Our new norm

The weeks seem to be flying by as we transition from one stage to the next of living with Coronavirus in our midst. Initially, we were in survival mode. If you read just a few blog posts back, you can hear the anxiety in my tone and writing. There was trepidation in all we did. Then we moved into a stage of homeostasis. We had figured out what worked pretty well and we did it over and over...wash, rinse, repeat (and I'm not just talking about the groceries). I wouldn't say that we were much more relaxed than before, but at least we were no longer counting quarantine days or googling whether the extreme desire to bake something that calls for yeast is a COVID symptom. And now, three months in, we're feeling rather resigned to the "new norm." Brie is in a golf camp for the second week in a row. Samuel is doing a small board game-making camp this week. We went to our community pool yesterday (and had it to ourselves!). I recently hosted a socially-distanced Thirsty Thursday with the gals in the neighborhood. We're still being very careful, but we're thoughtfully venturing out into the world again, too.

Everywhere we look, though, there are reminders that we're in the middle of a pandemic. For sure there are many things I'll look back on and think, "Yup, that was during the virus." For example, a thoughtful neighbor made these ornaments for the recent 4th grade grads. You gotta love how cleverly they did the "2020."

Another neighbor was especially kind and sewed masks for all three kids with fabric that they picked out. They love wearing them since they designed them. 🧡

And...I took a picture of our bookshelves for my latest Zoom background. Not half bad! 

But is it possible to put the all-encompassing circumstances aside for some festivities? We think so! We started a few months back and are still going strong! In May, Tony and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary...woohoo!

We showed the kids our wedding video for the first time, which was kind of awesome. They loved it and Tony and I felt so grateful to have the video since many family members and friends who were there have since passed.

I found myself taking photos as if I was there...silly, I know. Here's one I my favorite screen grabs: my gorgeous bridal party!

The next day (as always), we celebrated Tony's birthday! He was pretty excited about his new Griffindor shirt.

At his request, we baked him a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. The kids had a great time decorating it.

He got lots of fun cards...

And hugs, of course! 💙

More celebrating?? Our neighborhood organized a parade for all the recent high school grads (including two of our favorite sitters) since their official ceremony was cancelled. It was really heartwarming!

And for Memorial Day, we absolutely had to grill out and eat outside. Our burgers, fries and watermelon were so yummy!

We also rejoiced when the Kona Ice Truck visited our neighborhood. This small event made our day!

As for our new norm, there is a lot to be thankful for. Since our favorite day camp was cancelled, we've had an overabundance of free time. On the upside, the kids rock at playing nicely together for extended periods of time.

And I keep baking, though less frequently. This carrot cake bite recipe was a good find!

And cooking! Mom, Dad and Beth gifted us a few Purple Carrot meals for our birthdays. We really enjoyed trying some new recipes...they were all delicious!!

We also made our first Impossible Burgers...not bad at all!

It turns out that Samuel likes spaces that are clean and orderly. He's inspired us all to declutter more.

And the kids have torn apart the house, so they could reassemble old and forgotten toys. They're fun all over again!

Unfortunately, there have been some dark moments, too, like Brie being invited to her best friend's birthday party and us having to decline (and then have a tough discussion about it). Definitely an alternate universe we're living in.

Since we're all occupying strange head spaces lately, I think things that would otherwise be unmemorable have made more of a lasting impression. Sometimes I hear things being said and they resonate more than they ordinarily would. Here are a few:

Me: "Samuel, PJ and brush teeth time." Samuel: "Thank you for reminding me. I'm losing track of time and my mind."

Brie wrote this beautiful poem about herself at the end of the school year:

I AM POEM

I am special

I wonder about where my life will take me

I hear the pitter patter of rain

I see a rainbow with all of the colors

I want to go somewhere remarkable

I am special

I pretend to fly

I feel like a bird

I touch a cloud that is fluffy

I worry about crashing

I cry about my friends

I am special

I understand what to do

I say I can do this

I dream about walking on the ceiling

I try my hardest

I hope to do good

I am special

Janet (from the TV show "The Good Place," which Tony and I have loved watching on Netflix): "Humans only live 80 years, and they spend so much of it just waiting for things to be over." PREACH!!

Bas: "I don't want to touch the Coronavirus forever." (While crying) "This was my best day and I don't want to ruin it!" Ugh...

Snowflake: "Did someone call for a super cute white hamster with two eye colors?? I've arrived!" (Snowflake didn't actually say this, but you could tell she wanted to.)

Me: "Are you kidding me?" Tony and I have interesting "luck" when it comes to projects around the house. We recently had our driveway resealed. It looks amazing. But wouldn't you know it? Not four hours after the workers left, we went down to check it out and found dog prints all along the driveway. We think a neighbor's dog was walking around without a leash. (sigh)

But maybe there are still things that bring hope? We all watched the SpaceX rocket launch together. It was incredibly exciting!

And Baby Yoda arrived in the mail. He has inspired lots of fun play and sweetness in our house.

I think we just might make it through this. Here's to surviving in the new norm!

P.S. A few weeks ago, Samuel's Sunday School class studied a type modern art that parodies biblical art. He and his classmates each created their own parody and Samuel's was well-received. Here is a link to his five minutes of fame: https://www.facebook.com/cinci.skirball/photos/a.867490416636481/3289740904411408/?type=3