It never made it out of the thirties today, so we didn’t bother going outside.
On this next-to-last day of 2025, I don’t have much to say.
It was one of those stay‑indoors, shiver‑under‑blankets, watch‑too‑much‑TV days.
We bought it for her for Christmas.
I’m sure I already talked about it.
Her old camera was the one she got ripped off on in that Marketplace deal
She was told nothing was wrong with it.
It quit after a few months, so she finally did what she should’ve done before buying it.
She looked it up and found out it was a 2017 model, discontinued, and no longer supported.
She was lucky it lasted as many months as it did before quitting.
It had started getting glitchy not long after she bought it.
My banking is finally unraveled, and it was easier than I expected.
I called Peacock for help.
The poor boy didn’t realize how bad Mama is with numbers.
But his advice worked.
I’m pretty sure he worked at a bank once.
He’s had so many jobs, though, that I might be remembering wrong.
Raven says he’s bringing the kids down again this weekend.
I had hoped that with them living farther away, we might finally get a little breathing room and have them every other weekend instead of every single one.
It’s becoming clear that Raven isn’t going to be able to move out anytime soon.
With the kids, especially the oldest three, I have a sense of how their behaviors will evolve as they get older, and weekends are likely to be more challenging rather than easier.
I’m realizing I can’t keep doing things the way they’re being done now.
To give myself some space and avoid conflict, I spend Fridays through Sundays in my bedroom.
Honestly, it’s exhausting and with the youngest just three, I can’t imagine keeping up this routine for another fifteen years.
It’s not that I don’t love Raven’s kids.
I do.
But what they need is more than we can give in this house.
We just don’t have the room.
It’s a three‑bedroom place, and they’re all sharing a room with Raven.
That’s not something we can keep doing.
Weekends are loud and unpredictable, and the house is just too small to give Raven’s kids the space they need without making even more sacrifices for the rest of us.
This isn’t how I wanted to end the year or start the next one.
It is what it is.
I can’t change it.
I just have to deal with it.