October 12, 2026
Yesterday was a perfect day.

Yesterday was the last day of Fall Break. It had been a mixed bag overall, between Kye getting sick and Kes' 
ongoing struggle with his mental health. Kye and I had gone on several adventures together, but Kes simply didn't 
have the capacity to come along for a lot of them, sometimes due to health, sometimes due to lack of sleep. My 
eldest, Aisling, had also been rather grumpy, because she had made plans with friends which had fallen apart at 
the last minute on Saturday, leaving her to wallow in a lot of doom and gloom throughout the day. 

I'd promised to take Kye to Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg, and the only day we had to do it was Sunday. I 
invited both Aisling and Kes, and much to my surprise they both wanted to accompany us. Kes and Kye explored the 
museum while Aisling explored Gatlinburg, and when we finished looking at the sharks and the fish and the 
penguins, we took a walk down the street to the arcade where Aisling was hanging out. It was loud and crowded and 
overstimulating, but everyone did fine, kept their cool, and had fun, even when we were obviously feeling 
overwhelmed.

After Gatlinburg, we went to Wonderworks -- which was another couple of hours of crowds and overstimulation. I let 
the kids do the exhibits they wanted, and when Kes needed a break, we went and sat out in the hallway where it was 
less loud and crowded until he recovered. When we were done, we had dinner at the Olive Garden, and Aisling and I 
sang old favorite songs together loudly as we drove home without disturbing anyone.

And that was the thing -- it wasn't life-altering or life-changing stuff. There was a lot of having to wait and 
deal with a LOT of people. But everyone got along. Everyone had fun. And everyone was glad they went. And I also 
got a couple of really great pictures of all three of them together, which never happens.

It was exactly what my soul needed. I get so wrapped up in my negative thoughts, and I get so focused on the 
failures and the things that are going wrong. But there is also SO MUCH RIGHT with my crazy little family, and the 
amount of love we give each other every day. Yesterday was a brilliant reminder of that. And definitely what my 
soul needed after a long fall break.