On Friday evening, we gathered with some friends in their backyard. This was the first time we had done so since March. Everyone wore masks, we were spaced apart when eating, and we stayed outside.
Continue reading2020 Has Made Me Numb
This Isn’t How I Thought I Would Spend My Afternoons
I never had any aspirations to be a stay-at-home parent. I liked my job, and when I became pregnant with my oldest son, more than 10 years ago, it became a question of balancing time with him, against work, my marriage, and time to myself.
Continue readingFive
Nelle’s birthday did not arrive slowly as it has in past years. Usually, I could feel the weight of the day creeping up on me. It would be September. I would start to look ahead to our annual trip to the coulee, and the tree where we scattered her ashes. So there was planning, preparation, and looking ahead to her birthday.
Continue readingSaying Goodbye to Libby
Libby: 08/25/2007 – 08/04/2020
I knew as an adult that I would have a cat. I grew up with cats. As soon as Ger and I moved into an apartment that allowed pets in 2008, we adopted two 4-month-old kittens from a local shelter. Huge fans of the tv show “LOST” at the time, we named the kittens Hurley and Libby. Continue reading
Doing the Best for Our Family
Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash
I was positive that my kids would be returning to the classroom this Fall.
Illinois has been careful in its reopening, and kept Covid-19 mostly controlled. A little over a week ago, our school district announced its reopening plan with two options: 100% remote learning, or a “hybrid” model of 2 days a week in school and the rest at home, with a rotation of kids for either Tuesday/Thursday classes or Wednesday/Friday classes based on their last name. Along with in-classroom instruction came a lengthy list of safety guidelines that would need to be followed. Continue reading
