How can it be that so much and yet so little has transpired in the last 250 days? The sameness of every 24 hours and yet the strangeness of these days is hard to wrap your mind around.

It's been more than 35 weeks since the world seemingly came to a screeching halt because of the Coronavirus and so it feels like the last 8 months (and potentially even more) have been lost. The countless big and little changes to our daily lives including the curtailing of school and college for millions , the move to work-from-home for anyone that can, the end to dining in restaurants, going to the theatre, the postponement and cancellation of myriad social events, vacations, and trips, crowd limits in stores, and the list goes on and on, have all made for the weirdest and, if I'm honest, the most unsettling year. Add to the heap: mask-wearing (becoming oddly politicized) , social distancing, no handshaking, Zoom (teleconference) calls for work and home life, household paper shortages, diligent hand washing, ubiquitous hand sanitizers, and most significantly the anxiety that comes from constant concerns about your health and the health of others. Especially sad are the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. FINALLY, cap it all off with a presidential election, the 59th since our country's founding and a particularly polarizing one, and 2020 is epically strange. 

I'm going to endeavor to post more often, as my intention was to record some of the details of this unique time in the world. Of course, many of these things I'd just as soon forget but others have been worth chronicling. I'll see you soon. 

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Gratitude for Life’s Small Gifts

Hummingbird feeder (and guest) outside our kitchen window

Endeavoring to make lemonade out of  lemons (which I can assure you does not come naturally to me) of the stay at home order and coronavirus, the last 100 or so days have come with several new, renewed, and beneficial activities, including lots of time looking at  and feeding the birds. Mind you, I’ve always loved birds or the idea of birds, anyway. Hummingbirds, in particular, with their incredible lightness and ability to fly up, down, forward, backward, sideways, and also hover, are fascinating. This year, I was excited to learn more about the feeding and behavioral habits of these tiny fast-flying creatures. Most interesting is that no hummingbirds are found in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, or Antarctica (Western Hemisphere, for the win). 

The two hummingbird feeders I placed in our yard in March are far enough apart to appease the hummingbirds’ territorial nature but close enough to our windows to enjoy viewing.  It’s an exercise in patience (yet another thing that does not come naturally to me) to put the feeders out weeks before they begin migrating and to wait for the hummingbirds to arrive. This year, I placed a small hummingbird swing adjacent to one feeder and am delighted to see them rest there (guarding their food source, the literature says). 

Though difficult to see, that's a heart-shaped hummingbird perch, on the left. 

I’ve had a hummingbird feeder or two in the past but never endeavored quite so ardently to keep it clean, ant-free (ants love the sugar water), and full.  It’s a pleasure; watching hummingbirds arrive daily, most often very early in the morning as well as late in the afternoon, and trying to learn and embrace some life lessons from these little creatures. Hummingbirds are said to represent living a life filled with joy, light, and sweetness. Moving from flower to flower, they are fully present in the moment. Who couldn’t learn something from that?

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If You're Not Outraged, You're Not Paying Attention

George Floyd, Murdered May 25, 2020

Happy Birthday, Robbie!

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Celebrating, Part 1

More to come . . .

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Election Day

I can wax  sentimental about voting, feeling very strongly that it’s everyone’s right and duty. Needless to say I’m committed to voting in each and every election, despite the perils of being called for jury duty (which may or may not be an urban myth).

Yesterday was municipal Election Day in Williamsburg and most of Virginia.  Our 5- person city council had 4 candidates vying for 3 open seats.

I’m a person who likes to vote on the actual Election Day.  I have nothing against advance voting, I just enjoy feeling like I’m a real part of the process, seeing the wheels of democracy turn in what feels like real-time -  going to the polls, standing in line, casting my vote, polls closing at 7 pm, votes tallied, winner declared (hopefully) by the late evening news. 

This year, in what may have been a first for me, or perhaps just a very long time. I requested, along with about 1,400 others in our town , an absentee ballot (as that felt like the safe and prudent thing to do given coronavirus). My husband, son, and parents also voted absentee. 

The candidates I wanted to win, did win and I’m delighted but truth be told, I’ll add voting in-person to my list of things I’ve really missed this spring.

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The End of The Beginning

Exactly a year ago today when my son was graduating from college, I told him I was a little bit sad; sad that this chapter of life ("with all of the privileges of being an adult but very little of the responsibility of being one") was coming to an end. 

Tate receives his diploma, May 11, 2019

Then, with way more wisdom than I had at 22, he responded, "Don't be sad, mom" and he quoted Winston Churchill “This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

I find myself thinking a lot about all those who've worked hard to complete their degrees this graduation season, those first-in-their family-ever grads from high school or college, those who've juggled raising families or jobs or challenging circumstances to get to this finish line but whose celebrations this year will look a lot different. Despite the lack of  festivities, my hope for all the 2020 graduates is that this "end of the beginning" will be full of sweet memories and light and hope and dreams, and fun, too. 

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Cinco de Mayo

Crosby's Two

For the last 15 years or so we’ve had a dog as a part of our family, two little non-shedding dogs. First there was Libby and later came Brownie.

In 2018, however, Crosby joined our family. She’s McKenzie’s dog. 

