Stay at Home and COVID-19

Unprecidented. That is the word that we keep hearing over and over again.  As we are in unprecidented and historic times at the moment, I thought I should probably post some of the realities of "today".

Sometime in January (or was it November? December? Who can remember...) we began hearing about a new virus that was sweeping through Wuhan, China. Coronavirus. Then it started to hit some cruise ships and then Italy, pretty signaficantly. I'm not an alarmist, but I wondered what would come of this.  Japan went on lock-down to help reduce the spread and get ahead of it. My nephew, Trevor, and his family are there so we were keeping somewhat up-to-date on how things were going there.

In early March we started hearing things like, "We have to social distance and flatten the curve." Places like China and Italy were having such high rates of Coronavirus (also called COVID-19 now) that hospitals were being overrun and having to turn away critically ill patients. This virus is no joke and some people land in the hospital for weeks needing to be on ventilators. When ventilators run out, hospitals can only do so much. Measures were needed to help ensure US hospitals were not over-burdened with critically ill patients so one-by-one, states started issuing Stay and Home orders. North Carolina's was issued on March 14 and school buildings were closed beginning on March 16. Katey was in Indiana and Taylor University closed on March 17. Mike picked her up and she remained home to do school virtually for the rest of the semester.

Thankfully, Mike and I are both able to work from home and continue to be paid.  But it has been a strange month.

Being on lockdown/quarantine/stay-at-home (whatever you want to call it) does bizarre things to your brain. First of all, humans are social beings - even the most introverted of us. Being told to stay away from anyone who isn't your immediate family takes a toll on your emotional well-being. Secondly, you start to worry about things like food and toilet paper and COVID-19 germs floating through the air. And finally, you don't even remember, or care, what day it is!

When this started I found myself thinking things like, "If Seth eats another bowl of cereal I'm going to lose my mind. We are going to run out of milk and cereal and then what will we do?!" Logically the answer is that we will go to the store and get more. But we are also being advised to not leave the house unless absolutley necessary. And to wear masks. And to not touch your face. And maybe to wipe down all the things you buy from the store - or maybe not. So there is worry.

Toilet paper has been somewhat hard to come by. Partly, at first, from people buying it up to stockpile, but partly from fewer businesses being open and more people working from home, so people legitimately needing more at their houses. Meats have also been a little hit or miss around us. Some of the processing plants have been hit with the virus and had to close so there is less meat to be had.

We, our immediate family, have it good. We have not lost income, we have food in the house, we have reliable internet and electronic devices, we haven't been sick. And still, this is hard. We are in our 7th week of Stay at Home orders and we are restless. We are tired. We are lonely. We have enjoyed our schedule slowing down, but we miss the activity, the fun, the people. And some days our brains are like mush, for no apparent reason at all. Work is difficult. School is difficult. Sleep is strange. Motivation is lacking. Things take twice as long to accomplish.We read that is due to our natural "fight or flight" mode kicking in. If I weren't in the midst of experiencing it I don't think I would believe it, but it is true. And I cannot imagine what folks are feeling if they are experiencing stressors that our family isn't.

We are hoping that measures will be eased in another couple of weeks. No one is quite sure what life will look like in the coming days, weeks, months or even years. We hear that experts believe there may be a second wave of the virus in the fall. School leaders are making plans now to be prepared in case buildings are shuttered and we have to move to online learning again. We are wondering if we will be able to get together with family at the holidays or not, and even if we will be able to travel this summer. It may be a strange new world we are walking into...whenever we are allowed to walk into it again.

2+ years?!

How can it be over 2 years since I have posted anything to this blog?! It was a summer goal of mine to update here and catch up a bit.  Summer break ends in 3 days for me.  Whoops.

So here is a quick run-down of the last 2 years:

- Katey took Driver's Ed, did an extra session of in-car instruction because "she just isn't ready" according to the driving instructor, got her permit, tried not to drive as much as possible, got her license, and now has a car and is ready to drive to and from school every day.  *I had no idea the amount of anxiety that comes from a child behind the wheel (both with me and without me in the car!)

- Seth decided to try out for soccer with the school in 7th grade, even though it had be 4 years since he last played.  He decided he wanted to be goalie and he made the team!  We laughed as his school has a large Hispanic population and out of 50 kids trying out he was one of 4 that were not Hispanic!  He played in both 7th and 8th grade and is now on the team for his 9th grade year at CATA.

- Katey started thinking about college.  We did a campus tour at Taylor University, both Mike's and my alma mater, and she loved it.  She has applied there and plans to apply to Appalacian State as well.

