End of Year: 2020

I feel like there is nothing I can say about this year that is new, that has not been said by a million other people. I'll just say this: I am glad it is over. 

This past year, Clare and Christopher showed such strength and resiliency. I am amazed by them, really. They were asked to upend their entire lives for the protection of their parents and grandparents. And they did it. They didn't always like it, but they understood why it was important and they did it. (Which is more than I can say for a lot of adults in this world.)

Living through a worldwide pandemic has not been easy for anyone, but I think they key word here is "living".  Despite it all, we lived our lives as best we could. We saw friends outside. We saw family in our bubble inside. We had some nice times. So, instead of reflecting on all we didn't have this year, I thought I'd make a short list of this year's highlights.

• Clare and Christopher, who yes, fought frequently, also found ways to entertain themselves in rather hilarious fashion, including something they call the Flunday Night Tickle Down that involves Clare as "Poopy Person" and Christopher as "Diaper Dude" and they do some kind of combination of wrestling and tickling. They also make "Belly Promises" to each other and bump bellies when they agree to something.
• We played hundreds of board games, including countless rounds of trivia via Zoom with the kids' grandparents. I love that the kids are old enough to play some of my old favorites like Clue and Life.
• We bought a camper and went camping with friends several times. It felt so good to be out in nature and out of our house.
• We spent a long weekend at a beautiful house on a lake in Wisconsin with family.
• Halloween was epic - our party was possibly more fun than Halloween in a "normal" year.
• Technology to the rescue: we've all participated in various Zoom birthday parties, meetings, summer camps and game nights.
• We found creative ways to make up for the things we missed, including our re-creation of the State Fair at my parents' house, complete with fried food, a bouncy house and animal viewings.
• Books! I read 104 books this year, which I am sure is the most books I have read in one year as an adult. My favorites: "Hamnet", "The Vanishing Half", "The Yellow House", and "Red at the Bone". I also read many mysteries and "chick lit"-type novels ranging from quite good to mediocre, but I enjoyed them.
• Clare was able to play soccer, with provided a much-needed social and physical outlet for her. Christopher was able to attend a social-distance theater camp, which, same.
• It was kind of nice having Ben home with us, even though he spends most of the day in the basement and I am sure he would rather be at the office.
• We ate a lot of take out in the name of supporting local businesses. Our favorite is Urban Growler, a woman-owned brewery near our house. 
• The library re-opened! The library re-opened! I also bought many books from a cute bookstore in my neighborhood.
• The simple act of walking with a friend could make the day so much better. Especially when the walk ended with a take out coffee.
• I found renewed gratitude for all I have: house, food, family. I know that much of what I have is by accident of birth, and not a day has gone by this year where I have not reminded myself of how lucky we are. (Maybe this should have been first on my list? All well.)

So yes, overall this year was crap. But, thankfully, there is still good to be found if I look for it.

I know better than to say anything about 2021. We'll just have to see what happens. In the meantime, here are some pictures from December. We had a nice Christmas, even if it wasn't normal.

Note: These are in reverse order and frankly I am too lazy to mess around with changing them.

Clare and Christopher made this family tree for Ben and I for Christmas. I love it! 

Ringing in 2021 - this shot is from 12:01 a.m. on 1/1/21. 

Sleepover for New Year's Eve. They were so excited to stay up until midnight. I was shocked (and less excited) that they made it.

Sledding near our house. I am glad there is some snow.

Christmas morning joy.

Waiting (not so) patiently to be allowed downstairs on Christmas morning. Ben and I like to make our coffee and turn on the lights before the chaos starts.

Ready for Christmas morning!

Cookies and milk for Santa on Christmas Eve.

Checking Santa's whereabouts on Google's Santa Tracker.

Enjoying a meat and cheese skewer on Christmas Eve.

Cuties.

Christmas Eve family time.

Cheers with a sidecar. (Oh, I should have added this to my list: I experimented with many different cocktails this year.)

Clare played Christmas music all through December (and through most of November).

Decorating Christmas cookies. Josie and Otto were also decorating and we did a Portal call.

