I still remember the last “real” staff meeting we had at school. It was the day before spring break of 2020, and nearly 100 of us gathered in the library. Together. Our principal told us to take home our laptops “just in case” this whole Covid thing exploded like some health experts feared. There were varying levels of concern, but not a single one of … Continue reading One Weird Year
These days I’m never sure whether I’m moving forward, backward, or sideways… which made January’s palindrome days sadly validating: February gets me as well: Groundhog day is the perfect way to acknowledge pandemic weeks that blur together in an endless loop. In our house, mornings always start with the miserable task of waking our teenagers. It’s shockingly difficult. Apparently the only thing teens hate more … Continue reading It’s LITERALLY Groundhog Day
Sadly but not shockingly, the year is rounding out with a Christmas tree shortage. Really 2020?! Fortunately, we harvest our tree from the Chugach National Forest each year, which has 5.5 million acres of spruce to share. Access roads and pullouts weren’t plowed like usual, but eventually we found a spot to safely stash the truck while we wandered into the woods. It was an … Continue reading Treepiphany
It’s hard to believe we are finishing Week 6 of pandemic restrictions in Anchorage. The orders to hunker down are working, and today we celebrate that no new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Alaska! Next week our city begins the slow process of reopening, and I pray our numbers remain under control. In the past few weeks we have established a family routine that … Continue reading Our New Normal for Now
Families everywhere are looking for ways to pass the time and connect during this pandemic, and in our house we’ve stumbled upon something that is working really well. Like many families out there, we play games. And like most families out there, we watch movies. But we’ve linked these two activities in a competitive manner, and it has made all the difference in the world. … Continue reading Game Nights for Movie Rights
Writing is my happy place, and last night I had some fun creating a parody of Dr. Seuss’s classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I’m sharing with the hope that it can bring someone a smile during this difficult time. The Virus Who Tried to Ruin Easter So many humans on Earth liked Easter a lot… But COVID-19 clearly did not! The virus hated Easter! … Continue reading The Virus Who Tried to Ruin Easter
Happy Anniversary to us: 2020 marks 18 years of marriage and 26 years together! And with COVID-19, I mean together. All days, all nights, always. (Actually, as of now Clark is still going into his office daily, but we are following all the “hunker down” orders in effect for our community.) We never make a big to-do of our anniversary, so it wasn’t a huge … Continue reading Frame by Frame
So COVID-19. Wow. Many of us are simultaneously working, teaching, learning, parenting, and disinfecting. Let’s be honest: if these are our frustrations, we are the lucky ones. It means we are healthy. I desperately want to write about this global pandemic, but it’s so overwhelming and I don’t even know where to start. So many topics are ping-ponging through my brain right now: Check my … Continue reading Today. Just Today.
Profoundly Ordinary 