- Seth had one rough week last summer.  He was bit by a random dog that we couldn't catch or track down (and the Animal Control agent was almost bit by the dog 3 times while trying to catch it) so he had to undergo rabies treatment just in case.  I had no idea that process was so expensive, but if we had to pay for all of it, it would have been right around $20,000!  In the same week he also endured 75 ant bites while playing a game in a field, and fell on gravel during a team building game at school and tore up his knee and shin.  We are glad to have all of that behind him!

- Granny and Papaw have settled in but not without a lot of turmoil.  This is for a separate post on its own, but it has been a tough 2 years to be sure. 

- Jen continued to sub in the UCPS school system.  She filled in as the Admin at the church office for a couple of months at the end of last summer and helped to train the new hire.  In February she was hired as Teacher Assistant at Rocky River and spent the remainder of the school year working full time there along with continuing to work as the Youth Admin at church.

- Mike celebrated 20 years at JS Walker!  There was a lot of change within the company and it hasn't been an easy couple of years, but he continues to work hard and enjoys most days at work.

- Jen served on a community advisory committee with UCPS in working on new plans for a district-wide redistricting plan.  This was a passion of hers after the previous redistricting that was difficult.  The process was long, and not always easy, but she enjoyed putting in the work, doing research, and working together with a great group of folks who wanted to see positive changes for the county.

There is so much more to post about.  But for now, this will have to do.  Yahoo for posting again!

Life with the Grands

Recently Granny and Papaw moved in with Mom.  I offered to help with shuttle service to doctor appointments and general errands, especially as they get settled into and learn a new area.  Here is just one of the adventures that has resulted:

The Doctor
Mom asked if I would go in with the Grands for the initial meeting with the new primary care physician.  As she put it, "since Papaw can't hear and Granny can't remember."  I wasn't sure that was entirely necessary...at first.  But just completing the new patient paperwork in the reception area proved to be an adventure.  One conversation went like this:

Granny: I filled out all the paperwork
Me:  (Looking it over) - Granny, you missed the part about current ailments.
Granny:  I did not. I read over it.
Me: But you didn't check the box for high cholesterol.  You have high cholesterol.
Granny: I do not!  I take medicine so it isn't high!

And then later, after the doctor comes in, I asked Granny if it was noted in her charts that she has issues with sodium levels.  She tells me, "No, I don't tell doctors about that!".  Of course, the doctor has perked up and starts asking questions about this.  As we are discussing that Granny has passed out when sodium levels drop, she is adamantly denying this fact while Papaw is ranting about how even the Indians in Ohio and Michigan knew you needed salt in your diet and would trade flint for salt.  

And thus began my new journey with the Grands.

Toby Mac

The kids have loved Toby Mac and his music for years.  So when we saw that he was coming to Charlotte, we took the opportunity to scoop up tickets to give them for Christmas.  Of course, we wanted to give them in a unique and fun manner, and we all love Survivor, so Mike and I (mostly Mike) came up with a Survivor challenge for Katey and Seth to complete in order to reveal their big gift.

First they each had to untangle a little key that was wound round and round and round the DVD rack.  Katey was speedy at this task, but Seth hung in there and eventually they both were off to the next task.  The keys unlocked small bags containing letter pieces:

After tearing into the bags the kids had to unscramble the letters.  This proved to be no easy task.

Both of them got the first bag unscrambled pretty quickly:  'Going to'

The next bag was much more challenging: 'See Toby Mac'  

The gift that Katey got Seth for Christmas (with *maybe* a little hinting from Mom) was the new Toby Mac CD.  So we had that playing while the kids were working.  Mike and I were trying hard to not bust out laughing as we were, unbeknownst to them, calling out hints left and right.  "Wow, this song is really great!  Toby Mac is a great artist!" and "I bet he would be fun to see in person."  We kept saying "Toby Mac" over and over and over.  And finally they got it:

And the kids were EXCITED!!  

But, they had to wait until February for the concert.  As the date drew closer Katey and Seth were getting more and more excited.  They each got to invite a friend to come along and then spend the night afterward.  

The concert was a lot of fun!  It was 4 hours of pure energy and volume!  We got to see, not only Toby Mac, but also Hollyn, Colton Dixon, Britt Nicole, Building 429, Capital Kings and Finding Favour.  Of course Toby Mac was the BEST! 

Spiders

I feel a great need to write down the events that transpired today.  Hopefully Future Seth will like that I am doing this instead of hating me for it...

It was 1:00 PM.  The phone rang and on the other end was a voice that no mother likes hearing:  The voice of the School Nurse. 

