Whew.... January was, well, rough.

The new year has not been off to a great start.  It's been pretty hard - honestly.

We had the riots in early January at the Capitol.  

The next day, my mentor & colleague's daughter died from MIS-C... unknown infection was causing inflammation in her body and she could not overcome.  It has caused a lot of grief within our school -- for a staff member's child to pass, but also she was a freshman at our school.  Her classmates and her teachers also were grieving.  The school had counseling sessions and a reception for her after the funeral.  In our department, we were asked to help out at the reception.  I've been covering his two "Architecture 2" classes for the past few weeks.  He's scheduled to be back in early February.

Also, a friend of my mom's passed away this month:  Farrar.  She had some heart issues that she was being treated for, but unfortunately did not survive.  My mom was recovering from surgery and could not go see her while she was in the hospital... plus Covid restrictions would have prevented her from going to see her (almost) life-long friend.  Farrar had been a part of my mom's life pretty much ever since I can remember.  

Although I no longer work in the Cobb school district, I am still very much following what is happening - as we live in Cobb and I have a lot of friends who work there.  Two more teachers passed away from Covid this month.  They have had 3 die... they have a superintendent who does not support the teachers as well as several board members.  They are protesting and want most of the board + the superintendent to be fired.  I am really grateful to be where I am now.  We are neighboring school districts, but it feels like we're a world apart.   

(In Cobb, there have been over 50,000 cases and 700 deaths as of the end of the month.)  What was scary to watch was the hospitalization rate... especially thinking about ANYONE ELSE who has a life-threatening emergency not being able to get hospital care because the hospitals have been full.  

In Georgia, the Covid death toll from this virus is over 14,000.  Nationally, it is close to 440,000.  World-wide, the death toll is over 2.2 million.

A former colleague is making "super teacher" masks in honor of the 1st teacher to pass away and is selling them. Mine is blue & white - my school district's colors... the hundreds that she made were red & black -- their school district's colors.  She has collected almost $3,000 in donations to send to the three families.  

I should also mention that Hammering Hank Aaron passed this month as well.  He gets a mention here because Todd and Mercer have talked a lot about how significant his achievements were (and Mercer did a report on him for school once because he admired Hank).... but he was also a "hometown" hero here in Atlanta.

It's been a sad, sad month.

We did not hold soup night like we normally do.  But - we still made soup each weekend and reminisced about soup nights in years past.  I did share some soup with a neighbor.  Does that count?   We had the usual (tomato basil, chicken& black bean and french onion) + Isabella's favorite - broccoli cheddar which we actually made 2x.  

Onto a positive note:

I reported on the last blog entry that history was made January 6th for the Capitol being stormed.  History was made again on January 20th:  Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were sworn in as President and Vice President of the US.   

Harris is the first woman to be elected as VP.  She is also the first part black / part Indian to be elected into that position too!  For girls everywhere -- this is HUGE.  

(And - of note - her 1st duty as VP was to swear in the two historic senators from our state of Georgia.)  

This shirt was made for Isabella by the same former colleague who made the masks mentioned above.  This photo was taken in November while we were in Edisto, but it is appropriate now.

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I watched the historic moment of Kamala being sworn in at school during my short lunch break.  I showed it to the handful of students that were in my room that had just come back after lunch too.  And we watched it -- as well as the performers and the young poet laureate -- as a family once we were all home.  We had a "red, white, and blue (and green)" dinner:  spaghetti with red sauce (+ salad), blueberry pie with vanilla ice cream.  

It wasn't too fancy, but we did 2 things to make it more special:  we brought out the china AND we sat around the coffee table, put the dog away and ate dinner in front of the TV - which we only do on an occasional family movie night.   

This is a much nicer image of the Capitol than what we saw just two weeks prior.  whew!

We are hopeful that things will improve in 2021 !!!

In terms of anything that we did... it was all thanks to Uncle Jim & Aunt Becki.  They sent $ to go out to eat for both of the kids -- They got to choose what they wanted to eat / where we went.  (well, we got take-out... we didn't actually go anywhere.)  But - he's pretty politically-correct like that... wear your masks... support local restaurants. 

