Reflections and Glimmers of Hope...
12/30/2020
This year is coming to a close. It almost feels like we're collectively holding our breath, waiting to exhale, waiting for the New Year to begin, for a fresh start. I'm hopeful for the new year. While there was so much that felt wrong about this year, so much that we seemed to miss out on, it was also a time of reflection, a time of growth. An opportunity to shed our old skins and emerge anew, glistening with possibility. This year shone light on the dissonance among the people, and while many eyes were opened, still more have slammed their eyes shut. The light at the end of the tunnel waivers, and stays the same distance away, two steps forward and then two steps back. I attempt to control my frustrations towards others' actions, and instead focus inward on myself, trying to be more patient and less of a jerk, frankly. (Speaking of Franks, Frank the Christmas Gargoyle was one of the highlights of this 'magical' holiday season for me, and if you haven't read about him yet, I encourage you to take a moment and do so. I hope you laugh as much as I did.)
In looking back on this year, there really is a whole lot more that I am thankful for than I'm upset about. I realize that I am fortunate for this, and that some may not be as fortunate as my family has been. Of course, I still have a heavy heart thinking of all those who have lost loved ones; for those struggling to pay bills or keep a roof over their family's heads; for those feeling isolated and alone. Times are hard and stressful for everyone, in one way or another. I don't wish to bang over anyone's head how fantastic and sparkly this year was for me, because it wasn't. It wasn't glamorous, and I certainly didn't have some big party on a private island to 'escape' from it all for a few days... There were days when we all cried. The kids fought with each other constantly. Worries about family, health, finances. But in general, most of the days, simple and blurred together as they may be, were just fine. We learned a scroll-full (and video-full) of knowledge about volcanoes (and patience, and 'lesson planning' for homeschool...) and branched out from our single subject of the whole first half of the school year to include growing our own crystals (after discovering the massive crystal caves below Naica mountain in the Chihuahuan Desert - grown by water heated by volcanic activity), recreating the escape route from Pompeii in our own house, and somehow landed in the world of Were-beavers... You never know what's going to happen when you go on a beaver quest in the bosque and it just happens to be a full Beaver Moon that night...
I've learned so much from my kids over this past year. I feel lucky that I get to spend so much time with them, seeing them grow, and learning about what they are interested in. Some days I have to remind myself of this, like when they're screaming at me to leave them alone, they're just trying to go pee in private... and yet, the minute I go to use the bathroom, they're on me like gum on the bottom of my shoe. But most days are good, despite the bathroom privacy disparities. We've made countless art projects together, built hundreds of Lego creations (some of them you can see here), played Iron Man several times a day most days, made a scale model of our house in MInecraft - where we CAN invite people over to visit! - and made potions in the back yard. The pandemic Vine House play structure has come along nicely, with only the roof to be added on to keep leaves and snow off the platform, and we had a trove of baby mantises hatch out in our kitchen window after bringing in a plant that was outdoors for the summer, and we discovered it had an ootheca on the underside of the hanging net. They started coming out on the 21st, the solstice, and have been very entertaining to watch, and are great encouragement to keep the kitchen sink free of dirty dishes so as to try to avoid drowning accidents of the little nymphs.
I had my first COVID test, which was AWESOME! Just kidding. But it was negative, so there's that. They have a testing site set up down at the fair grounds - EXPO NM. You register online and then drive up and wait. They had one of the State Fair signs out as I entered the queue - Welcome! Have a great time! I tuned the radio to listen to the testing site instructions, and about the sixth time they cycled around, with the quiet background flamenco music bouncing right along, I turned off the radio and sat in silence. I don't get silence very often these days. Most of the day it's non-stop talking, consecutively, with my rapt attention required for all conversations happening simultaneously. The health care worker shoving tiny sinus-scrapers up people's noses several hours a day was almost chipper, asking me how I was, if I'd ever had a COVID test before. Magical, and nope. Actually, I think I said something on the order of I'd been better, and that I was sure he'd probably had better days, too. Proceed to the procedure. He said it would be like getting water up my nose. He was right. My left nostril still feels raw, and I got my results back the next day, which was surprising. I was also surprised that it was negative, because then I had to figure out why I felt like I have allergies and the flu all at once. Maybe it IS allergies and the flu.