Clare and I had a high tea for Christmas! It was fun and delicious. Clare wanted us to be "elegant" but spilled food on herself almost immediately. "I guess we aren't elegant," she said. No Clare, no we are not.

I made so many of one of my favorite Christmas cookies. I have the recipe from my dear grandmother, and I love seeing her handwriting and reading her notes every year when I make these.

Working on a research project about Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Picking out our tree from our tree lot neighbors.

Couldn't resist this shot of a dragon doing distance learning.

November (and October)

One thing 2020 has taught me is there is no point in making plans. Which is sad, because making plans is my favorite hobby. The craziness of the election, COVID case counts on the rise, and a Thanksgiving that wasn't what we hoped it would be has made for a long November.

We had planned to go my parents' house for Thanksgiving, but the Governor's latest order put a stop to that. We were all disappointed, but we made the best of it by cooking the full Thanksgiving dinner. Yes, we had an 18 pound turkey and all the sides. For four people.  It was a lot of food, but it tasted good and we had a nice day playing games, watching football, and participating in three Zoom calls. We talked to my parents and brother and sister and families, the extended family on my Dad's side, and Ben's family. The kids get a little bored with the Zoom calls, which is understandable. I enjoy being able to see everyone's faces. A random note: a year or two ago, my Aunt Karen told me she thought Clare looked like my cousin Lauren. I didn't see it at first, but the older Clare gets the more like Lauren she looks. This is a good thing - Lauren is very pretty.

This month we also took a few hikes, played at a few playgrounds, and had a few virtual Scout meetings. The highlight, besides Thanksgiving, was probably the Harry Potter movie marathon I had with Clare. We didn't leave the pullout couch in our playroom for about 30 hours. (We also had a sleepover, we weren't just staring at the screen for 30 hours. Just 22 hours.) It was really fun.

I was amused by the following story. Clare and I were driving to the library a few weeks ago when she announced, "I don't think Santa is real. I think it's just you. Is it?" Well. I told her she was right, after asking if she really wanted to know. "I have been suspicious since I saw the top of our chimney. How could he fit down there?" I feel like she has been suspicious of the whole Santa thing since she was two. As we pulled into the parking lot to the library, she said, "Oh, and I don't believe in the Easter Bunny anymore, either." Okay then. She claimed she never believed in the Easter Bunny, because "How could a bunny deliver chocolate?" My little logical skeptic.

(Both kids know that I am the Tooth Fairy.)

October. It seems like a lifetime ago. The highlight by far was Halloween. I think the kids actually had more fun this Halloween than they normally do on that holiday. That is probably the only thing we can say that about in this year of COVID. We had a Halloween party with my parents, and Katie, Andrew, Josie and Otto. Clare nominated herself to be chair of the Party Planning Committee, and she took her job seriously. We played games, including wrapping Ben and Andrew in toilet paper (mummies!) and watched them race in the backyard. They didn't disappoint. The kids went trick or treating from room to room in the house. It was really fun, and I am glad we had that time together, since it is the last time we all hung out together before the current restrictions went into place.

Let's see, what else happened in October? I turned 41. We were camping at Gooseberry Falls over my birthday weekend. It was freezing and it snowed, but we were with friends, which doesn't happen too often these days and made it worth being cold. And Lake Superior is one of my favorite places on Earth.

Christopher turned 7. He had fun on our camping trip and at his small party. We did a few other fall things, including a trip to La Crosse (the fall colors were stunning and Christopher was able to read my grandma a story and act it out as well) and a trip to the apple orchard.

Christopher had an assignment for school a few weeks ago, where we both had to make a list of five things we are thankful for. I kept it simple and small: my family, especially my kiddos, my four best friends (and all of my friends), our house, the fact that we are lucky enough not to worry about having enough food, and books (my escape from the world).

Christopher went big: "I am thankful that there are people on the planet,  I am thankful for plants because they give us oxygen and provide us food, I am thankful that I have a good family, I am thankful that I have a house and I am thankful for the planet."

I'm grateful to the teacher who assigned this, because it gave me a chance to pause, take a deep breath, and literally count my blessings. Even though this month, this year, and however long to come might not be what we want it to be, we still have a lot to be thankful for.

