time drawing and on a nature walk in the Shenandoah National Forest
I worked in Virginia during the week but since my parents were still around on Monday, Mom and I went to the Harrisonburg MCC Thrift Shop so I could take photos to be used on social media later.
In the evening, we got to watch Malakai's first baseball game of the season.
The rest of the week was pretty chill. I guess this is technically what people refer to as a "workcation," working in a new space and I see the appeal of it. You do what you have to do during work hours but since you're not at home it also feels fun since I worked in different coffee shops and then got to hang out with my sister's family in the evening.
On Thursday, I did something brave and rented a car and drove to the MCC office in Washington, D.C. A few weeks prior, I had started some new antidepressants. These sucks are pretty strong uppers, to the point where there is a "don't gamble as you adjust to these" type of warning attached to them. Apparently, "taking the initiative at work" should also be a warming. I had this great idea to go to the office and give a presentation on advocacy and tiktok, a topic that I am not an expert in but want to be. I also haven't met a lot of my colleagues in person and thought this is a great idea. In theory, it was a great idea. But in reality, I had adjusted to my new meds and suddenly was dreading this trip. I had so much anxiety about it that I cried about it. It all went really well. I survived 6 hours of East Coast driving (which is like only semis as far as the eye can see). And my presentation and getting to know my colleagues better went fine. I did it. Am I glad I did? Maybe? I am not sure it was worth all that driving and anxiety. But things with my job and tiktok seem to be happening. So that's a good outcome.
D.C. made me feel like a midwest bumpkin. There were so many people just out and about. It was a little shocking. I also felt like a 5th grader on a field trip because I saw the Washington monument and the Jefferson memorial when I was driving into the city and literally said out loud in the car by myself, Wow!" The MCC office is also on Pennsylvania avenue, which means as soon as you turn on that street, bam! you can see the capital building. So cool! My colleagues also took me out for lunch at an Italian deli. So that was nice too.
That sounds like enough travelin, eh? Well the day after I got back from D.C., Leah and I headed off to a sister city adventure! My travel anxiety was not exactly sure why I did this to myself but everything worked out in the end. More on Sister City in the next post!
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