Down with Zoom!

I've had it with Zoom. 

I went back to work at the beginning of May so I could have a shot at figuring out my job. A couple of coworkers are back, but most of them are at home. We interact via Google Meet since WYDOT has the professional suite. Meet is better than Zoom, but I've also had it with Meet. 

I meet with my Young Women group (14-15 year olds) via Zoom and they are dropping like flies. 

Jane meets with her Young Women group via Zoom. Here she is doing "spa night" on Zoom.

The efforts of everyone trying to meet virtually have been admirable. But we are all so sick of Zoom. 

If the introverts in the house are sick of this lockdown, I can only imagine what Jane is going through. This must seem like the apocalypse to her. She's starting to talk to her stuffed animals. 

Part of me is wondering if it's worth it. A big part of me. 

Only history will tell.

Happy 14th Birthday Emily!

Emily is 14. She is super excited to be 14 because it brings her that much closer to being able to drive. She is under the impression she can wear us down enough to let her have a hardship license. I'm not sure where she got that impression, but it is false.

We placated her by giving her a chromebook. She is, after all, going to high school next year (if high school happens next year) and she will need something to research and type papers on. Also she destroyed the family chromebook with water. She didn't do it at an ideal time, considering how computers are crazy hard to come by right now and the kids are doing online school. We considered not giving her the chromebook we had purchased back in March when the insanity started. But we did anyway. Mainly because we can't take online school without sufficient resources anymore. She was delighted. She promises she will keep it away from food and drink. We'll see. 

She requested a cheesecake for her birthday. It tasted good but it had a big crack. Because I made it. Lockdown birthdays are lame. Super lame. I feel bad for her. Maybe she can do something fun next year. Maybe....

Viral

It all fell apart on the day our couch for our den got here. 

It was going to be a great day. A ridiculously great day. The den was finished enough that we could start using it (More on Tales of the Basement later - I'm waiting until we can take "after" pics) and we were supposed to go see Keane in Denver. Just the two of us. Our first concert since having kids, the Psychedelic Furs concert having been trampled on by the neighbor kid who threw a rock at Jane's head. 

Anyway, the forecast was very iffy, so we packed some clothes in case we needed to stay the night. The kids were going to stay with their grandparents and we were so, so excited. 

And then it happened. 1:00 in the afternoon, the concert got cancelled. That was March 13th. Right after the NBA cancelled its season and right before the Disney Parks shut their doors. Nothing's been the same since. We've been on virus lockdown. 

The couch still arrived, and we still put it together. (wait for the after pics)

School was cancelled for the kids. 

Somewhere in the mess, I found time to interview for a new job... a promotion... something to do with planning road projects and data. There's never a good time for a new job.

Weirdly, I got the job, but by the time I cleaned out my cubicle, most of my coworkers were already working from home. 

I set up my new cubicle, stayed in an empty office for one day...

and then quietly repaired to my living room, where I have been for the last month - trying to figure out a new job I have no idea how to do. It has been stressful.

We try to fill the time going for walks

and homeschooling and  watching poorly produced celebrity youtube videos... and fighting. So much fighting. This is hard on the kids. No friends, no school, no travel, nothing to do but feel like the world is imploding around them. 

This is hard on me. New job, new stress, so much uncertainty. I spend the days in Google meets... taking hours to understand what could have been communicated in minutes in an office setting.

This is hard on Chris. He is feeling trapped just like the rest of us. 

We try to get outside, to do things for others, but nothing will substitute for normalcy. 

The whole world is going through this misery together... lost jobs... lost time... lost minds. 

All because of a virus. 

I think it's okay to not be okay right now. None of us are.

Easter on the Inside

Easter still came this year. Despite the fact that the world is closed, we celebrated the Resurrection. 

A week before Easter, I got a text from our friends, letting us know they had hid eggs in our front yard. These are the friends that always host the huge nighttime Easter egg hunt in the park. The girls were so thrilled to have some sense of normalcy. They raced outside in their pajamas and giggled for half an hour as they found the eggs. 

We still did baskets for the kids. I had pre-ordered the Baby Yoda months ago from Disney, not knowing that our Easter world would be so different than normal. 

The girls were thrilled to find the candy and gifts in the morning. 

They even dressed up in their Easter dresses for about 15 minutes. It was sad having to do home church that day... even though I must admit I've really been digging home church. It's been a bright spot of this whole mess. 

Because it had snowed a crapload, we hid eggs around the house. That part was actually pretty fun... especially since we decided to put magnets in some of the eggs, which allowed us to attach them to bizarre surfaces. 

So this year, even though we were unable to have our normal Easter, it didn't change the fact that Christ died for us. It didn't change the fact that we are redeemed. It also didn't make Peeps any less gross. Happy Easter!

Jane's First Temple Trip

Jane had her first trip to the Temple. It was everything one could hope for. 

We went down as a family in our car, but we were caravaning with about 50 youth from our ward. 

It was cold, but we caught a rare break in the snow in order to have a lovely evening. 

Afterward, we did the traditional trip to Freddy's. But not the same Freddy's as the rest of the ward because there were 50 of them and we wanted to get home before midnight on account of the fact that it was a school night. 

What a great experience to get to be there for Jane's first trip!

Christmas 2019

A weird thing happened this year.

Nothing went horribly wrong at Christmas. 

Last Christmas, Jane was just barely recovering from a really bad case of strep throat, two years before that, she had c. diff. The year before that I was on chemo, and the year before that Jane had a crazy high fever from the flu.

It was fun to just have normalcy. 

We decorated the tree. We finally went fake last year after the tree aphid incident. That was a disgusting last straw.

But the wreath is still real. It lives outside and can have aphids all it wants. 

We ceremoniously hung the special ornament from this year's travels. 

The governor gave us a half day on Christmas eve, so we spent the time going for a run and finishing up the last few things while the girls were at my parents.

They came home just in time to make Jesus' birthday cake

and open pajamas

and go see lights. 

Christmas morning may not be as frantic with older kids, but I like the more relaxed pace. 

Still, excitement abounds. 

and then we ate fatty pastries which we immediately regretted before spending the rest of the day playing the Nintendo Switch Jane got for her birthday.

Merry Christmas to all!

Hey, Nineteen

Today Chris and I have been married for 19 years. 

It's been a roller coaster.

Fortunately, I love roller coasters. 

There is no one I would rather be with.

Chris is the kind of person who who loves to go on adventures and who takes surprises and problems in stride.

He is the kind of person who says "Thank you" for everything. "Thank you for folding the laundry", "Thank you for picking up the kids", "Thank you for getting me hot sauce at the store".

He is smart. He can figure anything out given enough time and access to YouTube. If Chris can't fix it, then it can't be fixed.

He loves a good spreadsheet or a new Google product. He's always an early adopter of new technology.

He hates big crowds and awkward personal interactions, just like me.

He loves a good long walk accompanied by a long conversation, just like me.

He can't get enough spicy foods, not like me.

And somehow, even after all the twists and turns of our own personal roller coaster, he still loves me.

And I love him.