L'aventure américaine

 This morning started off a little rough.  Someone at Milo's school has COVID and so his school is closed.  We are keeping Marian home until we learn more.  I have a lot of work to finish up and so does Randal.  It's not a great time for this!  But then, this happened: [And a side bar...  Marian is extremely verbal and has an impressive vocabulary, but hasn't said, "I love you," to anyone.  (Even prompted...  she just avoids it.)] So, this morning, while I'm trying to feverishly send some emails before the kids start bugging me, I hear Marian walk up to Milo and say, "I want to give you a hug?"  So, he lets her hug him - a long hug - and she says, "I love you." And my heart exploded. And then Marian walked away.  And then came back to give him another one and he said, "You just did.  Do it later."  So, there's that.

I listened to a podcast about the outrage that pings back and forth between political parties right now and it made me tired.  It also made me think of how little outrage accomplishes. It’s so hard to know the best way to make the world a better place! So, we continue in our little corner trying to spread love. I wrote postcards for a month and have moved to Christmas cards now. And today, we pulled down the Biden signposts down from our little corner of property in Greene county (randal and I bought 8 acres this year). (The Biden sign itself came down after the election.) In its place, we planted a Christmas tree - white pine transplanted from mom and dad’s crop. The kids and I picked up litter along the road and then we decorated our new tree.  I don’t think that the neighbors have forgotten that we’re Biden supporters; there weren’t a lot of friendly looks (zero to be precise). But, the tree looks beautiful and festive and after we put up lights, hopefully they’ll be happy ...

 I am taking a break from the news.  My new goal is to put more positivity and love because we're all just so angry.  For the past week, I have been mailing one postcard a day where I aim to say at least one positive thing about the recipient.  It has made me feel so much better.   In other important news, Marian is starting to learn her colors.  This is just a baffling new milestone.  After a year of her misnaming colors and all of a sudden, she gets them right 75% of the time.  Brains are fascinating.  It is just fascinating that last week, all of a sudden, she can tell you that a shirt is green or she wants the pink hat, when the week prior, she would tell you that everything was black or brown or purple. It is also fascinating how different she and Milo are.  She holds her baby dolls, pats them, coos to them, puts them to sleep.  She loves to draw and color and points out what her creations are.  Milo?  He asked h...

 I was at Mom and Dad's when Joe Biden was declared President-Elect.  After a week of universal fatigue and restless sleep, it was such a relief to get the news. But, I haven't felt much better since then and I have been trying to pinpoint why. I think it's for many reasons...  One, the good news was tempered with coverage of Donald Trump on his golf course, refusing to concede the election.  Instead of focusing on a Biden celebration, the conversation was focused on the negative.  What do you do with a President who is making false claims and refuses to follow the civil, good precedent of his predecessors?  I continue to get depressed when I see Republicans backing up his claims and giving them credence.  Is winning more important than dignity?  Is retaining power more important than integrity?  It seems that it is. It's also because 71 million Americans still support Trump.  When I ask people (in a calmer frame of mind) why they suppor...

I get very homesick for Klamath Falls at Halloween.  Our street when we lived there was THE destination for trick-or-treaters and we always hosted a party for our friends while handing out treats to the 600-1000 kids who traipsed through our neighborhood.   COVID-19 would have changed all that, so it was easier to miss the holiday this year and we hunkered down for an intimate Halloween in Bloomington.  Mom brought dinner and we traipsed down two streets in our neighborhood who had tables out for a socially-distanced trick-or-treat.  Like my childhood Halloweens, we all piled into the car and visited some dear friends. The main purpose was to showcase the kids' incredible Halloween costumes.  Randal, Milo and I spent several hours working on Dogman and Marian's little stuffed Toto.  (Okay, Toto only took one hour and I worked on it by myself, hence the disparity in quality is quite evident.) While the adults' costumes paled in comparison to the kids, R...

I have had to turn down the news this week.  I am doing a 7-day meditation challenge.  I am focusing on Halloween.  I feel like I am taking a deep breath before next Tuesday. So, here are some highlights from our Halloween prep this week.  Stay tuned for some pretty great costumes on Saturday. The creativity expert of the family gathers his troops. He does not like drawing, but he drew this fabulous face!   Marian was an art director for her pumpkin.  She directed us (as she does multiple times a day) to "draw kitty." And here are our beauties!  I am inordinately proud of my donkey, which I did ALL BY MYSELF.  (Okay, I can't always avoid politics.) Milo is very proud of his pumpkin too.  We are obviously a family of jack-o-lantern artists. And we got this amazing package from Cory that was chocked full of Halloween goodies, including these great socks for the whole family.  Please ignore how I am holding Marian for the picture (it's...

 It is a busy, beautiful fall.  We have been trying to enjoy the outdoors before a dreary winter sets in, working steadily, and celebrating birthdays. The kids are still in school, but we wait with bated breath for the first email that says that we have to quarantine for two weeks because someone tested positive.  (Someone in Marian's school tested positive last week, but not in her class, which is separated.). They love their schools and I love their schools and everyone is happy that they're there: learning, playing, and getting some time away from their parents. Midterms are over and they went pretty well.  Whew!  I would have liked a week off, but the classes keep on coming. My birthday was quite fun and Mom's birthday is today.  Happy Birthday, Mom!  We were reminiscing about our trip to Wales last year for her birthday.  I am SO glad we took advantage while we had the chance. And we are following the election.  Time is ticking!  Ra...