On March 13th, Chris and I reported to our respective schools for a teacher workday. There was a buzz in the air about getting ready for eLearning and a possible school closure due to COVID 19 (a.k.a. the Coronavirus). Little did we know that we would not teach in our classrooms again for the rest of the academic year. On Sunday, March 15th, Governor McMaster made a decision to close schools through March 30th. That deadline kept getting extended as it was unclear how we could safely return to schools during a pandemic. Our lives drastically changed as we all got to "work from home" and learn the full meaning of the words "socially distance" and "quarantine". Here is an attempt to capture our lives during this unique time! Maggie put it best: "God save us!" "Boo Coronavirus...Go away!"
Here was my attempt at putting a daily schedule into place. I think we followed it only a handful of times. I had no idea how Zoom meetings would take over our days or how tears over paper packet assignments (Maggie) and 5 paragraph writing essays (Riley) would create such stress that Chris and I felt like we were losing our sanity as well. You see, there were three rounds of eLearning and with each one, we learned a little more about how to really put things in perspective and how to prioritize our time/assignments (like focusing really on what was actually "graded" or had to be turned in vs. trying to do every activity that was sent to us. Along the way, we were able to pause and find reasons to celebrate. Maggie put together a great St. Patrick's Day House Party for us on Tuesday, March 17th and I created a little leprechaun scavenger hunt to spice things up a bit as well. She had such as our event planner that she made up one for Easter as well (as you'll see from the upcoming pictures!).
And of course, no holiday would be complete without a few festive outfits and photo ops! :)
Overall, the kids did really well handling the change. They missed seeing and talking to their friends the most. It helped to have video chats using Zoom.
When we got word towards the end of March, that schools would again be closed until April 30th, we decided to go ahead and take the plunge on getting a dog. Chris had been doing a lot of research on different rescue agencies and dogs available and when it was all said and done, we welcomed Roxie to our family from Destination Home Rescue on Wednesday, March 25th. And since she was being fostered by a family in Charlotte, it was just in the nick of time before North Carolina went into a mandatory quarantine lockdown. Roxie was just 2 1/2 months old when she joined us! We were impressed with her ability to sleep through the night and wake up with a dry bed. We were not overly impressed with how much she liked to use our hands, arms, legs, shoes, and furniture as chew toys though. She jumps up a lot when she gets excited, but she did learn some simple commands (sit, come, drop, and lay down) within a few months. Now...whether or not she wants to follow them is a WHOLE different matter. One of her favorite games is to get a sock or toy or whatever else she can find lying around and play "catch me if you can!"
Surveys, memes, and group text chats helped improve how we navigated our eLearning experience. In addition to A LOT of outdoor time! Chris played lots of rounds of PIG basketball with the kids and I jumped on the trampoline with them more than I ever have before. We enjoyed cooking hot dogs and s'mores over the fire pit. We learned how to sit and play 6 feet apart with our QCP buddies. And we took lots and lots of walks around the neighborhood.
Our Spring Break looked a lot different as well this year. We were originally supposed to go to Atlanta, but instead we had to suffice with a virtual tour of puppies playing in the Georgia Aquarium and YouTube videos of people tasting all the different kinds of drinks from the World of Coca-Cola Museum. We managed to create our own fun at home though by baking some truffles, having nightly movie nights of some great classics, having a picnic, building forts, and making treats like root beer floats.
I wonder if more people tuned into online church services in record-breaking numbers on Easter this year. While we had to worship from home too, there was something pretty awesome about seeing signs of the resurrection and spring as a reminder of how Light prevails. Many neighbors fashioned their own handmade crosses and signs and displayed them in their yard during this time.
Birthday bike parades became a thing during this uncharted time. We joined in on one to celebrate John Parker and Mallory turning 7 and decorated our car. It was sweet to see all the kids gather and spread out as best they could.
Here are a few samples of work (and play) from the month of April.
Ever the event planner for our family, Maggie organized a Family Talent Show. As her sign clearly states: "Welcome! This is the show we've all been waiting for. In the most unlikely spot. Most unexpected thing. I shall amaze. Welcome to the grandest show of all times. Now go ahead, the show is waiting." She had put pillows and blankets in the upstairs hallway with a stool and a spotlight. How creative. Chris wowed the crowd with his talent for solving Sudoku puzzles. Riley thrilled us with his ability to teach us coding and computer tricks. Maggie amazed the audience with her artistic use of markers. And I was able to surprise everyone with my super shadow puppetry.
