Days 248-254- Did History Teach Us Nothing?

 PSA~ Covid is dangerous.  We don't know the long term impacts.  Our hospitals and ICUs are filling up again and if you get sick, there might not be a bed for you.  

I feel like we learned nothing in the spring.  How could we have if we find ourselves in this position again, as a state and as a country?  Cases are surging and some states are hitting the reset button.  It's frustrating to see the behavior of some people acting like it isn't a big deal.  Even if you aren't concerned about catching Covid, you should be responsible with your behaviors as a sign of respect for doctors, nurses, first responders, grocery workers, and teachers who are putting themselves in harms way.  We have to follow some very basic public health protocols in order to get to the other side of this.  We can't expect things to be "normal" because there is nothing normal about this current situation.  Maybe this year you don't do the big Thanksgiving with family and friends.  I'm sure that's disappointing, but maybe a small gathering or a day to yourself is enough for this year.  

Not much happened this week, because JO and I are choosing to lock things down due to rising case numbers.  We spent most of the time watching Joe Biden win the election for the upteenth time.

Rudy's hair dye situation gave us a good laugh.

We did watch a Mark Erelli livestream.  As usual, he was amazing to watch.

We found out we get to be cardboard cutouts at Gampel Arena this year.  I'm pretty excited about that.

On Saturday, the weather was beautiful and we decided to have lunch outside at Remnant Brewing.  There were only two parties on the patio, including us, so it felt nice and safe.  Remnant has a great system to ensure safety.  It was nice to sit in the sun, eat a Hotbox Pizza, and just relax.

Later that night, we hosted a Zoomsgiving for our friends.  Normally we host everyone at our house for a Thanksgiving feast but that wasn't a smart choice this year so we moved it online and turned it into a cocktail hour!  It gave us a chance to catch up with some of friends who have moved to the West Coast, which was really nice.

Day 241-247 We're Spiraling Out of Control

 Before I get to the spiraling out of control part, there were so highlights this week.  We had some really nice weather at the start of the week.  JO and I made sure to get outside while we could.  We had a lovely time at Moona and at Bow Market before the weather got cold and rainy.  I love how safe these two places feel and how much they care about keeping everyone as safe as possible.  

Wednesday was a day off. It was perfect timing, because it was also the day Azzi Fudd, the number one recruiting prospect in this year's class, was making her announcement about her college decision.  As you can see, it was a great day to be a Husky!  (I'm really hoping we get a UConn season this year...I really, really need it.)

Now for the spiraling out of control part.  Covid is once again, totally and completely out of control everywhere in our country.  Hell, we're building field hospitals again in Massachusetts.  This should not be happening.

All of this country, cases are surging and there is no one really steering the ship.  Our president is hiding under the covers, tweeting out conspiracy theory after conspiracy theory about the election.  I mean, maybe I would be doing the same thing if I was in his position, because he didn't just lose the election.  He's probably looking at criminal indictments on January 21st but still, he should probably do something about Covid, but he won't!

This whole thing leaves me feeling pretty helpless.  We're just continuing to watch the numbers skyrocket without really making any changes, except in Chicago where they basically locked it down again.  It's going to be such a long winter and I'm really getting sick of the living room, which is also my classroom and my gym.  We've started making plans for a "Flexible Christmas" in which we try to find a nice weather day around Christmas to open gifts outside with our families.  We're trying to be responsible but we can only do so much.  I really wish there was a coordinated response to a world wide pandemic, but I guess that's wishful thinking.

I'll end with this picture, which brings me joy every time I look at it.

Days 234-240 Election Week (Spoiler- we took down the bully and it felt amazing!)

 My goodness, what a week!  It definitely felt like we were living in the movie Groundhog Day for a while there.  I'm not even sure where to start, but I'm going to do my best to put into words everything that has happened this past week.

The Fridge was super accurate with this post!

On Tuesday, I woke up hopeful and excited.  I couldn't wait to go vote and color in the circle next to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' names.  I had to wait until after school, but since it was a day without kids, I was able to use my special coffee mug for the day.

I had fun with my To Do List for the day.

Once school was over, I put on my voting outfit (don't worry, I wore a jacket over my shirt...I follow the rules) and we headed to the polls.  Because I live where I live, voting was super easy and we were in and out in two minutes.  (FYI- voter supression is real, no one should have to wait in those lines we all saw.  Huge thanks to all of those voters but if my voting experience was easy, yours should be too.)