Anyway, it has been a very strange year. May you be blessed with an over abundance of toilet paper in the new year. Sending virtual hugs to you all, and looking forward to seeing your faces (!!!) in person in the coming year.
With love and gratitude for the chaos,
Emma
In looking back on this year, there really is a whole lot more that I am thankful for than I'm upset about. I realize that I am fortunate for this, and that some may not be as fortunate as my family has been. Of course, I still have a heavy heart thinking of all those who have lost loved ones; for those struggling to pay bills or keep a roof over their family's heads; for those feeling isolated and alone. Times are hard and stressful for everyone, in one way or another. I don't wish to bang over anyone's head how fantastic and sparkly this year was for me, because it wasn't. It wasn't glamorous, and I certainly didn't have some big party on a private island to 'escape' from it all for a few days... There were days when we all cried. The kids fought with each other constantly. Worries about family, health, finances. But in general, most of the days, simple and blurred together as they may be, were just fine. We learned a scroll-full (and video-full) of knowledge about volcanoes (and patience, and 'lesson planning' for homeschool...) and branched out from our single subject of the whole first half of the school year to include growing our own crystals (after discovering the massive crystal caves below Naica mountain in the Chihuahuan Desert - grown by water heated by volcanic activity), recreating the escape route from Pompeii in our own house, and somehow landed in the world of Were-beavers... You never know what's going to happen when you go on a beaver quest in the bosque and it just happens to be a full Beaver Moon that night...
I've learned so much from my kids over this past year. I feel lucky that I get to spend so much time with them, seeing them grow, and learning about what they are interested in. Some days I have to remind myself of this, like when they're screaming at me to leave them alone, they're just trying to go pee in private... and yet, the minute I go to use the bathroom, they're on me like gum on the bottom of my shoe. But most days are good, despite the bathroom privacy disparities. We've made countless art projects together, built hundreds of Lego creations (some of them you can see here), played Iron Man several times a day most days, made a scale model of our house in MInecraft - where we CAN invite people over to visit! - and made potions in the back yard. The pandemic Vine House play structure has come along nicely, with only the roof to be added on to keep leaves and snow off the platform, and we had a trove of baby mantises hatch out in our kitchen window after bringing in a plant that was outdoors for the summer, and we discovered it had an ootheca on the underside of the hanging net. They started coming out on the 21st, the solstice, and have been very entertaining to watch, and are great encouragement to keep the kitchen sink free of dirty dishes so as to try to avoid drowning accidents of the little nymphs.
I had my first COVID test, which was AWESOME! Just kidding. But it was negative, so there's that. They have a testing site set up down at the fair grounds - EXPO NM. You register online and then drive up and wait. They had one of the State Fair signs out as I entered the queue - Welcome! Have a great time! I tuned the radio to listen to the testing site instructions, and about the sixth time they cycled around, with the quiet background flamenco music bouncing right along, I turned off the radio and sat in silence. I don't get silence very often these days. Most of the day it's non-stop talking, consecutively, with my rapt attention required for all conversations happening simultaneously. The health care worker shoving tiny sinus-scrapers up people's noses several hours a day was almost chipper, asking me how I was, if I'd ever had a COVID test before. Magical, and nope. Actually, I think I said something on the order of I'd been better, and that I was sure he'd probably had better days, too. Proceed to the procedure. He said it would be like getting water up my nose. He was right. My left nostril still feels raw, and I got my results back the next day, which was surprising. I was also surprised that it was negative, because then I had to figure out why I felt like I have allergies and the flu all at once. Maybe it IS allergies and the flu.
Anyway, it has been a very strange year. May you be blessed with an over abundance of toilet paper in the new year. Sending virtual hugs to you all, and looking forward to seeing your faces (!!!) in person in the coming year.
With love and gratitude for the chaos,
Emma
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
