Double the Love: From Beginning to End

Obviously my commitment to this blog has diminished. That does make me sad a little because I really enjoy documenting our life. But, I get very little time to myself to reflect and write meaningful words without getting interrupted these days.

So, the last entry I wrote was all the way back in September - the Beginning of the school year. We started the year off at home with the at home learning program. I figured we would eventually go back in person at some point. The first chance came in November, but the school wanted an answer in early October and we just weren't ready to make that commitment. So, we decided to get through the holidays and then potentially go back in February. Evan did not want to return in person. I wanted to send Alex back part time for the social interaction however much that may be, but I got a lot of run around from the staff and more questions than answers so I opted to keep him home as well. I was sad and upset that the school was being so difficult. But this isn't the first time they had gotten under my skin this year. We are nearing the end of the school year now. We have 2 days left this week and 3.5 next week. Then, my boys will officially be Middle Schoolers. I.CANNOT.BELIEVE.IT.

The at home learning program turned out to be a great program for the boys. We have a great teacher who is super involved, does a great job of keeping the kids involved and has been great at communicating all year. They have 3 zoom meetings and work primarily out of Google Classroom. It has been interesting getting used to this method of teaching and learning. Alex goes in person twice a week to see his teacher, speech therapist, PT and OT.

I do feel a bit excluded from the in person school life. The staff has made us feel like outsiders for our choice to stay home. I have no problem attending events for our kids but they choose not to invite us. The only ones they are hurting are our kids.

So to wrap up school, the boys will be graduating 5th grade next week and moving onto Middle School next year. I thought I would be sad, but with the way things are being handled at the Elementary, I am super excited for them to move on, meet new friends and start the next chapter in their school life.

Going back to the fall, we trick or treated for Halloween, carved pumpkins and went for a hayride. Eric turned 40 on November 25th and although Restaurants and all the fun stuff was shut down, we had fun as a family. We continued to only see our parents and Rachel/Geoff and the kids once a month for our trivia nights - which have become our new normal.

Christmas activities were halted, no Santa visit, but we did do a drive-through light show up at Pine Knob and drove to Detroit on Christmas Eve to show the kids the giant tree in Campus Martius. It was super cold that night - but a fun memory! I popped popcorn to take with us along with candy and drinks. We zipped through Rochester on the way back to see the lights. Christmas with the family was small. We spent an evening with Eric's Brother and his family before having to quarantine over Christmas because Dennis tested positive for Covid. Come to find out (after Christmas was over) it was a false positive test. We ended up celebrating with Eric's parents and my parents after Christmas.

In January, we had to quarantine again because Alex's teacher tested positive for Covid and he had seen her the day before. Let me tell you - staying holed up in the house for 10 days is NOT fun. We didn't have much snow - so not a whole lot of sledding or snowman building.

Restaurants, Bowling alleys, movie threatres and gyms all opened back up for in person on February 1st - at 50% capacity. We were able to go out to dinner for my 42nd Birthday in March.

After a long year and a half with only 2 weekend get-a-ways we decided to rent a house in Florida for spring break. IT. WAS. AWESOME. Probably our best vacation to date. We rented a house with a pool and surprised the kids! They loved it. We stayed in Kissimmee but traveled to Siesta Key Beach and Clearwater Beach for some fun in the sun. We played putt putt twice - both course had handicap accessible options - which was amazing. Alex really enjoyed playing both times - and well Evan, he was in heaven! We had ice cream, loved the pool at the house and visited Kennedy Space Center on our last day. It was so much fun. The traffic was super heavy going down. Coming home seemed a bit smoother. We got home on Easter Sunday, so we didn't have a chance to celebrate Easter with the family.

The week after we got home from Florida, Eric and I scheduled our vaccination appointments. Michigan had just opened it up to anyone over 16 and we jumped at the chance. Everything was booked around here, so we found a Rite Aid in Mt Pleasant that was open. We dropped the kids off with his parents and made a date night out of getting our shots! We had to go on April 9th and April 30th. All of our parents were vaccinated while we were in Florida.

Once the vaccines took off, the cases have steadily dropped. Two weeks after spring break cases got as high as 8,000 a day. They are now down to 500 or so. The governor has eased restrictions on mask wearing. Non required outdoors and indoors only if you haven't been vaccinated. The restaurants are still at 50% capacity, but everything is scheduled to be lifted on July 1st - if not sooner. That means we might get to see fireworks this year, the 4H fair is a go and concerts are coming back. If I am being honest, I thought this summer would be a lot like last - with nothing. No gatherings, no events, no sporting events or concerts. But it is looking up.

Evan was able to play soccer this spring. He started the week we returned from Florida and just wrapped up his season on May 27th. He had a great coach, they were the #1 team overall and he scored a goal in the last game. The weather for his games wasn't the greatest but we loved seeing him play!

Alex returned to Horseback riding after 14 months of not riding on May 12th. He will ride through the end of June and hopefully until November. He also started back with The Miracle League Baseball League last weekend. He plays 10 weeks this summer. He tried the program out last fall for 5 games and loved it. We are back at it again. Evan loves it too because he gets to help out with Alex and he catches at the games which is amazing!

Eric has been working at home since March 13, 2020 and will be returning to the Office in July full time. For as much as we have all been together for the past 15 months, it is going to be weird not having him here. Then, I am really going to feel lost (not really) in September when the kids go back to school in person. I am going to enjoy a little time to myself then. I have been cooking, cleaning and teaching full time for 15 months. I deserve a break and dammit I am going to take it.

For as lonely as it has been this past year, we have enjoyed our once a month get together with our friends. We all get together for games, yummy food and delicious dessert. I am mentioning that because it has been one fun thing to look forward to each month. It has been my saving grace.

As for the summer, I am ready. I am ready to be done teaching and guiding and I am ready for some fun! We have no pool this year which is a huge loss! But we have lots of things to look forward too and I am grateful for that. I am grateful that we have all gotten through this pandemic and if anything come out stronger. I am grateful for the time with my family - something I will never have again in this form and I am grateful to be sitting her writing about all of it.

Yes these 15 months have been challenging. They have brought sadness and worry but they have also brought laughter and tears. We have accomplished things, we have struggled but in the end we persevered.

Let this summer be full of fun times, laughter, smiles and good feelings. Enjoy each and every moment because tomorrow is not promised.