A so-called “beagle-mix” from Wolftrap Animal Rescue whose namesake is Sidney Crosby, a player and captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins ice hockey team.

                          

A perpetual smile on her face, Crosby’s a sweet, 50-pound ball of energy who, along with our daughter, has been staying with us since the quarantine began. The condo McKenzie lives in doesn’t offer Crosby much opportunity to chase squirrels or birds or dig holes unsupervised but since she’s been here she’s gotten plenty of all three of those things. 

It's her birthday and today, she’s two.

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National Oatmeal Cookie Day

Speaking of cookies, as I did yesterday, today is National Oatmeal Cookie Day, as well as National Raisin Day, (they go hand in hand, I suppose,) but I'm not a fan and judging by the number of memes, there are lots of folks who agree with me.

My husband is a huge oatmeal raisin cookie fan, however. They are his favorite. 

This hilarious meme sums it all up pretty nicely.

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Cookies Are Good Medicine

Because there's hardly anything to worry about these days for us worriers 😉, when you're husband crashes his bike on a Sunday afternoon bike ride, you are mostly relieved that he didn't suffer a head injury. When he later almost passes out from the pain and you insist he go to an Urgent Care, you are not surprised to learn he has broken his clavicle and might possibly need surgery.

But when you're next door neighbors hear about it and deliver a dozen chocolate chip cookies to your door two days later (packaged like this) along with a half gallon of milk, everybody feels better. 

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Happy 50th Birthday Earth Day!

On This Day in Sports History

A happy Falcons fan.

Twenty years ago today, the Atlanta Falcons selected Michael Vick as the first overall pick of the 2001 NFL draft.

Vick became a fan favorite in Atlanta and his No. 7 jersey was seen all over the city, including at our house. 

Christmas gifts that year included a helmet and jersey.

An exciting player to watch, Michael Vick became Tate’s first football hero. Two years later, Tate even asked his kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Podojil, if she would call him “Vick.” As only a seasoned teacher would know to  do, she told him it that would require that she let everyone in the class use a second name which would be too difficult, however she’d be glad to call him him Vick for one full day.  She even let him write his name, Vick, on his papers. He was elated and, no doubt, why he's still a Falcons fan today. 

Tate, fourth from the left, in a kindergarten group shot. 

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Today’s Tax Day, Only…It’s Not.

A World War II era IRS poster.

Did you know that for the last 64 years (since 1955) the United States’ Tax Day has been April 15? When April 15 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, tax returns are due the following Tuesday.

America’s tax history is, in fact, pretty interesting. For someone who’s paid taxes for decades, I must admit this information was new to me.

• Congress passed the 16th Amendment creating the income tax on February 3, 1913. It taxed income above $4,000 and designated the first tax deadline as March 1, 1913.

• The Revenue Act of 1918 moved the deadline to March 15 while also imposing a 77% tax on the highest income to help fund World War I.

• The Depression lowered incomes so significantly that people stopped paying taxes. Congress raised rates and eliminated exemptions to fund World War II, and it became a patriotic duty to pay taxes. The Treasury Department began withholding tax payments from workers' paychecks, and the W-2 was born. 

There’s a lot of information about the IRS, taxes, and the Treasury, on the internet. And now there’s a new bit of tax history:

This year following President Trump’s emergency declaration of the Stafford Act (a federal law pertaining to natural disasters), taxpayers don’t have to pay their federal income taxes until July 15, 2020.

Author Margaret Mitchell said, “Death, taxes and childbirth! There's never any convenient time for any of them.” 

Easter Monday

For at least a dozen and a half years, I've decorated an Egg Tree in our front yard during the Lenten season. I wrote a couple of blog posts about it. You can read a little bit about it here (including some easy how-to instructions). 

When Easter falls midway through the April calendar, like it did this year, I rush to get my plastic eggs up early enough that the tree leaves and blossoms don't arrive simultaneously to my decorating. Because of the Lunar calendar, Easter is always on the first Sunday after the first full moon of Spring. The earliest possible date for Easter is March 22nd (plenty of time for decorating and seeing the tree) and the latest possible date is April 25th.

Virginia 2018

Virginia 2019

This year I decided to move our Egg Tree to a new location in our yard, sharing a little Easter cheer from a new vantage point.  

Virginia 2020

By Easter, the dogwood tree is flowering and the eggs are harder to see. 

My goal is to bring a little joy and a reminder to passersby. Every year as I unbox my eggs (and create a few more), the meaning and message are the same. 

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It's Good to Be Back

Floor sticker at the local Harris Teeter.

As the world slows during this quarantine, offering us all an opportunity to thoughtfully consider  what matters and what we love, my heart felt a tug to revisit my blog. 

I stopped posting almost exactly 7 years ago. I had my blog posts printed into book format afterwards and glancing through it brings me a lot of joy. My husband has the blog bookmarked on his browser and says he loves looking at old posts. The world of social media has exploded in the last few years and lots has happened in our family since, graduations, moves, job changes, trips, etc. and, with each  experience, memories made. I am delving back into my blog because a once-in-a-hundred-year pandemic seems like the perfect time to personally reflect on where we've been, where we are (I will probably revisit some old posts and provide updates), and where we're going, and also to record in real time how our family is doing during this historic moment. 

It's good to be back.

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