And So It Begins...

Yesterday was the day.  We kicked off in this strange new world of "social distancing".  After a week that literally up-ended everyone's world, I found myself and children entering a dark school with just a few staff available.  The chat with Princess Putterpants' teacher reflective of the mood, sad and unsure of what's to come.  Collecting our work packets and learning materials for the week, we returned back home.  Our new reality for the next few weeks? We are home-schooling.

As a former early childhood educator, I feel confident I can follow through on instructions from the teachers, but it is a switch of gears to move from Travel Agent and Coach, to Teacher.  Over the next few hours I tackled the task of de-cluttering our living space so we could have learning space. All the while the news and White House conferences played in the background.  Commentators and speakers alike painting a grim picture, but asking the public to positively be in this together, all while staying home and separated. I can't help but think what irony it is that our overly social nation is really more acclimated for this than we realize. The age of Social Media having become a more natural person to person connection, than face to face connection is.

Following our family dinner the kids excitedly gathered their Leprechaun Trap materials.  While we may not be able to go to school, this special tradition normally done with the kids' teachers, could not go to the wayside just because we are bound to our home.  With the table cleared, the kids zoomed around the house collecting what they needed to make "The One" ... the trap that would FINALLY catch that pesky Leprechaun.  Unfortunately for my husband and I our children have a nasty habit of using our furniture as trampolines, climbing equipment, and track surfaces.  Case in point, last week Princess Putterpants found herself at ER after a jumping-on-the-bed-incident-gone-wrong.  Thankfully she was ok, just a little sore with her ribs and lungs having a slight battle with each other.

BoBear however was not destined to fare as well as his sister this night. After a slick run of the socks on the farm table bench, down he went, face first!  As I rolled him over, he sure was a brave boy with hardly any tears, but he said, "Momma I can't move my arm." and the flood gates opened.  Agreeing with Daddy the arm didn't look right we were off to the local ER.


With last weeks rolling shutdown of our country, right into this day ... I was nervous.  The entire drive (the whole 10 minutes) I worried ... would it be a ridiculous wait?  Will the waiting room be full of COVID-19 patients ... should I have grabbed his mask (thanking the Big Man Upstairs quickly that "Blanket" was along for the ride as I imagined it would do as a covering) ...  We arrived, and I carried BoBear in ... and to my disbelief the place was empty...  We were taken to a room right away, seen right away.  While the process of determining if there was a break or just Nursemaid Elbow is long enough -- it was not the endless wait I was expecting because we are in the midst of a pandemic.  This all feels so surreal ... not real ... strange.

PS. It is a solid clean break of the distal end of his right humerus.

So, here we are ... Day 1:
✔ School Work for the week picked up.
✔ Home converted to a learning space.
✔ Tradition of Leprechaun Traps carried on.
✔ An appendage break to sufficiently occupy our time while we are "off".

American Day

It’s baffling how fast “summer” has passed! Here in Wisco we’ve only managed to enjoy a couple weeks of actual summer like weather ... but the calendar says summer is over already!

Our 4th of July weekend has come and gone, leaving behind some fond memories of family and friends. As I browse the pictures from these past few months, I keep thinking how important this holiday is to me. 

Family has always been been the impetus, with the parade at its center. This year I celebrated nearly 40 years of appearing in our hometown parade. I follow along my father who spent decades in the parade with fire and rescue. The festivities of our towns celebration touch every corner of my memory from being a kid impatient to get on the fair rides; to my adult visits at the famed ETBT.  

Along the way things have changed. Some of our towns people have lamented those changes. As much as I want things to be as they are in my memory, I know that change is inevitable, and sometimes that affects our beloved traditions. Yes, the carnival seemed smaller ... maybe the beer tent wasn’t quite as full as normal? And choosing a new spot to watch fireworks from brought a little melancholy, as it also signified the first year in memory that my parents or any of my extended family was with us. 

This year our BoBear was very excited for the Fourth of July weekend because, as he excitedly proclaimed, he got to celebrate "American Day".  He was happy to tell everyone about it, and his zest for American Day brought smiles and giggles.  The greater message from watching him revel in delight of this very American weekend, was no matter what had changed ... it was still time together enjoying the freedom we are so very lucky to have.

Happy Labor Day to all! We wish everyone safe travels home from the last American holiday of the summer!

The Most Perfect Place in the World

Our family completed our second camping trip of the season this weekend. As I look back on the pictures in my phone I couldn’t help but think how very fortunate we are to enjoy the great outdoors as we do. Although we are repetitive Disney travelers, there is something simple and lovely about sitting around a campfire with friends at your side, and stars over head. I am just as eager to head out on a camping trip as I am to head to Disney.

This weekend was full of walk abouts, bike riding, and playing at the beach!  We enjoyed an impromptu game of tball with all the little ones from the loop we were camping at. It is always fun when things come together organically. I needed to burn some energy, as did the kids, so was looking for just 15 minutes of fun and movement. So, I set out the tball set and before we knew it other families started to join in. We got a good 30 minutes of laughs and an effort to instruct on the basics of baseball! As I said to a friend and fellow momma, the experience of baseball with young children is like herding cats.

When we are camping it's as if life slows down and I notice the changes in my children. BoBear has grown so brave and independent. He climbs without help, and pedals his little bike as fast as he can. He’ll run ahead of the adults but is always conscious not to get too far ahead.  He’s become quite the “boss”, or perhaps even a mother hen, as he was very practiced at telling others what to do, when to pause, and what to watch out for.

Princess Putterpants has finally mastered getting in and out of her top bunk in the camper. Although she has grown so much I am reminded she is still that sweet baby. She had the misfortune of wrestling with a bug that won the fight. A round of Benedryl knocked her out for awhile so we snuggled her up in her camp chair. As she slept peacefully with her little feet’s popped out from under her blanket, I couldn’t help but see the little baby in her that still resides while she is growing into a young girl. Even at 6 years her piggies still make me smile. 

Blackhawk Lake Recreation Area is among our favorite campgrounds to visit. It has a beautiful beach and lake that is perfect for fishing, kayaking, and simply sitting back to enjoy the breeze. It’s no wonder we can spend hours there without noticing. In 10 years so much has changed ... not so much at the camp ground but in our view. When we started visiting Blackhawk together, we were all carefree couples just starting our new lives together. Then as the years slipped by the babies appeared. Before we knew it the babies became kids. I hope they will always remember these years of camping together, and time spent making sand castles together at this beach.

As it goes with all adventures, they must come to an end. Not surprisingly, Jen’s fried donuts were a hit with the kids and adults ... and their tummies. It was a perfect way to wind down our last night of camp. Now at home sitting with my husband, talking about the weekend, we both noted how life has changed. Gone are the days of flip cup ... instead it’s hoping the right kid is drinking out of the right cup; all night fires that used to end at sunrise, now end at 10:30pm; and games of leap frog from a dare have turned into chasing after our children while they wander into the inadvertent sticky situation. I wouldn’t trade it for a moment however.  No matter how life changes, camping is for us the most perfect place in the world to be.