The Jitterbug

Last week absolutely wiped me out and yet, I feel a little superhuman for all that I managed to accomplish.
I suppose I should start at the beginning. It was tech week for the show I've been doing ("The Wizard of Oz"), otherwise called Hell Week. Rehearsals every night for at least three hours, sometimes four. Plus the travel time/getting ready time which meant an extra half hour on each end. Most evenings I was gone from 6 or 6:30 until at least 10:30. On top of a normal 40-hour workweek it was crazy. And this is the first time I've done one of these shows without Shane's help taking care of dinner and the pets and such. My brother stepped up for some of it (at least, feeding the pets and doing all of the dishes) but with Shane gone I'm still the main household cook so dinner was still my responsibility. The CrockPot saved my butt. I made a giant pot of rice and beans in it on Thursday, knowing that I'd be home late from work that day.
The end of the rehearsals brought no respite. We had three performances over the weekend: one on Friday and two on Saturday. And yet, despite basically working two jobs for the week, I still managed to exercise a little bit, talk with Shane every night, do a load of laundry, and read two books. (I re-read the final two books in the "Hunger Games" trilogy. Now I'm nursing a serious book hangover. So good!) Yesterday, without a show or rehearsal, was dedicated to cleaning the apartment. I did a more thorough job in the bathroom than I have for months, and the Boy and I tackled the kitchen together. I even washed down the outside of the chest freezer, and I can't remember the last time we did that. I dusted the living room, although I couldn't vacuum because of the cat. But it's noticeably cleaner in our house now and it feels good.
The cat is still in the Recovery Palace for a week or so. We threw on a Pandora station while we cleaned, but the most prominent soundtrack to the day was my cat crying. Poor guy. He got let out for a few minutes while I cleaned out his cage and he does seem to be moving better but we don't want to push it. On the plus side, he doesn't seem to be angry with me for his circumstances. When he gets out he starts rubbing against my legs, and when I stick my fingers in his cage he starts rubbing his cheeks against me. It's almost as heartbreaking as how defeated he looks when no one's actively paying attention to him.
Yesterday evening was lovely, but a little sad. I couldn't figure it out for a few minutes because I was at a happy part in my book. But I realized that it was about the time Shane should have been coming home. We finally went a full two weeks without getting to see each other at all and he doesn't even get to come home until Wednesday. They're getting the camp ready for winter so it's all hands on deck. Additionally, they're doing their big monthly water sampling so they needed Shane there. He said last night that it was going to be more difficult this time because everything's frozen. These big water sampling times have meant extra overtime all summer because it's so much work, so I can only imagine how much harder it will be when they need to drill through the ice first.
Fairbanks finally got our first below-zero temperatures this morning at roughly 5:00. It's a bit earlier than the historical norm. The days are getting so short that soon I'll once again be walking both to and from work in total darkness. It's so beautiful, though, the way the light slants and makes the snow look so blue in the shadows, golden where the light hits it. The sky is an amazing azure and the moon at dusk is breathtaking, so white against the sky and so bright bouncing off the snow. No picture could ever quite capture just how gorgeous it all looks. So while the darkness and cold are creeping up, I'm still focusing on the beauty of it all.