Our school nurse informed me that Seth was in her office because he claimed to have been bitten by a spider on the playground and his finger felt numb and hot to him.  Seth told her he was bitten by a Daddy Longlegs.  Her response?  "Well, that is good because they are not poisonous!"  His response?  "Yes they are.  They don't normally bite people but they are the most poisonous spiders alive."  Hence the call to me.

After I stopped laughing, I let the nurse know that she was indeed correct and they are not poisonous.  She told me there were no marks on his finger at all - that it was unlikely that he was bitten by anything, let alone a poisonous spider.  I asked her to give Seth an ice pack for his finger and send him back to class.  Before she did that she had Seth talk to me and I reassured him that I had just recently looked this information up (which I had) and that he was in no danger whatsoever.

Seriously, I chuckled about this for another hour until Seth got home from school - and then I was sad.  My poor son had worked himself into a small panic and was really afraid something was wrong - he was even nervous that he was going to die.  :-(  I pulled up several websites all showing the same information - Daddy Longlegs (or what we call Daddy Longlegs around here) are not venomous and don't even have the means to bite people.  Seth was skeptical until we saw that the cast from Mythbusters had tested the poison theory and they declared the myth busted - the spiders are not venomous.  It was at this point that Seth relaxed and ran outside to play.  He hasn't complained about his finger since.

A Kid's Paradise...

Katey was wandering around the living room this evening, brushing her hair and giving us a glimpse into her creative and dreaming mind.  I'm not sure how the exposition began, but she was describing what a Kid's Paradise would be like according to her.  I began typing the list as I realized what she was saying.

So, without further ado, A Kid's Paradise...according to Katey:

Bunk beds

You can visit any website, any time you want

Super fast wi-fi...I mean SUPER fast!

Any food you want to eat, any time

Every movie

Any phone you want – you can even have multiple phones, and an iPod touch

Technology galore!

All your belongings are there with you and you can stay in touch with your parents

A whole lot of instruments and you can have video chat lessons (so I can still learn piano)

Did I already mention vending machines that NEVER run out of food and they are all FREE!

Everyone has their own room and you can move it anywhere you want at any time - and there are 2 sets of bunk beds, at least, for every kid!

I love that Katey included that kids can stay in touch with their parents...and Mrs. Alison will be pleased to hear that piano can still be taught.  This girl has big dreams!!

Fun in Ohio

Just after summer started the kids and I headed to Ohio for a visit.  While we missed Mike terribly (and deserted him on Father's day, no less!), our trip with action-packed and filled with lots of fun.

Shannon and Jason have their pool all set-up and opened so we (read:the kids) spent a lot of time out in the chilly water having a blast! 

On Father's Day we went to church and were privileged to witness Gabriella's baptism!  As if that weren't wonderful enough, I was filled to the brim with joy to also be surrounded by Dad, Granny and Papaw.  Apart from weddings, I think this was the first time I had been at church with Papaw (who has just recently accepted Christ and been baptized himself!).  What a morning to celebrate! 

Jason baptizing Gabriella

Dad and his girls.  Aubrey insisted we wear the same dress!

Later that day Sara and the kids came to spend the night and following day with us.  It is always so good to be with our dear friends and our time together is too short.  But, the kids LOVED being together and I loved being able to catch up with Sara.

The rest of our trip was spent enjoying time with family.  Emily came over with Laken and Evvy (no pictures of that - bad me!) and it was so fun to see how much they have grown over the last 6 months.  We spent lots of time with Granny and Papaw, and headed up to see Grandma Brown one day as well. 

Whew!  There was a lot of action packed into a short trip.  As always, we were sad to leave, but happy to be returning home to see Mike.

The Last Day of School

It's tradition!

Last day of 6th Grade!

Last day of 3rd Grade!

Picture Perfect

Our Katey.  Our smart, sweet, loving, scattered and wonderful Katey.  Looking over this last school year, there is so much that has just screamed, "Katey!"

She started Middle School.  Mom was a nervous wreck - I remember Middle School and all the insecurities that came with it.  But, Katey was not me.  She headed in, full force, and loved it!  There was much talk of lockers being butterflied (pad locks turned around to make it tough to open them), kids who didn't do what they were supposed to (and Katey making sure teachers were aware of such transgressions), annoying classmates, great friends made, and the Battle of the Books team adventure. 

But there was one thing that happened in particular that made Mike and I just shake our heads, smile, and proclaim that this event was a perfect way to sum up Katey.

School was winding down, and Katey came home on June 1st fit to be tied.  In her best 'outraged' voice she hit the door exclaiming that she had won an award at school that day but NO ONE had told her she was receiving it and NO ONE made sure she was at the awards ceremony to receive it.  Her award was the Best Overall Language Arts Student in her team of teachers (about 150 students).  The awards ceremony was a big deal - parents were invited and the kids who were getting awards were able to leave class to be a part of the ceremony.  Mike and I had no idea, as we were not notified.

