This week has been a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are so many things going on that make me feel sad, furious, and helpless all at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My son seems to have figured out my patterns.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As he stood, scratching my back\u2014I seem to have taken the place of the family dog\u2014and the music for\u00a0The West Wing<\/em> starts;<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI know you are stressed about politics when you start rewatching\u00a0The West Wing<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am not used to people seeing my patterns like that. I like operating from behind the curtain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But he catches things. Probably better than anyone in the family.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes\u2026\u00a0The West Wing<\/em>\u00a0is my comfort show. That theme music is like a bowl of ice cream for my stressed-out soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The West Wing, with its Sorkin optimism, led by what they referred to as an intellectual elite President\u2014I would give anything to have that now\u2014and a staff led by Leo, who, in his curmudgeon raspy voice, always had heart behind everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The problems of twenty years ago still plague us, but after watching an episode, I always felt we learned a little and elevated the conversation a bit. Reminding us that the world is complex. Issues can\u2019t be watered down to a campaign slogan or sound byte for the news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A lot happened behind those once magnificent walls of the White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now I feel like the beginning of\u00a0Married with Children,<\/em>\u00a0with all the green trash slop thrown on it. It\u2019s Mad Magazine come to life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Somewhere between a beautiful theme song and the normal chaos of life around here, our raised planter beds came.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And suddenly we were outside in the sun, foreshadowing the heat of summer to come. Putting together planter beds and planting a vegetable garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, in all honesty, I pointed and strategized; my husband did the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He went to the garden center by himself without me dragging him, and there is a possibility he secretly liked the idea.\u00a0I noticed we have a bit of a pepper patch. I just hope he remembers to wash his hands after handling the habaneros.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But our real reason for doing all this was to grow strawberries. We did 18 plants, and our youngest goes through a Costco clam shell in one study session. Hopefully, we have strawberries all season.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, I have the feeling we spent $500+ to save $20 on a large growers carton, and between the squirrels and the birds, we might be lucky to get a handful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I always thought gardening was supposed to be relaxing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Apparently, no one told the squirrels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s been a week. Between being called out by my son for my stress habits and trying to build a garden from scratch, I\u2019m reminded that even comfort has its complications\u2014and apparently, so do squirrels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":111203969,"featured_media":1302,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"Explore the chaos of life, comfort in 'The West Wing', and the adventures of gardening amidst the family drama and challenges.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"Finding Comfort in Gardening and _The West Wing_ Amid Chaos","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"fullscreen","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvdGlkYml0c2FuZHdoYXRub3RzLmNvbVwvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAxN1wvMDlcL3VudGl0bGVkLWRlc2lnbi0xNC5qcGciLCJ0eHQiOiJOb2JvZHkgVG9sZCB0aGUgU3F1aXJyZWxzIiwidGVtcGxhdGUiOiJmdWxsc2NyZWVuIiwiZm9udCI6IiIsImJsb2dfaWQiOjExNzM5MTAyM30.f8IFp3vZOBL408GwzNwXIzznDtv6DekGYHHy6S8GuNEMQ","image_type":"featured","custom_text":""},"version":2,"media_source":"featured-image","attached_media":[{"id":1302,"url":"https:\/\/tidbitsandwhatnots.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/untitled-design-14.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}]},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[26400],"tags":[779323311,779323313,779323060,1833,376,779323308,779323312,779323310,779323068,779323309],"class_list":["post-9876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sundayshorts","tag-comfort-shows","tag-everyday-life","tag-family-life","tag-gardening","tag-humor","tag-observational-writing","tag-overwhelm","tag-strawberries","tag-sunday-shorts","tag-the-west-wing"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7WyLB-2zi","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8912,"url":"https:\/\/tidbitsandwhatnots.com\/?p=8912","url_meta":{"origin":9876,"position":0},"title":"The BackYard","author":"Tidbits and Whatnots","date":"August 31, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A curious Aussie pup tumbles into a backyard alive with hummingbirds, bees, and a brooding Ash Tree \u2014 and unknowingly stirs the first whispers of a bigger plan.","rel":"","context":"In "Bedtime Stories"","block_context":{"text":"Bedtime Stories","link":"https:\/\/tidbitsandwhatnots.com\/?cat=779323258"},"img":{"alt_text":"A puppy sits on grass under an Ashe tree shade watching a butterfly, hummingbird and bumble bee enjoy a beautiful peach English rose.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tidbitsandwhatnots.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/The-Backyard-Series-Image.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tidbitsandwhatnots.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/The-Backyard-Series-Image.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tidbitsandwhatnots.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/The-Backyard-Series-Image.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tidbitsandwhatnots.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/The-Backyard-Series-Image.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9761,"url":"https:\/\/tidbitsandwhatnots.com\/?p=9761","url_meta":{"origin":9876,"position":1},"title":"When Did Good Writing Become Suspicious?","author":"Tidbits and Whatnots","date":"April 2, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"AI is changing how we write\u2014but it\u2019s also changing how we judge writing. 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They don\u2019t shout for attention. They don\u2019t need to. With their soft golden petals and fresh green stems, they bring a calm kind of joy\u2014the kind that arrives unannounced, settles in, and warms the room without asking for anything in return. \ud83d\udc90 A\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sunday Shorts"","block_context":{"text":"Sunday Shorts","link":"https:\/\/tidbitsandwhatnots.com\/?cat=26400"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7672,"url":"https:\/\/tidbitsandwhatnots.com\/?p=7672","url_meta":{"origin":9876,"position":3},"title":"\ud83d\udec1 \u201cSelf-Care or Just Escapism?\u201d","author":"Tidbits and Whatnots","date":"April 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Self-care isn\u2019t always candles and bubble baths. 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