And now, here are some pictures from the past two months. Yay!

Christopher settled in for the 30 minute drive to the campsite for his birthday camping in October. 

Camping crew!

                                      

Opening presents at his birthday party. We also had pizza and cake.

Fun at Whistling Well Farm. We had a beautiful day and it wasn't crowded.

October snow.

Clare making a cake during her virtual Girl Scout meeting.

The spread at my outdoor joint birthday party (with my friend Kerry).

We did not have nice weather for an outdoor Halloween event with Stepping Stone Theater.

Christopher's face here shows how he felt about it.

They did have fun sorting their candy and making trades.

Pumpkin carving on Halloween day.

A sea witch and a devil trick or treating at the bathroom door.

Followed by a dinosaur and the grim reaper.

Enjoying a rare warm November day with a Noodles picnic and a playground.

Hiking at Taylor's Falls. They had fun climbing around the potholes and then whined for the entire hike. I might have whined a little bit, too.

Day 2 of the Harry Potter movie marathon.

Clare was very helpful on Thanksgiving. And very dressed up.

Once again, Christopher's face will tell you how he felt about our walk at the Minnesota River.

Seven

Christopher, somehow, is seven. 

I was looking over what I wrote last year on his birthday, and not much has changed. (Other than the entire world, but for Christopher, not much has changed. I guess it is nice to have one constant.)

One new thing - he is joining Scouts. He is very excited about this. I am not sure how much they'll be able to do right now, but hopefully it will be a chance for him to interact with some peers. 

Christopher is still very empathetic and sweet. When we were talking about joining Scouts, I expressed surprise about how much more expensive it is than Girl Scouts. Christopher thought it was way too much money. "That's okay," he said. "I don't have to do it since it costs so much." I assured him I was willing to pay.

He still loves to laugh and to entertain. If he enjoys a joke he will tell it to everyone he knows. Literally everyone. 

He has a huge vocabulary, and sometimes it is funny to hear these giant words coming out of his mouth. Especially since he still has some trouble pronouncing the "r" sound. (He met with the Speech Therapist this year, who said he doesn't make enough errors to qualify for services - we'll reevaluate at the end of this school year.)

He enjoys reading. His favorite books right now are the Dogman and Gerald and Piggie series. Clare is reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets to Christopher and their grandma (virtually). It is a nice time for all three of them. Christopher loved the first one in the Harry Potter series, which Clare also read to him.

Clare and Christopher are on a rollercoaster together - sometimes they love playing together and sometimes they fight like crazy. This has always been true, but it is especially true now that they spend so much time together.

Christopher has made a new friend in his class, Theo. Theo happens to be Clare's best friend's younger brother, so this works out well. I think we may pod with them over the winter so the kids can play together inside.

Christopher loves baking, and creates his own recipes. He made a chocolate cake with orange zest without a recipe that turned out surprisingly well. I am giving him a kids' baking book for his birthday that I hope he'll enjoy.

Some favorites at seven: transformers (yes, still), Legos, Minecraft, Minecraft, Minecraft, reading, playing basketball, Taekwondo (over Zoom), Odd Squad, Wild Kratts, Transformer cartoons, board games, fruit, and snuggling.

Some dislikes: Distance Learning (this has been a major challenge for both of us), broccoli, yellow rice, bugs, brushing his teeth (why), and COVID (he says it's a party pooper. Yes, Christopher, it certainly is.) 

Also, according to a writing activity he just completed for school, his likes include pizza, pancakes, macaroni and cheese and oranges. His dislikes include being scared, dressing up like a princess, broccoli, spinach, and tomatoes.

For his birthday, Christopher asked if we could go camping. I am glad we have our new pop-up, because it is going to be chilly. Our normal camping friends are coming with us, which will be great. We are also having a family party with my sister and her family on Sunday. Unfortunately, that party can't include Ben's parents. I will be making a strawberry cake and we are ordering pizza. I hope he has a great birthday weekend. He has been asking Alexa how many days there are until his birthday since July.

Happy birthday to my most favorite boy in the world. We love you so much!

"I like oranges because they are tasty." "I don't like brokaly (sic) because they are not tasty."