Climbing Steady

Today I pulled the Ladder — a reminder that even if progress feels slow, we’re still moving

upward. Honestly, that energy followed me the whole day.

I was up by 6 AM and Charlie wasn’t far behind me at 7. I rushed through making sure the already-finished areas were clean and then headed straight back into the kitchen to keep pushing. Charlie and Dameion got the dogs handled for the morning, and by 10:30 the girls were headed down to Mom’s so we could focus.

this... this is not where they belong at all.

Once the house quieted down, all three of us split off to our own sections of work. Dameion handled the camper ceiling, getting everything situated, while Charlie and I stayed inside tackling the kitchen. We made a good bit of progress before Charlie left at 2 to pick up the girls for their nap.

We also managed to move our appointment to Monday, which was a huge weight off my shoulders. It buys us a little more time to finish the last repairs and organizing in the camper — especially since that poor thing needed way more love than we expected when we first picked it up. With everything happening while Charlie was down recovering, the clutter and half-finished projects piled up fast, so the extra time is a blessing.

working together to stock the wood

Around 4, Franklin reached out to say his car was overheating. Dameion and I met him at Food City and followed him home just to make sure he made it safely. We haven’t checked the car yet — we’re letting it cool completely — but with how fast it overheated, we’re thinking the thermostat probably stuck closed.

Back at home, I gave Adonis his treats and we all jumped back into cleaning. I finally decided to move the Xbox and movie collection down to our storage area at Mom and Dad’s. None of it was being used, and I desperately need that space for school supplies. Before bedtime, the girls helped bring in wood for the morning since we were under a tornado warning and the weather was going to get rough overnight.

Bushka and Sera coming to visit

Once the girls were settled in their room, all the adults sat together for a little TV break. After that, Dameion headed to Shelly’s and Franklin went to bed. Charlie and I stayed up a bit longer working in the kitchen. We even managed to get a wall patched before calling it a night. The window in there has been off-frame for who knows how long, so that’s another project for tomorrow.

Even with the long list and the last-minute chaos, today felt like steady climbs.

One more rung, one more step forward.