Eaten by Dinosaurs

Someone said recently that we have the most interesting lives of anyone they knew.  That might be true, but intrigue and excitement come with a cost, including a physical and mental toll.  The events of the last few months between the US and Russia will likely be memorialized in a movie one day, with all of us sitting back, snacking on popcorn, and reminiscing on this chapter of history.  But not today.

That facts, as written in the press, should be familiar to most by now.  The US accused Russia of meddling in the 2016 Presidential Election, and expelled over 30 supposed Russian intelligence agents, covering as diplomats.  Russia geared up to respond with their own expulsions, but Putin, in a moment of perceived magnanimity, took no action. The US Congress then increased sanctions on Russia, at which point Putin orders a dramatic draw-down of the US presence in Russia, over 700 employees. Without going into specifics, for the next month, the US implemented this order.  As there were only a few hundred American officers in Russia, the vast majority of those let go were Russian citizens. As a result of the staffing decrease, the US froze visa issuances at all of its posts in Russia. Finally (at least hopefully "finally" is the appropriate word), the US ordered the closure of the Russian Consulate in San Francisco, as well as two other properties in D.C. and New York.  In the following weeks, there has been an uneasy detente, with each side warily contemplating the other's next move, and it seems there is small chance of a thaw, as both Russian and US officials have stated publicly the desire to move on from the "issue."

Again, I won't comment on issues not already public, but one can easily imagine the stress of living in such an environment.  The uncertainty and the anger associated with these working conditions is palpable, along with the grief and sorrow of having to dismiss that many people from their jobs. Friends and colleagues alike were impacted in ways big and small.  Those who remain invariable have a certain guilt.  Overall, it sucks.                

But...we're hanging in there and doing much better that I would have expected.  Right as we were reaching the apex of strain between the two countries, CR decided it would be good to actually sleep through the night, on a semi-regular basis. Yes, after nearly seven months of no sleep, we've now had a few weeks of decent sleep.  He still gets up, but a quick run to put his pacifier in is usually enough to get him back down.  And lordy, he's even managed to fall back asleep on his own, praise God.  Its almost indescribable how much life improves after a run of 3-4 nights of sleep.  The world goes from monochrome to color, and you get to complain about something else for once.  Life is good.

M