I began trying to calm Katey down and started questioning her.  "Did you get an envelope in the last week or two to bring home to us?"  No.  "Did any of your teachers mention to you that you should be at the ceremony?"  No.  "Are you sure?"  YES!  At first I was pretty ticked off at her teachers...and then I asked to see her school folders.

It took several minutes to wade through past homework and school work, progress reports and miscellaneous stuff, but then I found it.

A letter dated May 23, notifying us that Katey was receiving an award and asking for an RSVP to the ceremony.  Oops.  Katey was mystified.  She had no recollection of being given that letter or it being in her folder. 

So there it is.  A picture-perfect illustration of our Katey.  The best overall language arts student who didn't pass along an invitation and didn't even realize she was getting the award.  What a fitting way to end 6th grade...and because she has such a good temperament, we all laughed about it once the mystery was solved.  :-)

Our bright scholar with her award!

 

All Things Seth

Seth in pictures

Mustache Day at school!

Seth received an award for being on the Honor Roll all year!

Tie-Dye t-shirts for his class to wear on Field Day

Watching TV and snuggling with Daddy

Super Hero Day at school - Seth went as Thor

Candy Bars

My (school) year has been consumed with trying to sell all of the chocolate bars left from our annual PTA fundraiser.  We began selling in mid-September and the final box left my possession this week!!  As I have spent the year fretting over getting rid of them, dreaming about getting rid of them, and working on getting rid of them, I cannot express the utter relief I feel in knowing that we have gotten rid of ALL of the chocolate bars!

 If I ever see another one of these it will be TOO SOON!!!

Baseball

Now that the season has ended I figured it would be a great time to write about Seth's first baseball experience.  I, of course, would not have wanted to write about this earlier as it would have only been a partial story and cliffhangers are a little on the mean side.  Yeah, that's why I waited.

So Seth asked to try his hand with baseball this Spring and we were excited to let him do it! Having never played before, this was a completely new, somewhat difficult experience for him.  One thing we have noticed about Seth is that he likes to be the best at everything.  And, like his Momma, he wants to figure things out on his own, not be told how to do something.

Enter baseball.

Most of the kids on Seth's team had played t-ball or coach pitch in previous years.  They were familiar with the rules and with being at the plate to bat.  We were pleasantly surprised that Seth was very good about taking instruction - not only from his coaches, but also from his peers.  He worked hard and tried his very best.  He practiced at home and asked questions if there was something he didn't understand (because baseball, unlike soccer, has A LOT of rules!).

Seth got to play right field, left field, 3rd base and 2nd base throughout the season.  He did a wonderful job backing up players and being quick on his feet to run down hard-hit balls.  Over the course of the season he learned to be patient at the plate and watch for good balls to swing at.  While he was never able to get a hit in a game, he did get several walks, and we were all proud of him for that.

When asked, Seth told us that he would definitely like to play baseball again, and he is very excited that, even though the season is finished, his coaches are planning to get the kids together once a month or so to continue refining their skills.  We can't wait for next season!

Seth's first-ever at bat

Pictures

While Shannon and the girls were here we decided to have some pictures taken of the kids.  Our friend from church, Taryn (terra firma photography), met us at a park and she got some great shots!

I think this one is one of my favorites:

Why?  Because we asked that a re-creation be done of this picture from 3 years ago:

Love it!!

But, really, we have some cute kids.  :-) See:

A Weekend Project

For awhile now we have been toying with the idea of a new TV stand.  (And by 'awhile' I mean like 2 years.  Can't be too careful in the decision making process!)  Mike was thumbing through a Handyman magazine awhile back and a plan caught his eye.  We both liked the design and the article mentioned that it only took a weekend for the creator of the pattern to finish this project.  Perfect!

So, Mike set out to put his tools to good use and started on our new piece of furniture. 

And after a weekend, this is what was finished:

So, Mike kept working diligently and after a week and a half this is what it looked like: 

 Another week or so and he had the drawers in and ready to go (something he had to learn as he had not done drawers before!).  I should mention here that we did have to wait a few days for drawer hardware to arrive as the size we needed isn't carried at Home Depot or Lowes. 

 Next came all the staining and polyurethane-ing.  I didn't get any pictures of that process.  And, once you apply the final coat it is recommended that you wait a week before moving it inside.  So we did.

We are pretty sure this 'weekend project' took about a month, but last night we got it into the house and all set up.  Mike did an awesome job on this - what a beautiful piece of furniture we now have!!