2020... well...

It's hard to sit and write a year-end post.

The day after Christmas, I was up early-ish... watching "It's a Wonderful Life" mostly before anyone woke up.  George Bailey has dreams.  At each segment, things take a turn and his life does not end up the way that he plans.  Dreams of travelling to Europe.  Dreams of going to college.  Dreams of leaving the town he grew up in.

But, his father had a stroke.  He didn't travel the world before college.  The board wanted George to take over the bank for his father.  He didn't go to college.  His brother got married and was not going to take over the bank business as planned so George was stuck in Bedford Falls.  He did not take a lead on some stocks that a friend offered him.  

I've watched this movie many many times before, but for some reason, it resonates more this time.  It makes me think of this year - 2020.  So many unrealized dreams.   Things happen and life takes a turn from the original plan.  

But - there is still hope.  Here are my top 3 take-aways from watching the movie this time.  

1 -- Things do not go the way that you had planned. Life takes unexpected turns. And there are unfulfilled dreams.... but you have to look at the small, beautiful things that happened along the way.

2 -- You make a difference in so many lives.... in ways you don't even know. George Bailey wishes he was never born, so he gets the chance to see what life would be like without him.

(I keep thinking about Mercer and Isabella and how different their lives would be without Todd and myself.... and how different our lives would be without THEM!)

which brings me to the next message....

3 -- You have a purpose. Your life has meaning.

This year has been full of disappointments for many -- including us.  But, we've tried to make the most of things.... as best as we can.   We are healthy.  Our family members are healthy.  We have not personally experienced loss of life of anyone we know due to Covid, but there are so many who have.  

We are grateful.

But, it has been a hard year.  There have been so many ups-and-downs.

At this point, over 82 million people across the world have been reported to have contracted this disease and 1.8 million people have died from this -- over 340,000 here in the US.

I have not posted the #s since November.  It has been over a month since i added a screen shot of the Covid "dashboard" on the blog.  The increase is staggering.  It has been ofically reported that December was the deadliest month for the virus.

6.4+ million cases were reported and 77+ thousand deaths occurred -- more than October and November combined.  

(Much of this is attributed to Covid Fatigue -- people letting their guard down -- AND to Thanksgiving holiday travel.)  We travelled to the condo near the beach in South Carolina, but did not hang out with anyone beyond our immediate family of 4.  The #s that are reported as increasing are being attributed to families and friends gathering at Thanksgiving including multi-generational gatherings.  

The fear is that another spike will happen in January for the same gatherings / multi-generational gatherings at Christmas.    

My mom has been alone.... but she's said "stay down there... don't come up here."  I worry about her being alone at the holidays, but more worrisome - of course - is if we infected her with our school germs... so I get it!

As mentioned above, over 340,000 people have passed as a part of this horrible disease here in America.   Compared to the rest of the world, we're not in a good position.  Here is a chart I have not seen before but it's interesting.  Especially interesting is how Asia is declining still.  (On the Today Show, they had a segment about how Wuhan has "beat" Covid and have gotten back to pretty normal there.  In England, a new strain of the virus has been reported as popping up.)  It's definitely worth watching what is happening across the globe.

The vaccine is in production and has been administered to approximately 2 million Americans so far (short of the 20 million they hoped would have their 1st vaccine by the end of the year... but it's something!)  Apparently I'll be in line - as a teacher - to get the vaccine before the general public.  Estimates are February as to when this will be available for teachers.

A teacher in our area has succumbed to Covid - an art teacher in the county where I used to work last year.  The community of teachers in Cobb County is devastated.  (And there are 2 additional teachers who are in critical condition with this disease from the same district.)  They went all virtual at the end of the semester in December because the numbers of cases in their school system were so high.   (Our school system remained the same - no change.  Apparently, our numbers are low compared to theirs...  Although we were getting notices every day between either my school... Mercer's school or Isabella's school about "someone" at that school had contracted.  "They were last on campus on XX date.  All close contacts have been notified."  It was a bit stressful anytime one of those emails came... especially if we got multiple messages in one day!)

We have had to isolate and quarantine Isabella two times - but thankfully - she was fine... it was out of extra precaution from the school system.  There were a couple of weeks that were really hard (one week in November and one week in December) due to quarantining... juggling Todd's work / my work to stay home with her.    I had to either get a substitute in my room to cover my class while I zoomed from home..... OR .... Todd would stay at home with her and I would come home as soon as school ended (instead of staying late to grade or lesson plan) and he would go to work in the afternoon until the kids' bedtime.  That was a really hard week!    That was actually during my birthday.  I was determined to take the night off and NOT grade when I got home.... and to NOT cook.  

At our school, the principal said that the students were under trauma and that they could turn in ANY late work by December 11 (from early August) and not be penalized.   And... all of our grading was due December 18.   Many of my 100+ students were turning in things -- some of them 6 - 8 - 10 missing assignments.  I had hundreds and hundreds of OLD things to grade on top of the normal weekly lessons and assignments given throughout those last few weeks of school that we had to keep going.  It was OVERWHELMING.  And - us teachers are in trauma too, honestly.  I honestly want to forget about December, as it was a really bad time for me - and ultimately - for our family.  