Joel turned 30 on April 24th and Kelly worked tirelessly recreating an amazing video that she had all of us help compile. Bless her heart...she worked for hours on the first video and lost it all. I can fell her pain today. Because I worked for 2 1/2 hours on this blog and lost all of my work as well. It's not nearly as much fun (or as detailed when I have to retype it). She came up with all kinds of neat prompts like describing Joel as a vegetable or telling a funny story about him or impersonating his dogs. The end result was awesome! I love how well my family loves each other and how they go above and beyond to show it.
So in addition to toilet paper and hand sanitizer being nearly impossible to find, outdoor sporting equipment became scarce as well. Chris and I hunted for weeks to find Riley a bike for his birthday and finally after Chris taking multiple trips to one particular store and calling several times, we were able to secure this 24 inch-wheeled beauty! And Riley was finally able to master the hill on our street now that his knees aren't up to his chest!! :)
I know the Cornavirus has caused a lot of fear, sickness, and death and I certainly don't want to make light or discount any of the hurtful effects it has caused. I just wanted to point out some of the blessings that have come from this time and that is...more time to enjoy nature and each other. We were able to plant a garden. I'm not too tired on a random Tuesday to play a round of air hockey or judge a Lego building contest. We went back to the basics and found joy in jumping through sprinklers and writing our own books. And we even got to celebrate smaller holidays like "May the Fourth" and Cinco de Mayo. We ordered more take out than we have did before and forgot what the inside of certain restaurants looked like.
Mother's Day this year was one of the best I've ever had! A darling neighbor, Jeannie Alexander, had the kids over to pick a beautiful bouquet of roses to give to me. Chris single-handedly prepared a delicious breakfast for me (the kids were supposed to help but they were sleepybirds and didn't wake up in time). Maggie was able to draft a menu for the day although we did deviate from it at lunch when we ate at McAlister's instead after we got in a family hike at Riverwalk. I got to Zoom with my family and play Jackbox games courtesy of my techy-brother Joel. Chris made me mimosas and Maggie got a kick out of drinking OJ from her own wine glass too. Trouble is...a few days later, Maggie still wanted to drink from her "special glass" and I caught her just in time before she was about to show her class on Zoom!
Riley told me that this would be his last night as a 9 year old, so I decided I better capture this picture to remember it better! When he woke up as a 10 year old, he got treated to a special breakfast and led down by blindfold to the basement where we revealed a kid-friendly lounge area and an XBox! He'd been begging for a video game system for years and we finally caved with the help of Grandmama and Papa. Even though most businesses were still shut down, we were able to create a pretty slam-packed day for our boy. After breakfast, presents round #1 and gaming time, he got to Zoom with the Fisher side of the fam and open a few presents from them. We played a game to see who knew Riley the best and got to sing him happy birthday. For lunch, Riley requested cheeseburgers (go figure) and Grandmama and Papa were able to join us for this meal and another round of gifts. We presented a book to Riley naming ten things we love about him (there are definitely more...but we had to stick with the ten theme for this year!). Later on, we had our QCP peeps over for a playdate that included a pinata, bike rides, chalk designs, and lots of pizza eating. I'm pretty sure when Riley went to bed that night he said, "Mom, that was the best birthday ever!" And I'm also pretty sure that Chris and I got got the best birthday gift on May 12, 2010 (just 10 short years ago). This sensitive, analytical, game-playing boy is such a blessing.
Some other highlights from our quarantine include the kids becoming more independent in their culinary skills (Maggie created this color menu and Riley learned how to make a quesadilla and a grilled cheese), long hair, DIY haircuts (mainly from Dad) and coloring (designs by Maggie), hikes to new places, end of year class slideshows and gifts, and relenting and letting Roxie on the couch just so she'll chill out.
This is the picture of my little girl on her last night as a 7 year old. The very next morning, she woke up to a balloon avalanche surprise and doughnut breakfast. This year's theme (in case you couldn't tell) was Descendants. This sassy sweetie loaded up with all kinds of neat presents that she got to open in separate rounds as well (including virtually with Chris' side of the fam). Mags got to have one of her best buddies over (Zoe) and the girls had a great time decorating canvases, nails, sipping on mock appletinis, watching D3, and whacking open a pretty kitty pinata. We ended the day with supper at Millstone with Grandmama and Papa and a walk down to Fountain Park. I'm almost certain that I blinked and my baby grew up!! We are so thankful for this joyous little darling who sings her way through almost every day and her passion for life is contagious!
