Polar Plunge 2021

Last year we began a new tradition, not to replace our Swimsuit Snow Angel tradition, but to serve as a placeholder when Mother Nature doesn't cooperate or our efforts are thwarted by a pandemic. Taking the Polar Plunge here in Texas isn't quite the same as taking the Polar Plunge in Wisconsin, where doing the deed generally involves jumping into an ice-covered (except where the jumping is taking place) lake, but jumping into an unheated pool on a cold day and after quite a few cold nights is the best we can do. 

This year we decided it would be fun to celebrate our Polar Plunge tradition while on winter break, so on January 3rd we gathered and literally took the plunge. 

The day turned out to be sunny and warm by January standards; I think the temperature outside at the time of our jump was between 60 and 65 degrees. But after after a week of nightly lows in the mid-30s, the water in the pool was closer to 40 degrees. It wasn't an icy lake, but it certainly wasn't a warm bath either. 

Almost all of the kids jumped in multiple times, just to show the grown-ups how much tougher they are than us. Jenn and I jumped in once, increasing our "streak" of Polar Plunges to two years. (I did, however, force myself to step it up a little this year, jumping off the rock waterfall and going in over my head instead of sliding in off the side of the hot tub.) It was - obviously - freezing, but also exciting and energizing, just like making snow angels in our swimsuits. I LOVE being able to do this one (kind of) crazy thing every year with my kids.

The Polar Plunge isn't for everyone. But I hope that every once in a while you do something that takes your breath away.

High Five for Friday (1.15.21)

Catching up on a couple of weeks' worth of High Fives today. And for those of you wondering where my snow day pics are - they're coming! They absolutely, positively deserve their own post.

One

Like just about everything else last year (how freeing it is to write "last year" when referencing 2020), our NYE celebration looked different than past NYE celebrations. We spent most of the day and all of the evening at home, and while we missed the friends with whom we usually gather, we enjoyed our mini party. We wore cozy clothes, ate lots of delicious snacks and treats (I tried multiple new recipes), watched a movie, played video games, watched the ball drop, toasted with sparkling apple cider, and ended the evening with our own balloon and confetti explosion. Like Christmas, the experience was simple and beautiful and memorable. 

Two

Will returned to middle school basketball practice last Monday morning, and last Tuesday morning we officially cracked open the Chromebooks to start our second semester of virtually learning. I have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that we're doing this again, and it's nearly incomprehensible that in two months we will have completed a full year of online learning. 

The losses - of lives, livelihoods, security, relationships, celebrations, experiences - tallied throughout these last 10 months are heartbreaking. I frequently get caught up in the despair of it all, so I just as frequently try to come up with silver linings...one of which is that well-organized and well-taught virtual classes were and continue to be available to us. I know not every family in our country is as lucky. 

Three

I've cycled through A LOT of different kinds of and timings for resolutions over the years, but about a year and a half ago I ditched them all. It felt great then, and it still feels great now. 

That said, I am setting a couple of broad and conceptual goals for myself - as well as one specific, measurable, and necessary resolution - this year:  

Goal #1: Spend - time and money - thoughtfully.

Goal #2: Consume - sustenance and media - thoughtfully.

Goal #3: Sweat the small stuff less.

Resolution One and Only: DON'T READ THE COMMENTS.

I'll let you know come spring how these are going...

Four

New Year's Day dawned - and remained throughout - cold and dreary. But by midway through the day, the kids and I needed to get out of the house, so we headed to a brand-new "playground for all" at a local park.  We walked for a little while first, just to get our blood pumping, and then the kids tried out each and every structure and activity. Will and Hallie aren't all that little anymore - he's 14 and she turns 12 in about three months. But drop them at a playground, and the "little" that remains will shine through gloriously. 

Five
Flashback Friday Photos

When I swapped out my old phone for my new one, I came across an assortment of old photos that brought a smile to my face and are definitely worth sharing.  

Chicago Blues Fest circa 2005 (?)
A couple of hours and a torrential rain storm later,
I had to throw away my socks in a bar bathroom.

Will's been a cat whisperer since the beginning.

Baby's first tuxedo.

Baby's first Easter.

The beginning of his curls...

Will used to have to assess me when I arrived home from work.
It was if he was making sure I was actually who I claimed to be.

Riding the merry-go-round at the zoo.

Will's first friends. They remind me of kittens.

💙

Those onesies say "Michigan Tailgating" on them. I think
Will tailgated a little too early and a little too hard that day.

First kiss.

Still a cat whisperer.

Throwing snowballs at Mom.

Sweet kisses.

A really important and intense
conversation with Grandpa Paul.

This was only formation to which Will would agree. As the
only grandchild at the time, everyone bowed to his desires.

Wedding fun.

Will and our friend, Neal, at a downtown Ann Arbor
event in the summer of 2008. This photo reminds me of
how important our grad student "village" was while Tom
was working on his Master's and PhD - Will had lots of
"big brothers and sisters" who helped us take care of him!

My favorite pic of Will with Aunt Sara and Uncle Jeff.

And my favorite picture of Will and Uncle Jeff.
Jeff is 6' 3" and that was a VERY small train tent.

Easter Sunday 2009, and the day Hallie came home
from the hospital. Proof she was born with dark hair!

I took this picture to document how little she was, but it ended
up being the first in a series of her "telling" us about her problems. 

She did NOT like his choice of song.

