Jane Lately v.49

1. I’m babysitting for a family in the neighborhood.~

As I’m into privacy (and I surmise they are, too), I won’t mention more. I don’t see myself babysitting/nannying forever, but it’ll be a great opportunity for me re: earning an income until I can fully dedicate my time to my business.

‘Cause I gotta pay rent and all that jazz.

An adversity about living in this neighborhood, however, is that a lot of the people have money. I don’t come from money and am frugal even when I have it.

The family is also athletic, whereas I am more artistic — and so is Charlise and her bunch!

So those dynamics are interesting. I’m perpetually experiencing culture shock.

(On the other hand, this whole experience will greatly help me with my novel, so…benefits?)

(I just don’t know how it will affect my mental health long-term.)

2. IG feed themes are over. Hello blog theme~

YO!! SO I NOTICED SOMETHING LAST JANE LATELY: I can make a backslash () across my home page, when a Jane Lately is the latest post, by posting a life update every 4 posts. 😅

Such a small nerd thing, but the visual aspect of my theme allows me to view things the way I do in my head — so my posts are probably going to go something like that.

3. The ants are falling one by one…

There is a bug going around at school campuses, apparently. I always knew, at the back of my mind, this time of year is when kids start getting sick and passing stuff around, but it didn’t hit me that I am in that mix now that I live with Char & Fam.

All but two of the kids and Charlise herself have got some kind of crud going on. You know how most tiny humans just want to sleep and cuddle when sick? Solara has all. the. energy. And the boys keep trying to kill each other. I’m just like DON’T MAKE ME YE– (choking cough) LL BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE SHIT, TOO (hacking cough).

The worst part of being sick is, unlike my non-disordered eating counterparts, I am supposed to keep eating regardless. I just follow the BRAT (Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast) diet, though I’ve also been like “lol no” and had smoothies instead because they feel nice on my throat and keep me fuller longer. Like, I only love rice and applesauce from that list. Toast just makes me more sick.

Two of the kids are throwing up, apparently. Maybe three. I don’t know. 🤷‍♀️ I DO know that Solara and I share food. We’ve done it ever since she put her hand into my scrambled eggs + cheese, I just maybe have been sharing more germs lately now that we live together…

I’m a germaphobe, if that paints a better picture.

Update: Since writing this last weekend, we are finally starting to get better. My hacking cough is gone, but so are my Fs.

4. It’s hitting me quite hard that all my friends are online.

Like, all the people I call my friends, and would get up on Saturdays and put on pants for? They’re online. None live close enough to actually go to the movies or something with.

I understand how extroverted people may have a problem with this, but I don’t. For one, it means no one bugs the crap out of me in attempts to convince me to go to some allergen-ridden bar (free peanuts? unless they’re the murder weapon). Two, I can discuss books with a lot of them.

It takes living in a community full of richer people, who often get out of their houses and people (the verb), to make me realize how my life and how I enjoy spending my days looks to extroverts. Like, I get it now, how and why so many extroverted relatives expressed concern for my lifestyle choices.

If I were them, I’d probably presume I was a hermit, too.

Except, I’m not. I wasn’t raised like that. My maternal grandmother always had a farm, and yet I still enjoyed my games and books — technology and words. Having a lot of asthma attacks as a kid affected my ability to enjoy playing outside. I could never get too hot or too active, without wheezing and a lot of chest pain.

But this is invisible, not something you’ll see at a glance. Someone who isn’t familiar with my health will typically hypothesize that all my problems relate to being out of shape and me needing to exercise more, when exercising more is precisely the thing that makes me sicker. 🙄

(But also, real talk: Diet culture promotes that dieting and exercise cures all, its popularity in society thus masking its flaws and lies. You wouldn’t tell someone with a broken knee to go jogging, so can we please stop telling people whose brains tell their bodies their knees are out of place that they need to exercise more?)

Anyway, I’m Meredith Grey-fine.

5. Other ish lately

I’m heavily considering taking a class and test for a special motorcycle license so I can buy and legally drive a moped back and forth between babysitting gigs. If I keep sitting for this family, earn the money needed for it, and have the time, I’ll totally be doing just that — because a scooter/bike I can just sit on and needn’t peddle? #winning