The official end of this very unique school year came on Thursday, June 4th and we celebrated with our traditional snocone treat at Pelican's. Then Katie Langer (an awesome neighbor) had the idea to put together a field day of our own. The kids (both teenage ones and little ones) got to have some fun with water balloons, egg toss, sponge relays, limbo, air plane launching, obstacle course, and of course some cool treats. It wasn't quite like the schools would do it, but I think it was a day to remember!
I don't believe that I've ever looked forward to a vacation more than I did for our trip to Ocean Isle Beach on June 6th this year! Being able to have such a gorgeous change of scenery and to relax completely from work demands was such a relief. Alice and Kevin were gracious enough to let us rent their condo, Dreams Float, for a week and since it had more rooms than we needed Tim, Jen, and Anderson were able to join us for a few days. Some of my favorite moments from this trip include: fancy new hats, completing a 300 piece puzzle in under an hour, making colored sand castles, riding the waves in the pool and the ocean, many many hands of euchre while being serenaded by a soothing ukulele, checking out the quaint downtown area, making homemade vanilla icrecream, catching a few hours with Alice and Blake, challenging each other's miniature golf skills, and eating some delicious seafood at Clark's. There's just something that's good for the soul when you mix sand, surf, and sunshine!
On Sunday, we went for a hike at Andrew Jackson State Park and then later the kids and I attended a Black Lives Matter worship memorial service in memory of George Floyd who was killed by police brutality. 2020 is getting quite an awful reputation as one of the worst year's in history. Not only did COVID happen, but murder hornets were next in the news. What's worse is that the murders hit the streets in some of the worst ways possible. The lives of Ahmaud Arber, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor were just a few of the names that started trending because they lost their lives. Tensions, riots, protests, marches and lots of frank Facebook posts followed. I think Chris said it well: "Let there be peace on earth. And let it begin with me."
The rest of June was filled with earning green swim bands from the YMCA, attending a horseback riding birthday party, letting Dad know that he is deeply loved, catching up with our QCP crew, celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary, and letting the kids hone more of their culinary skills by participating in a "Night in Paris" cooking class to learn how to make French Toast, hand-pressed lemonade, and fondue. I'd say it's been a sweet start to our summer!
While I have really appreciated all the family togetherness time, there's just something about a date night that can't be replaced. I attempted a few at-home date ideas when all three of our concert nights got postponed, but there's nothing like getting out of town for a quick trip. Cue Asheville for our 15th anniversary! Chris and I got to head up to the brewery district and do our own self-guided bar crawl (thanks to mom and dad for keeping the kids). Our first stop was the Funkatorium where Chris and I both ordered a flight of sour beers. Chris was among the first in our friend circles to start promoting this unique beer style. And while it took me a little bit to catch up to his sophisticated palate, I really enjoy a lot of sours now. Of course, my favorites involve fruit and Chris likes ones made with acorn flour and calamansi (inside joke). From there, we went to several other breweries including Twin Leaf, Burial, Green Man, Bhrmari, and Catawba...and yes, we could still walk to our hotel! The best part about our anniversary weekend besides the fact that I made him hold my hand everywhere we went is that I got to hear new stories and learn new facts about this fella that I've known now more than 15 years. For example, I heard details about his first few jobs and why he didn't get to butcher as much meat at The Sizzler as the guy that he started with and we even swapped a few college secrets, but he still won't tell me what "The Six Words" phrase is from Bluecoats (maybe I have to wait until year 25 for that). Anyway, one of my highlights of our trip was when we were having breakfast on the rooftop bar and Chris let me have the seat with the mountain view instead of the parking garage (what a sweet sacrifice)! There's a saying I recently saw that read: The grass isn't greener on the other side. The grass is greener where you water it. I hope we never forget to keep dating, keep connecting, and keep going.
Cheers to surviving half of 2020! I'm not even going to try and predict what these next 6 months have in store. I'm just thankful that I know Who holds the future and I'm grateful for great companionship along the way!
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