To My Baby, On Your Second Birthday
When you blew out the candles on your first birthday cake last year, we had no idea what your second year would hold. It’s been quite a year, a year of the unprecedented and unexpected, a year of history in the making. You won’t remember any of this, down the road. You’ll just know it from the stories we’ll tell, about that crazy year, 2020, the one where everything stopped and we stayed home for months on end.
Seven
Seven years and one day ago, we returned home after a day of tailgating and college football. Despite being very pregnant, I’d had a great time at the game, enjoying what I knew would probably be one of my last social outings for a while. Walking in the front door, I started to feel a little off. I was suddenly flushed and exhausted, weak and a little disoriented.
Leap of Faith
Standing on a tiny platform high in the air, I looked around, taking in the birds eye view. I peeked at the ground below, hesitated a little bit. Gathering my courage, I took a step off the Leap of Faith. Plummeting to the ground, I shrieked in exhilaration and terror, laughed with relief as the rope caught me and my feet touched solid ground.
Hand Carved Birds & Little Wooden Chairs
When I was five, my grandfather died, and the kindergarten circus was at the same time as his funeral. My memories of the two things are all mixed up: it was the first funeral I went to, and when I think about it, I remember jumping through a hula hoop meant to be a ring of fire at the circus dress rehearsal and also my parents checking me out of school before the actual circus for the funeral, walking to the car, confused about what death really meant and what a funeral would be like.
Moments Of Joy
“Mommy, look! I found flowers, just for you,” my six year old says, proudly showing me a small collection he’s picked from our front yard.
We’re in the early days of the pandemic, and everything feels unsure and unstable. School has been cancelled for the next few weeks and we’ve been told to stay home.
The Back Porch Salon
Little one, with golden curls falling in front of your face, blocking your eyes from view, your first haircut is very much overdue. I had planned to take you to a fun kids salon, letting you choose a little fire truck, police car, or vintage airplane to sit in while I oohed and ahhed over what a big boy you are, praying the stylist wouldn’t cut those beautiful curls too short, silently mourning another last first; my last baby; the last time I will rapidly snap photos at a first haircut.
Slow & Steady
His bare feet pad through the grass; he has discarded his shoes somewhere in the backyard. He bends down to retrieve a ball and his diaper peeks out over the waistband of his shorts. Golden curls bounce as he follows his brothers, who are running back and forth across the yard, playing a game that vaguely resembles football.
Summer 2020 Favorites
Though we've been back in (virtual) school for a few weeks, I consider Labor Day weekend the "official" end of summer. Normally, we'd spend as many hours as possible at the pool, trying to squeeze in every last drop of summer fun before the pool bag and beach towels make their way to a closet to be stored until next summer. This summer... well, it has just been one long blur of days that all seem the same.
Are You On Mute?
The music teacher's enthusiastic introduction floats from the speakers of the laptop, where my first grader is supposed to be attending his fourth google meet of the day. I’m assisting my four-year-old with gluing a freight train on a large piece of paper in the other room.
Home Sweet Home
Dear House,
We’ve spent a lot more time together than I anticipated, over these last months. I have to be honest, I wasn’t exactly thrilled when I found out that you’d be the only place I saw for days on end. But these long days together have helped me realize just how thankful I am for you.
So Long, Stay at Home Summer
Water from the hose is spreading across the deck and their clothes are soaked. Water pipes purchased during our back to school at home shopping are providing entertainment while the baby naps. It is the end of summer; a summer where we haven’t gone to the pool once.
Top Ten Lessons of Quarantine
2020 seems like it's been never ending. March feels like a million years ago, and yet, I can't reconcile the fact that August and back to (virtual) school is just around the corner. Quarantine has been full of long days, lots of uncertainty, and plenty of life lessons. My top 10 quarantine lessons, in no particular order:
The Hand-Me-Down Cookbook
I have a shelf of books, up high where my children can’t reach them. They are mostly old books, ones that need to be kept out of reach of little hands. Some are copies autographed by the author; most are from the 1950’s; copies of Little House on the Prairie and childrens books that have been passed down from parents and grandparents.
Pandemic // Month 4
It’s July 13; it’s been four months since coronavirus, social distancing, virtual learning, and face masks became part of our daily lexicon. We’ve gotten used to rarely leaving the house, only getting in the car to head to a doctor’s appointment, grocery or Target pickup, or the recently added (and much appreciated) books to go pickup from the library.
Dear Legos
Dear LEGOs;
You’ve been a lifesaver during quarantine, it’s true. You’ve kept my children entertained for hours at a time, kept them creating and building. Your tiny blocks are full of endless possibilities.
The Monday Calls
When we suddenly and unexpectedly found ourselves under stay at home orders, with school cancelled, and an uncertain world outside our front doors, Monday nights became my favorite night of the week.
Preschool in the Pandemic: We Didn’t Get to Say Goodbye
This preschool year wrapped up this week for my three year old, and this certainly wasn’t the way I expected the year to end.
Favorite Things: Quarantine Edition
We've wrapped up week eight of being home, and this week, I was ready for something a little more light-hearted, so I'm doing a round up of some of my favorite things during quarantine.
Thank You, Kindergarten Teachers
It's been a school year no one could have imagined. One Friday, I picked my kindergartner up in carpool with a packet of at home activities, usernames, passwords, and extra library books "just in case we are out next week" and here we are closing out the school year virtually, with no idea what next school year may look like.
Social Distancing: Week 7
It's hard to believe it's May, because it feels like it was just March. All of April disappeared into the quarantine black hole, and all the usual ways we mark time have disappeared. I'm working on accepting that this may go on much longer than I could have imagined at the beginning.