One
Well... After doing absolutely everything we could - virtual school last year, masks at school this year, masks at dance both years, masks indoors in public places, masks indoors in private places when there are a lot of people around, Tom and I both working from home...basically taking just about every precaution - COVID found us. Though I felt like a failure when it finally rocked our world, Tom reminded me that my hard work and my family's willingness to adhere to the precautions I wanted everyone to take kept us safe for nearly two years and until we were all vaccinated and boosted. (He is almost always the voice of reason that balances out my tendency to worry.) I still strongly support and believe in both masks and vaccines, and credit them with keeping us protected this long, keeping Hallie from developing any symptoms others than a headache and runny nose/congestion that lasted for all of 36 hours, and keeping the rest of us - as of last night - from getting sick.
The rest of us donned masks and wore them throughout, except for when in our own individual "safe zones". (Hallie was in the master bedroom, so Will had his room, Tom had the playroom and the Mad Science Laboratory, and I had the guest room and the office.) And it worked.
Though she shed a couple of tears that first night, Hallie went willingly into quarantine and barely complained during her stay in the isolation room. When not sleeping, staying caught up in school, or dancing, she played outside, read books, watched entire Netflix shows, and crafted like her life depended on it. There's a decent chance that if you know her in person, you'll be receiving some kind of craft as a gift within the next week or so.
We all missed being in close, maskless proximity with one another - especially Hallie with the rest of us and the rest of us with Hallie - and I'm so excited that as this past week has gone on we were and as the weekend progresses we will continue to be able to return to our regularly scheduled family programming.
Two
Related to our COVID experience...
I'm grateful Hallie was still able to attend dance classes and rehearsals via Zoom throughout her five days in isolation. What a difference it made for her to have physical activity and something she looks forward to penciled in on her "busy schedule" during quarantine.
I'm also grateful for Hallie's teachers, who were all accommodating and helpful while she tried to stay caught up with 10 days of homework, projects, quizzes, and tests online. Additionally, I'm grateful that attending school virtually last year - while unfortunate in many ways - has made occasionally having to work from home this year exponentially easier for both Hallie and Will.
Because of COVID, my parents' visit didn't go as planned. My dad was scheduled to leave Madison flying to College Station on Thursday so he could see a soccer game and then drive home with my mom and the kittens. But when Hallie's home test came back positive, we decided he should cancel his flight and my mom should leave the following morning and drive home with the kittens by herself. It's a L...O...N...G drive from Texas to Wisconsin, friends. I've made it many times with kiddos of all ages, and I bet making it with kittens is almost as fun. Thankfully, my mom is a rockstar roadtripper and she, Bill, and Molly made it back to Wisconsin safe and sound.
This is the set up my mom and I created for Bill and Molly for their road trip home. Soft blanket, litter box, food and water, hammock, and toys hanging from the top of the cage.
Three
Speaking of Bill and Molly, they're slowly but surely making themselves at home at my parents' house. Turns out the thing that gets them out of hiding is...sports. Here they are watching hockey, basketball, and multiple football games last weekend.
My mom said that every time a player runs out of the frame/off the screen, Bill checks behind the screen to see where s/he went. He's such a smart boy. 😍
Four
After a few pretty chaotic weekends, last weekend - both because we had very little on the calendar to begin with and because Hallie was quarantining and the rest of us were keeping our distance from each other and everyone else when possible - was a welcome reprieve. On Saturday I didn't get out of bed until 10:30am (though the workers installing fiber optic internet wires out front woke me up at 7:30am), and I spent the day enjoying the BEAUTIFUL weather, going for a walk, weeding the patios, cleaning and tidying around the house, doing laundry, and writing sections of this blogpost. 😉 Sunday looked similar, with a little prep for the upcoming week thrown in, and all of that is exactly what I needed to feel ready to face another busy week.
Five
Happiness Highlights
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| Tom and I slept in different places (we separated everyone to hopefully prevent spread) during Hallie's quarantine. On the first night, my mom was in the guest room so I slept in the living room. Despite the reason behind the relocation, sleeping by the fire was delightful. |
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| On the second night I moved into the guest room, where I found my favorite candle. I lit it every night while getting ready for bed, and it always brought a smile to my face. |
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| Back in the saddle again! She was beyond excited to go back to dance. |
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| While on my walk I saw the fire department showing this elementary school's kindergarteners how high (VERY) their ladder truck could go. They were so excited, and watching them made me feel legitimately excited too. |
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| Bill likes Westerns almost as much as sports. |
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| And Molly loves Betty White...don't we all. |
Happy weekend, friends!
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