Trying New Things

Cases are low, the kiddos are growing, and we're all trying to be open to new things. New old things we've been missing, and new new things we're excited to experience.

St. Patrick's Day - March 17, 2022

New Old Things

The biggest new old thing is... seeing people! We've had some outings with old friends and (finally) making plans with new friends from school. 

Happy Hollow with a preschool friend - March 12, 2022

San Francisco Zoo with a (newly married) high school friend - March 19, 2022

It's exciting to see the kids have these experiences (and for the grown-ups to get some social time too!), but it does bring with it a busy calendar and the mental load of planning. Didn't really miss that part of it.

Mini-golf birthday party! - March 13. 2022

New New Things

Along with more outings that aren't hikes, the kids have had the chance to try some new things. New treats like Dippin' Dots and boba tea, and new excursions like the SJSU Football Spring Game.

SJSU Football Spring Game - March 26, 2022

We've started talking more about the things we'd like to do with the kids. Outings, vacations, activities, which brings us to...

New Interests

Everett has picked up an interest in sports. Both playing (basketball, flag football) and watching (basketball, hockey, football, Olympics). He has started basketball and flag football clinics at his after care and his skills have noticeably improved. This fall might be when we take the plunge into team sports. 

Playing basketball - March 27, 2022

March Stand-bys

We haven't forgotten about Pi Day, St. Patrick's Day, or the Spring Equinox! March brings so much to celebrate and we dive right into those. 

Pi Day - March 14, 2022

Spring Basket deliveries! - March 20, 2022 (Immy really liked that shirt this month)

This year we made banana cream pie and apple pie (pretty sure it was the same menu as 2021).

And that's it for now because... we're busy! That calendar is filling up and we've got a trip coming up and a first birthday to plan.

We've Made It This Far... Now What?

COVID has been "a thing" for two years. Part limiting risk, part living in a public-health-focused county, and part lots of luck, we haven't gotten it yet. That doesn't mean we won't get it tomorrow, or next week, or next summer... and that's where this wearing down comes into play.

Getting Fancy to Celebrate Megan and Joe

We celebrated two weddings this month. The first weekend in February, we got a new brother-in-law. We're absolutely thrilled for Auntie Megan and Uncle Joe. We're also relieved that the mental load of balancing family and showing up to celebrate, keeping our kids safe, and the "COVID situation" at the time is over. In a few months or years, we won't remember the craziness and stress, and we are so grateful we'll have the memories and pictures of getting fancy and celebrating love.

Fancy again for William and Brian

That doesn't mean every risk is "worth it" if the event itself was wonderful. The last weekend in February, we had hoped to gather with friends from Michigan and Chicago to celebrate the wedding of Elizabeth's friend of 20+ years, who stood up for us in our wedding. Unfortunately, Adelaide spiked a fever the day before, so we adjusted our plans significantly. After negative COVID tests, only Chris and Elizabeth attended - and only the ceremony. It saddens us that we didn't get to be fully present, and that we didn't get to bring the kids to another wedding. But, it was more important not to spread illness (even though we were pretty sure it wasn't COVID). 

It used to be that vaccination for the girls would be the turning point - when we could exhale. That milestone gets pushed farther and farther away, making it harder and harder to keep our guard up.

Should our guard even be up? It's easy to look at the statistics showing that kids don't get as severe illness, that these variants have gotten less intense, and that most people return to normal. If we do get sick, that's what we'll put our hopes in. 

Still, we remain more risk averse than risk tolerant. When you've had the worst happen, through nothing you did or didn't do, things like this just hit differently. If it was possible to give the kids the social interaction they need while keeping them isolated, we would do it. As it is, we still consider every event or activity through the lens of contagiousness.

As time goes on and things are still... like this... it feels more and more inevitable that one of these days the test will come back positive. And what then? What feelings will come when we've upended life for two years and ended up with it anyway? In one of the last places to have mask mandates, they are about to expire this week. We really hope there isn't a huge spike and we really hope that our schools and workplaces don't have outbreaks. 

Is it too much to hope for that the vaccine for under 5 arrives before Adelaide turns 5? We've only got 8 months left for Imogen... and at this point hoping she can get a vaccine at 4 years old is starting to feel unrealistic.