Mercer had a similar experience as a student at his school.  His deadline was December 4, however.   He was working really hard those last few weeks (and we did as well over Thanksgiving break) to catch up on a few things.  He had a few grades that weren't great -- including art -- but he stayed after one day to finish a project that pulled his grade up.  Nothing interesting to post about math or science or social studies.  But - art is blog-worthy.  :)  

Here's his final project for that class.

As mentioned -- on this one day -- I was not cooking!  So, I ordered dinner from an upscale Mexican restaurant that Todd and I used to eat at -- before kids.  The kids and I picked it up / brought it home / set it up for when Todd came back from work.

I was shocked.  The restaurant parking lot was PACKED.  There were signs up about holiday events... and how the dining room was open again.  ugh.   (I ordered curbside - they brought our food out to us in my car in a big bag.)   

Speaking of birthday, when I got home from school that day - I was faced with this:  

I knew that we were going to have some siding work done on the house -- I thought it was starting later in the week because the wood had not been delivered, but was not expecting them to rip off siding that day!  

It was a little emotional to come home to the big heap of trash in the front yard and literally half of our house open to the elements!  I suppose they had to investigate and see what they were working with. 

We knew we had rot, but the damage was more severe than anticipated.  There were places that the plywood under the wood siding was rotten and even a couple of wood studs under plywood had to be replace!  (Those two areas were where there are tricky gutter connections / too much water for the gutters... which should obviously be addressed.)   

In those areas, we actually had INTERIOR damage too because they were working right behind the gypsum board.  (so.... that will be on the list of things to fix in 2021... some interior work.  ugh.) 

The process took longer - at this writing (the 2nd time sitting down to blog - Dec 31) the guys are still here!  They're wrapping up.  It's been an unusual experience.... and a bit invasive.  

Here is the worst part of the experience: 

-  We don't have blinds or shutters that cover all of the windows in the living room or kitchen.  Normally, it's fine / you can't see inside as the general public - but when people are up on a ladder, they're definitely looking in!

-  The water during pressure washing that came into our NEW doors and windows that we had installed less than 20 years ago was unbelievable.  The 80 year old windows... barely any water came through.  (Droplets compared to the gallons that streamed in from the other areas!)  

- Not a big deal, just interesting.... darkness that came when painting the windows - which was short - only a day or so.   

- The big one:  the noise!  Oh, the noise for about 3 solid weeks.  Unfortunately, the noise kept us from sleeping in on Saturdays   +  Monday thru Saturday during our entire Holiday break because the guys started at DAWN each morning!   

(Isabella said we should have rented a place for the month of December and moved out.  It wasn't that bad, honestly, and who has an EXTRA thousand dollars?!)  

The crew has been good.  They've been taking care of this the CORRECT way.  We have tried to secure a contractor since the summer to get the work done, but it was probably for the better -- we were apparently in need of the "right" crew.  They did a great job!

I don't love the color - it turned out different than we anticipated.... a lot "brighter" than we thought.  (We were looking at more blue-green and we had tried a bunch of gray-green colors, but they looked too gray.  This looks too green in my opinion, but we've got it... we're stuck with it for the next 10 years~)  

Our neighbors have been nice and encouraging.  All we've talked to seem to like it.... which is important since they look at it more than we do!  :) 

Again - it's good to have gotten it done. 

Now, turning to our sights to the interior renovation projects in the new year.

And then.... we have to deal with a garage that is leaning towards our neighbor's fence.  (sigh!)  

Some random shots from the process:

Here's a shot from the outside when they had painted the windows over.... before they scraped them clean.... 

.... and a shot from the inside.  It was weird inside for a day!  (At this writing... the painters have to come back ONE more day to scrape the paint off of a window upstairs that they forgot and to open up the house to sand / stain the exterior wood doors.)

Here's the interior - with no paint on the windows - but with a plastic cover and painter's tape (this is from Christmas morning).  

See how much it changes the light with the paint on the windows?!   BOTH of these are during the day!!

It looks like "Santa" was good to the kids!

There's no photo of the big gift he brought them (Nintendo Switch device)... but here are some photos of some other gifts.  

Isabella wanted an electric scooter.  Um.... not quite - she got a push scooter that lights up, though!   She likes it.

Mercer asked for clothes.  He was actually texting us sweatshirts he wanted.  He was happy.

Further down - a picture of socks - may not seem like a big deal for a 12 year old -- but for a 12 year old who has complained about uncomfortable socks for years because his feet are so bit.... it was a win.  (It's hard finding fun socks for a kid -- instead of dress socks at the big and tall store!  Spent hours, literally, looking for somewhat affordable fun socks for him.  Found a website and will bookmark as his feet continue to grow!  We're shoe-shopping now for size 14 kicks~)

This was a total surprise -- a friend of Mercer's dropped off a present for Mercer and for Isabella.  It was a hit!  we have already attended several "concerts" that she has put on.  