For Mercer, he chose sushi.  We honestly had not had it in a year since the pandemic started.  

We coupled it with a family game night -- Mexican Train -- that he didn't really enjoy, but Isabella loved it.

For Isabella, the only thing she asked for was mac-and-cheese (of course).  We don't make it often, but it's her favorite and we actually bought the "blue box" instead of the organic variety.  (She does not like real mac-and-cheese... restaurant style.  So - with the $ he sent for her... she had a lot left over!)  She also asked to go to a light show.... in January.  

Well, as luck would have it, the light show near us extended their drive-through light show into the new year... so we did that followed by a quick visit to "Insomnia Cookies" for a treat of fresh-baked cookies and hot cocoa after the light show.  

Even though we did not really support a local restaurant for a full meal (only dessert) -- he approved and loved that she crafted the perfect evening that was all hers!

Almost forgot:  after 6 years, I got a "real" haircut.  (I had to take Mercer b/c baseball is starting and he has to wear a cap as a part of the uniform.)  

So - I decided if HE'S getting a real haircut at a salon, so was I. The lady blew it out with a big brush and basically straightened it out.  I liked it, but.... a lot of work that won't happen before I leave the house at 6:45 each morning.   the FIRST thing I noticed and then the FIRST thing Mercer noticed:  when it's straight - how much gray hair I really have that you can't see when it's curly!  

With the brighter light at the salon, it looks like I have way more than it did (thankfully) when I got home.    I hope I don't wait another 6 years for a real haircut!  

I should work on the weekends to wash and blow it out / style it like the hairdresser did... but....  

Well, we'll see! 

Mercer said his teacher almost didn't know who he was!  

Check out this "before" photo..... just the week before.  

(The kids want LOTS of photos with the dog, so I was able to catch his before cut hair-do.)

And.... I'll close with extra photos of the kids and the dog.

Isabella was playing with the camera.

Meanwhile, Mercer and I were making a "bionic" hand for his science class project.   (Lucky for him - I had done this project several times at my previous school in my STEM class.)  :) 

Yesterday - Jan 6 2021 - history was made....

I don't even know where to start.  I felt like I should have blogged yesterday while this "history-making" event was all unfurling, but I was just dumb-founded and had no idea how to put into words what took place.

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Yesterday, January 6th, was supposed to be the ceremony of "confirming" the electoral votes for President-Elect Biden that were already certified by each state.  This has been a formal ceremony that has been a significant event in our country's history.  There has been - in the past as well as this year - objection by the opposite party as to the newly-elected POTUS.   

This election, there was some objection by a number of Republican senators - which is expected / anticipated / planned.  But the count was still, ceremonially, to have taken place.   Those who object are allowed to air their grievances.  It is discussed / debated on the senate floor.  

Unfortunately, however, there were protestors and rioters in support of Trump that were incited to storm the Capitol building.  

And - unfortunately - the police force was woefully unprepared to protect the building and the occupants inside!  (which is REALLY scary)  Rioters got in / stormed the senate floor while the count was taking place and senators were rushed out.  They left mid-count and rushed to safety out through a tunnel.  

The rioters destroyed parts of the building, furniture, strewed papers around and - it looked like (on some of the video) that they were actually going through papers / taking photos -- probably a security risk.   They were climbing the walls.  They were sitting at figure-heads' desks and taking selfies.  And - a number of people lost their lives.  

It was an absolute DISGRACE of America.  I felt sick to my stomach.  Mad.  Scared.  Embarrassed for our country.  I know that it absolutely does not compare to 9-11... but... I felt many of the same emotions yesterday as I did almost 20 years ago.  Watching this unfold on TV.  Glued to the set.     

Our country's security was violated by foreign terrorists back in 2001.

Our country's security was violated by DOMESTIC terrorists yesterday.... people from our OWN country.  

Over 200 years ago, the capitol building was invaded.   The British fought their way in during the war of 1812.   Yesterday, the capitol building was invaded by a cult-like group who are following their leader to the very end.  

