Family FaceTime

For Christmas this year, we gave my MIL a gift card towards an iPad.  The plan was to get it for her before she left, but life ended up being busier than we had anticipated, and we found out things weren't as in stock as we would have liked.  We ended up ordering one and having it shipped to her, but it didn't arrive before Andrew came home.  Last weekend, Thomas and Lyndi went to visit her and they were able to get the iPad all set up for her.  Thomas texted today and wanted to do a family FaceTime with everyone.  Unfortunately, my MIL couldn't get it to work, but the rest of us (including Catherine) joined in.  I hadn't seen Catherine in about six weeks, and it had been three weeks since seeing Thomas and Lyndi.  I loved having the opportunity to see my kids and do a quick check-in.  I appreciate the technology to help keep us close.

The beginning of spring break

I have been on spring break for about 29 hours.  And I've felt lousy for about 26 of them.  Ugh!  I could tell I had some drainage earlier in the week, but as soon as I got home yesterday I had a scratchy throat.  I am fairly certain it has developed into a sinus infection.  Not how I wanted to spend this gorgeous day on the first day of my break.

It is what it is though.  I'm watching basketball, although I don't really care about the games at this point.  Andrew attended a memorial service this afternoon for a colleague's mother, and was able to stop in at the service for my co-worker's mother who was also our neighbor.  This evening he has gone to. Dayton to have dinner with friends.  I'm sure this wasn't exactly the day he had planned either.

Fingers crossed I feel better tomorrow after a good night of sleep!

We made more awesome memories!

This was our "accidental trip" weekend, where I had thrown out a request to hang out in a group chat that included our friend in KC.  We were all checked into our motel in IL by mid-afternoon, and we headed out to begin our fun!  We hit two wineries, a Mexican restaurant, and a wine bar.  This morning we got up and had breakfast before we left.  We are so grateful that Catherine and her boyfriend (we'll call him Zeke) were willing to come and stay with Janey this weekend.  To say that we laughed is an understatement.  We also talked about our summer plans for our trip in July, and after about 15 suggestions and two hours of planning, we decided to stick to our original plan and stay with our friend.

I'm so glad that our friends enjoy these times as much as we do and are willing and able to share these weekends.  It was so wonderful to get away and not worry about being responsible for a bit.  And now, only one week until spring break!

The shutdown started six years ago

Six years ago today is a day I'll never forget.  I spent the day with high school seniors, and even had my own sweet girls in class.  We knew the governor was holding a press conference in the afternoon, and we all strongly suspected that the schools were going to be shut down.  I remember some of the seniors were worried about graduation, and I vividly remember assuring them that this wouldn't impact graduation as it was over two whole months away.  Oh boy, was I ever wrong!

When the announcement was made that evening (also a Thursday), it included the caveat that schools could remain open for the next day and the following Monday in order to get things arranged.  Our school originally planned to be open the next day, but the county health department shut us down because they were already concerned an exposure had occurred.  I remember sitting on the couch that evening, just mindlessly playing games and scrolling on my computer because all of a sudden I literally had just about nothing to do.  There would be no church, no work, no baseball for Andrew...almost nothing to occupy my time.  The beginning is so very vivid.

And there were some really hard times, and I know I'll never completely understand how things impacted my kids, and honestly, most of their generation.  I know the pandemic hastened the decline of my father-in-law, and I regret that family gatherings had to end and were never revived.  At the same time, I loved the amount of time the four of us had together.  Those few months held some fear, but they also held a lot of love and togetherness, and I'll cherish those memories.

Here we are six years later.  So much has changed for our family in the last six years, but I am so grateful for so many of the changes.  I love my job.  My kids are in healthy and loving relationships and living on their own.  I am grateful for the life Andrew and I are living. And this weekend we get to hang out with our good friends.  We are so incredibly blessed!

It's easier when it's such a gorgeous day!

Last night was that annual pain in the rear end when we lose an hour of sleep.  As a kid I always informed everyone that I was going to lose an hour of awake, but now I understand that isn't at all the way it works.

While I appreciate the extra hour of sunshine at the end of the day, the adjustment is so rough.  I have to admit though, that when the day is as gorgeous as it was today, it makes that missing hour of sleep much more tolerable.

I'm also grateful that my school attempts to schedule our work day on the Monday after the time change.  It doesn't always work out, but when it does, it is delightful...and that is the case tomorrow!

Open toe shoe season, an evening of basketball, the best kind of weekend

That is a lot to put in a title!  I guess maybe I need to write more often!

It RAINED this week.  I mean it was crazy.  According to a graphic I saw yesterday, our town was the big "winner" with over 7.5" of rain in three days.  That is CRAZY.   Everything is wet and muddy, needless to say.  But yesterday, it was actually in the 70's, and I laughed as all three of us in admin wore open toe shoes.  The season has arrived!

My aunt and uncle gave us their tickets to the UD basketball game last evening.  We gave up our season tickets when we moved here.  We hadn't been back to the arena in 13 years!  I'll be honest, I don't love the changes that were made, but we enjoyed the game.  Unfortunately, it was a loss.  As we (Andrew) drove home, I watched my alma mater play their final regular season game.  They were playing our arch rival for an UNDEFEATED season.  We were able to watch the second half from home.  The game went into overtime, but the Redhawks are undefeated for the regular season.  Woohoo!!!!

Today was a day where I planned to get a lot done.  We rarely have a weekend ay where we have nowhere to be, and next weekend we will be out of town.  Tomorrow was supposed to be a day where I would spend a few hours up at my Mom's house helping to clean and go through things, just as I've been doing most weekends since August.  However, my sister let me know today that she was going to need to work tomorrow and since Mom had plans later in the day anyway, I don't have to make the trip up!  So I truly, truly, get some time off this weekend and get things done around here.  It's fabulous!  I feel like I'll never be caught up around here, but I'll do the best I can!

We went to see my grandmother

Thomas and Lyndi had mentioned last week that they wanted to see my grandmother, and we all know that sooner is better than later.  My sister had said she had a good day on Friday.  She called yesterday and let us know that she wasn't as good as Friday, although better than earlier in the week.  Thomas brought their wedding album along and showed Grandma pictures.  She really enjoyed that.  Grandma was pleased that she remembered having met Lyndi before, and there were a few other things she was pleased she could recall.  It was a pleasant visit.

Last evening, there was a big part of me that was angry that my grandmother is still alive.  I know that probably sounds terrible, but I know this is not at all how my grandmother ever wanted to live.  She had 90 amazing years, and even the first year or two that she was in assisted living weren't awful.  But especially the last two years have not been the life she ever wanted, and the last two months the decline has been more severe.  The woman I loved and knew is gone, and I'm sad about that.  I miss her.  But it's hard to grieve someone who is still actually here.  I know that Grandma is ready, and I know that she is looking forward to being reunited with Grandpa and my dad, and her siblings, etc.  When she passes, it will not be a tragedy.

I will always be grateful for the time we spent with Grandma.  She was a huge part of my life, and without a doubt one of the strongest people I've ever known.  She's been a huge blessing in my life.