Next month marks twenty years since I returned from teaching English in Japan after graduating from college. Embarking on that adventure--so many unknowns and so much uncertainty--wasn't easy, but I really do think it altered the course of my life in many ways. I received a lot of advice in advance of going, but one of the best pieces might have been from my friend Kate who was already living there at the time while wrapping up her Fulbright. She told me, "It always helps to have things to look forward to." Her message was that the day-to-day will be enjoyable and often novel (it's Japan, after all), but possibly monotonous, too. So be sure to plan some fun things to get excited about...things on the horizon. I thought it was excellent advice then and I still think so now. This past year was chock full of unknowns and monotony, but having happy things to look forward to and enjoy punctuated our year. And now we have this summer, fall and winter to really give us positive things to set our sights on!
But first...we were ALL ready to tie a nice, neat bow on this school year...a school year like no other! I recently came across the mission statement that our family put together last summer, right before the school year began:
De Falco Family Mission Statement 2020
• Homework before play, music, reading or outdoor time
• Close doors and watch volume
• Participate in your virtual classes
• No messing around during classes
• Read every day
• Earlier bedtime
• Breakfast every morning
• Play outside whenever weather is good
• Support each other when times get tough
The kids contributed to many of these ideas and I'd say we did a decent job of sticking to most of them. Back then we were all so daunted by the prospect of a semester (or two!) of virtual school, but we figured out pretty quickly that the kids got great teachers and enthusiastic classmates. Also, the remote experience for the 2020-2021 school year looked nothing like the sudden transition to online learning that we jarringly experienced in March 2020. All in all, our year was really positive and we feel so grateful that our school district made it happen.
See? We survived!
The day before school ended, Sebastian's entire first grade class got together for a picnic. It was the first time they'd ever met in person. He was so happy to spend time with his teacher...
And virtual buddies!
They did crafts...
And played together like they'd been in-person all year. It was wonderful to see!
Special breakfast on the final day of school...Tony baked a bakery-worthy new bread recipe!
At the supply drop-off, Sebastian got to meet his reading teacher...in-person...for the first time! Meeting with Mr. Maxwell every day before lunch this year was a major highlight for Sebastian. They had a blast and Sebastian's reading really took off!
And...the big kids got ice cream as a send-off!
A very sweet end to this crazy year!
In other news, Samuel got his second vaccine. YEAH!
I successfully made homemade ramen! Nothing fancy but, boy, was it good!
And some award-winning cupcakes. Again, not fancy, but yummmmmm.
Yay, for summer! The kids were thrilled when our local pool reopened.
Guess who we spotted at the Westminster Dog Show?? Noah the Cardigan Welsh Corgi from our town of Montgomery, Ohio! Can't wait to see him at a local park one day!
Now back to things to look forward to. We didn't travel for
spring break this year because we weren't fully vaccinated yet, but that didn't mean that we weren't thinking about it. Since we always have some time between school ending and camp starting, we knew that would be perfect for a belated week in Florida. Our first real POP! to our pandemic bubble. And off we went! (Well, sort of. Frontier Airlines put us through some crazy departure time whiplash the morning of our flight, but luckily, we made it to Ft. Myers in one piece and then there was no looking back!)
Our goals were to go to the beach, go to the pool, eat yummy things and just RELAX... We definitely got to do all of that!
Everyone on the beach got a huge kick out of this Great Egret just going for a stroll along the water. It was completely unfazed by all of the beachgoers and paparazzi!
With its great weather, Ft. Myers has many restaurants with outdoor seating options. One of our favorites is right on the bay, with a menu that's right up our alley (hint: lots of fresh seafood!). So we got all dressed up...
And arrived on the earlier end...we had the patio to ourselves! Time for cocktails and mocktails...
And lobster, scallops, mussels, shrimp and fish!
Sebastian was turning 7 (!!) two days later, so we celebrated while we were out. He was very surprised and excited since he had been waiting to turn seven FOREVER! 😉
More ocean time!
More good eats!
And more relaxing!
Then it was Sebastian's official birthday! We started with eclairs...
Gifts and...
One-of-a-kind cards!
And then hit the beach for our last day. It was glorious out!
And ended with colorful sea-themed cupcakes from Publix. Such a special day! 💙
We returned (with less Frontier Airlines drama) to Cincinnati with heavy hearts, but still savoring our perfect week. And what lessened the blow just a bit?? Day camp starting the very next day...and Sebastian finally gets to go! I told you we had a lot to look forward to.
And we're just getting started!
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