In the process of writing this blog, I remember back when milestones had some resonance with me. When I hit my 50th post, or my 100th post, I thought, wow, that is something. It was that mix of pride that I stuck to my commitment and horror that this whole pandemic thing was still going on.
Since then, I mostly have blurred through those milestone numbers, becasue let’s face it, time marches on and the days really blend together in many ways. It wasn’t until sometime this evening that it hit me that this is my 250th post here. I’m not going to get all misty, because let’s face it, that means we are 250 days into the worst public health crisis most of us have ever experienced.
What I will say is thank you to those of you who read this. Thank you for hanging with me through all the ups, downs, rants, raves, sloppy writing, typos, autocorrect goofs and bad puns. There are plenty of days I ask myself why I do it, but the fact is that as I look back on posts from the early days, it gives me real perspective of where we were and where we are. I am thankful to those who have chosen at any point in time to join me in this journey, and extra thankful for those who have shared their own experiences and thoughts along the way. It helps me to know you’re here, too. I know all of us are working through our own obstacles and challenges, but we are doing it together and no one should feel alone in this time.
So on we go. No idea how many days still lie ahead, but hopefully we are closer to the end than to the beginning.
I will share a couple quick thoughts from our Saturday. Erin headed out early to let Asta participate in a barn hunt. This is basically like a hay maze where dogs get to use their nose and senses to track down rats, which are in little protective hamster balls. Apparently, Asta was a little perplexed by the whole thing at first, but got into it and had a fun time exploring her natural instincts. She even won some keen ribbons.
Meanwhile, the kids started out the day tackling some more science experiments. Boy, they really love that vinegar and baking soda “volcano” thing. Science! One simple fact that science doesn’t need to prove is that kids love watching things bubble up and make a mess.
Later, we worked out in front of the house, taking advantage of some late fall nice weather to get a start on hanging the Christmas lights. Or more precisely, I hung lights and the kids had fun throwing various stuffies around into bushes and trees.
But Amelia did get in on the action and helped out hanging some lights. She is handy with a hammer.
We got a good start on things, and it was nice for once doing it when the temperature was well above freezing. Plus, and I’m sure plenty out there would agree, those Christmas lights do add a little much needed cheer this year. Normally I’m all about waiting until after Thanksgiving, but this year we need some extra pop. So I left our Thanksgiving/harvest decorations on display on our front porch, but at least have supplemented with some early Christmas lights. Next weekend, we’ll add in the Christmas tress and go all out, but right now it’s a nice, festive hybrid. A holiday mashup.
This year, Thanksgiving isn’t what anyone expected. But we are going to do our best to make the most of it.