It's blurry, and a finger-sucking Will is
photo bombing, but I love her little face here.

Thanks, Facebook.

Me and my grandpa Russ - we were "disguised" as each other.

Happy weekend, friends!

Quadruplets

Because of the holiday season and related posts, I didn't have an opportunity before today to write about our quadruplet kittens. If they hadn't been the absolute sweetest kittens I'd ever encountered, I probably would have shared a few photos in a High Five for Friday post and moved on...but they were the absolute sweetest kittens I've ever encountered, so they get a post all their own.

When we applied to become fosters I committed to taking up to three kittens at a time. We made an exception when Peppermint Patty joined RBG for a few days over Thanksgiving, but those five days with those four kittens (plus Tux, of course) were challenging enough to remind me why I'd chosen three as our max. Our rescue connection must have thought I'd changed my mind about the number of kittens I could handle though, because when she arrived on pick up/drop off day (pick up Ruth and Ginsberg, drop off our new kittens), four little bundles of fluff tumbled out of the carrier.

Both Hallie and I were shocked and caught off guard. I probably should have said no, but I'm awkward and tongue-tied in such situations...and I could sense that our rescue needed us to step up for these four babies. (The holidays are a particularly hard time for rescues because so many foster families travel, leaving their foster animals without somewhere to stay.) I'm so glad we did.

Sisters Udon, Soba, Ramen, and Nori ("the noodles" as we affectionately referred to them) were all delightful. Sweet, gentle, and cuddly. Curious, playful, and fun. They played well together and enthusiastically with the kids. They (mostly) left Tux alone, (mostly) pooped and peed in the litter box, and never figured out where we kept Tux's food, how to jump onto the counters, or how to climb up us. Oh, and they were ADORABLE.

We had them for just three weeks, and during that time they made nearly every aspect of our lives - school, work, Christmas, and New Year's - even more joyful and entertaining. It's a good thing all arrived already pending adoption, because if they hadn't been spoken for, I don't know that I could have given any of them up. (And I'm not kidding, even in the slightest.)

All four joined me as I wrote this post.

I'm sure all are happy in their forever homes...but I wish their forever home was with me.

Note: I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago, but yesterday I pulled it up again to make a couple of quick edits. The pictures of these babies brought tears to my eyes - we really do miss these four SO much, more than we've missed any of the others by leaps and bounds. I still wish their forever home was with me.

High Five for the Holidays (1.8.21)

Our elf, Chris, arrived - as always - on December 1st with Advent calendars and new pajamas in tow. He wore a mask for the first week, just in case.  

The Christmas Carousel - Hallie's Christmas dance performance - was a highlight of the season for all of us. I'm so grateful this event actually took place, especially given how cases and hospitalizations are now rising in our area. Hallie and friends wrapped up the dance semester with a "free holiday dress" week, which basically means "wear pajamas and as many gaudy Christmas accessories as possible". It's one of Hallie's favorite weeks of the year.

Hot apple cider in hand, Hallie and I drove visited the lights display at our local Central Park. We turned our favorite holiday tunes up and sang along as we drove through this lovely city offering.

With hot chocolate (for the kids) and coffee (for me) in hand - apparently we can only attend drive-through events with beverages - both kids and I drove through a live nativity at a friend's church. We wanted to play with the animals at the church's petting zoo and taste a few of the delicious cookies they offered, but we saw too many mask-less people to feel safe getting out of our car at either station... 

We returned to Central Park for our annual Cookies and Christmas Lights gathering. A simple yet beloved tradition, we start by walking the park's paths through the light displays and then wrap up the evening with cookies and hot chocolate in the open air pavilion.  

Just like they did for their fall concert, Will's middle school orchestra filmed their Christmas concert and then made the recording available to families and friends. Unlike the fall concert, which was filmed in the middle school gym, the Christmas concert was filmed in the high school auditorium, which meant a vast improvement in sound quality. While we've missed watching these concerts live (and our traditional post-concert dinners at IHOP), we are tremendously grateful to the faculty and staff who have made it possible for us to still experience the beautiful music these young but talented musicians make together. 

Throw in elf clubhouse and gingerbread house Lego building, edible gingerbread house decorating, movie watching, cookie baking, and lots of shopping for, wrapping, and delivering gifts, and you have yourself a fairly full holiday season!

And then the big event...

This was the first time - in nearly 17 years of marriage and in both kids' lives - we have ever stayed home for Christmas. The first time we've slept in our own beds on Christmas Eve. The first time we've opened presents around our own Christmas tree on Christmas morning. The first time we/I handled everything - all the shopping, all the meals, all the wrapping, all the assembly, all the activities - on our own, without sharing the load with our parents and siblings. 

We missed our families, and we look forward to (hopefully) seeing them all again soon and celebrating the holidays with them again next year. But this year...it was perfect. Extraordinary in the truest definition of the word. Beautifully simple yet also magical and exciting and unforgettable. I hope that when they grow older and look back on 2020, Will and Hallie remember and cherish this Christmas as I will.

Hallie and I dressed up. Tom put on a
jacket and dress pants...but kept on his
Santa t-shirt, athletic socks, and Crocs.

Will wore a v-neck and non-athletic shorts,
which is about as dressed up as he gets. 

Tom asked me to take this picture so he could send
it to his students. I bet they think he's super cool.

Santa came!

Sweet boy loved his catnip mouse.

I hope you and yours had a lovely holiday season!