Isabella made Todd several "gifts."    She also wrapped up some shells to give out from our trip -- her "treasures."

Mercer made some "treasures" too - he completed some drawings in a home-made Christmas card.

It is really cute to see their giving spirit.... the treasures may not seem like a lot on the outside, but it's what they have to give. 

LOVE IT!

Christmas day, Todd made a rib roast in the smoker.  I ordered some side dishes and made some too.  We had a late, filling dinner.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This blog post is clearly not in order! I went from house pictures to the Christmas tree to Christmas day.  (House reno pictures WITH the Christmas tree was the segway!)

Now....here are some things that were LEADING UP to Christmas:  making cookies and driving around / looking at lights.   (This is why Isabella is in the same pajamas.  She wore them all Christmas Eve and most of Christmas Day~)

Mercer tried to make something 3D before baking, which flopped, but he turned it into a game character.   

Isabella had more fun making the cookies than eating them.  

Of course, we left some cookies for Santa.... and some carrots for the reindeer.   (The note reads "Dear Santa.  These are not for you.  Ther (they're) for the Reindeer"  ha!

Mercer also went caroling with his youth group around historic houses in Marietta.... outside.... and masked, of course.

This is at a private house in our town!  Their lights were really really good.  (The normal spot that we go to look at lights - at a nearby university - had major traffic delays / backed up on the road leading to it for more than a mile!)   Maybe because there was a new drive-by ($40/car) drive through light show that just came to our town... and it was overflow from that venue?  Or - because of Covid - so many more people out looking for things to do in their cars??

But these were really nice and we could sit and look as long as we wanted! 

Isabella read "The Night Before Christmas" to us on Christmas Eve before bedtime.  She loves an audience!   It was a nice way to wind down for the evening.

(You can see the elf hiding on the TV console tucked in between some DVDs.)  

Speaking of the elves... almost forgot:  

They had to quarantine when they arrived on December 1st for 14 days! 

You can't be too careful!  (and it really helped with the nightly placement of elves to keep the magic up -- because those 14 days in December were extremely busy).  whew!

The marshmallows in the jar slowly started to disappear - I guess - as they needed sustenance for those 2 weeks.

Obviously - this was because of Covid precautions.

Some more Covid precautions would affect other events leading up to Christmas too. 

We could not visit Santa this year, but he drove around on our street on a Fire Truck!  We waited for more than an hour for him to drive by and wave, but it was so worth seeing our beautiful Santa - although behind plastic. 

Our church service was online too... we sang Christmas Carols and lit candles for Silent Night.

Yes.  

It has been a strange time, but as mentioned, we tried to make the best of it -- as much as we could.  

There were a couple of things we squeezed in before the new year... nothing major:

- We went on a family hike one day and discovered that the lake (we visited over the summer) is drained in the winter.  It was weird to walk where there was once water.  Totally dry.  

- Isabella had some birthday money for an "experience" from grandma and grandpa in Florida.  We finally cashed-in on it.  We went to a local cat "fostering" place on the square.  It's called Java Cats.  There's a coffee shop when you walk in... then to the right is a double-door vestibule which serves as a lock for any cats that make a break from the cat room on the other side.  You order your drink (that comes with "admission" into the cat room / get it to go)... but the price of admission is really a donation that supports this place which fosters more than 15 cats at a time from the Humane Society.  

Here, she's playing with a laser pointer.

Mercer found one he really liked.  Isabella liked ALL of them! 

The idea is to get them out of kill-shelters....and bring exposure to the cats for possible adoption.  

Todd was working, so he couldn't go with us.  

His only words:  don't bring anything home!  ha!  We didn't, but there sure were some sweet sweet cats there!  They've adopted out over 100 cats since they've been open for 2 + years.  (Amazingly, it did not smell!) 

- Isabella and I made banners for New Year's.  (I called in an order and picked up some store-bought decorations too.)  These spirals were from the "Forget You" line at party city.  Um.... yeah... that's what the FU stand for!    Our message - much like most people in the country - was like "we're done with you, 2020!" 

The handmade flag banner says GOOD BYE 2020.  

  

Todd and I made appetizers for dinner, we watched the movie Soul, Isabella and I baked chocolate chip cookies and we all played games.  We had the TV on to the ball drop, but didn't see it, as we were playing a game.  

We stopped for the count down and then got back to the game to wrap it up.

Good riddance to 2020.

Looking forward to healing - as a family - as we set up conscious practices to help us shine more in the new year.

Looking forward - as a country - to healing from political and racial wounds in the new year.

Looking forward - as a world -  to healing from this virus that has hurt so many and held captive others who were indirectly affected.

Looking forward to love, light, healing, health and happiness in 2021!