Trump's politics over the past 4 years have been described as "divisive."  He has divided the country even more than it was already -- creating a bigger gap between Democrats and Republicans.  But he is also dividing the party to which he belongs.  There are more and more Republicans that are denouncing him and his actions.  He is being charged for inciting this riot -- at a rally held in DC that day telling his "followers" to storm the capitol.   

As the event was unfolding, people were calling on the President to call off his followers -- put an end to the storming of the capitol building.  Biden In fact, delivered a powerful speech.  (A portion is at the end of this post.)  It sounded VERY presidential compared to Trump's weak speech barely asking for the event to be called off also saying that the protestors (rioters) were "special" and "I love you."  It was appalling.  

After this debacle on Wednesday, there are BOTH democrats and republicans calling for his impeachment (again) and/or for the 25th Amendment to be enacted.   

But, the count continued after the senate floor was cleared and "swept" and Biden was, indeed, confirmed, as the 46th President of the United States.  It was really inspiring to hear reports from the "trenches" where the senators were hiding that senators from both the Democratic and Republican side were all determined to go back to the senate floor and finish the count THAT NIGHT.    They did.   Pence was the ceremonial host.  He and the rest of the elected officials upheld their constitutional duties.  

The offices were ransacked, there were videos of people going through governmental papers which is a security breach.  There was glass broken, furniture broken, statues defaced.  There are massive offenses and some arrests being made.  

There is an uplifting image afterwards of a representative from NJ staying until 3 am to help clean up as well.   There are some good, inspiring things that came out of this too... like FINALLY seeing the Democrats and Republicans working together a bit more!!

Here is part of Biden's speech below with some additional images. 

"All of you've been watching what I've been watching. At his hour, our democracy is under unprecedented assault unlike anything we've seen in modern times. An assault on the citadel of Liberty, the Capitol itself. An assault on the people's representatives, on the Capitol Hill police sworn to protect them. On the public servants who work at the heart of our republic. An assault on the rule of law, like few times we've ever seen it. An assault on the most sacred of American undertakings, the doing off the people's business.  "Let me be very clear.  The scenes of chaos at the Capitol do not reflect a true America, do not represent who we are.  What we're seeing are a small number of extremist, dedicated to lawlessness.  This is not dissent.  It's disorder.  It's chaos.  It borders on sedition.  And it must end now.  I call on this mob to pull back and allow the work of democracy to go forward.

"You heard me say before in different context, the words of a President matter, no matter how good or bad that president is. At their best, the words of a president can inspire. At their worst, they can incite.

"Therefore, I call on President Trump to go on national television now to fulfill his oath and defend the Constitution and demand an end to this siege.

"To storm the Capitol, to smash windows, to occupy offices, the floor of the United States Senate rummaging through desks, on the Capitol, on the House of Representatives, threatening the safety of duly elected officials. It's not protest, it's insurrection. The world's watching.

It continues, but I thought the 1st half of the speech was the best part.  It was quite presidential!

On a positive note and additional history being made:  

- the 1st African American senator was elected in Georgia in a senate runoff that happened on the 5th.  (He's also now the youngest senator in the nation.)

- the 1st Jewish senator was elected in Georgia - also in the senate runoff on the 5th.  Georgia was the center of the political world until the protests on the Capitol.  

Because of this runoff, all eyes were on us in the months leading up to the runoff January 5th.  On a personal note, we in Georgia are SO GLAD that the political ads, texts, calls, visits, etc have stopped finally.  whew.... it was rough (and quite an annoying barrage). 

Not political - but of note:  my mom had surgery on her leg on Monday and is at home recovering.  She has physical therapist coming to the house and has a medical device that moves her leg while she sleeps!   She came home on Tuesday.  Also on Tuesday, Isabella went to urgent care for severe leg pain (possible post-virus myalgia).  She was tested, but nothing showed up.  She's a little better.  We're taking her to the chiropractor too at the next available appointment in a couple of days to help with any possible mis-alignment which could also be triggering.