As we walked home, we reflected on the past few years.  We let our minds wander a bit to how we might celebrate.  We had a lot of time to kill before results started coming in, and even though it was freezing, we had dinner on the Trina's patio.  It seemed like the right place to be.  There were only a few of us there and the tension was palpable.  We were all really afraid the polls were wrong, that Trump would win again.  We reflected on that gut wrenching feeling we all experienced four years ago.

And then we waited for the results to come in and it wasn't pretty.  It was down right disappointing.  We all knew the red mirage was headed our way and that we would need to be patient and wait for mail in ballots to be processed, but watching the senate and house races go poorly was awful.  Watching vote totals come in and realizing how many people voted for a racist, misogynistic monster.

There were some bright spots on election night, including Reverend Warnock getting to a run-off election in his senate race in Georgia.  The WNBA players really got behind Warnock and it was so exciting to see them celebrating this.

I went to bed really sad and disappointed on Tuesday and it didn't improve Wednesday morning when we heard Trump had declared himself the winner.  Thankfully, as Wednesday went on things looked up.  JO and I were glued to the tv, watching tranches and batches of votes coming in every several hours.  This went on through Friday.  It was nerve wracking.  We were barely functioning.  Our house was hitting squalor levels.  We were living airport rules style and that's a recipe for disaster.

The country could be summed up by these pictures of Denali and Rainier- exhausted and on the edge of your seat  at the same time 24/7

On Friday night we headed out to Ole just to get out of the house.  Everyone was out of it and refreshing their phones constantly.  Our server gave us a free second round because he said we looked like we needed it.  This meme summed it up best!

On Saturday, we had to leave the house because we were actually celebrating Thanksgiving a few weeks early because the weather was so nice.  It was pretty clear the end was near and it sucked to be in the car when we got the news, but all the honking horns and waving was really fun to see.  I am beyond thrilled to see a woman in the role of vice-president.  It felt amazing!  

I hope Joe and Kamala invite all of the women's sports teams who were ignored by the White House, or chose not to go, to celebrate their championships.

Once we got home from our Thanksgiving visit, we headed over to Harvard Square to celebrate with our fellow Cantabrigians.  Much of the celebration had died down by then, but we did have fun waving to all the happy people we saw.  Everyone was happy.  Everyone had a smile.  There was a collective sign of relief.  Four years of worry, outrage, and anger lifted off our shoulders.

Huge shout out to Stacey Abrams for flipping GA Blue!  She is amazing!!!

The best part about Saturday was the sheer joy sweeping across the country.  There was dancing and singing in the streets, car parades, smiling, cheering, etc.  This guy summed it up right!

And in an amazingly perfect end to the Trump era, his lawyers called a major press conference in the parking lot of a landscaping business in Pennsylvania. Want some laughs- scroll through the endless Twitter posts.  

This week was unreal.  It was trying, it was exhausting, it was a whirlwind of emotions, but in the end, democracy won out!  We did it!  We are getting our country back and we aren't the only ones celebrating.  Bells were ringing in Paris, fireworks were going off in England, and so on and so on.  I think we made him John Lewis!  

Day 228-233~ Going in Our Hoodies

 This week can best be summed up with this picture!

With Covid cases soaring in Massachusetts, and the entire country, the election rapidly approaching, and a week that featured rain and 5 inches of snow, our only answer was to go in our hoodies!

We patiently waited for our governor to address the rising case count in Massachusetts, but he blamed small social gatherings, and moved a few communities back a half a step (like closing trampoline gyms is the magic bullet to ending the pandemic.)

I did refocus my energies on my post school workouts and it did wonders for my attitude.

Our election window sign arrived and we hung it up proudly in our living room window.

The weather has definitely changed, and those brisk fall evenings have been replaced with blustery temps and even 5 inches of snow on Friday.  It's sad to see the patios closing up, because the restaurants in our neighborhood have mostly chosen to not serve food indoors.  It's sad that our state and federal government is not doing anything to help these businesses making this admirable choice.  

I loved that Inman Square still celebrated Inmanween, thanks to a partnership with The Brattle Theater.  On Friday we enjoyed take out from Casa Portugal and watched some more Twin Peaks.

Speaking of Halloween, I found a way to celebrate with my kids online.  I usually get my kids mini pumpkins to celebrate, but that wasn't happening this year, so I found a virtual pumpkin carving activity for us to do instead.