Week 43 at Home: Ummmm....

So much for 2021 being potentially better than 2020. I'm pretty sure that kicking off the year with a failed coup kinda takes it up a notch.

It's been a week. By Friday, we were all tired and exhausted. It was hard work being back to school (distance learning still) and working, five days a week. The events from Wednesday in DC drained me for the rest of the week, and had kept me locked to news coverage. I'm relieved it's the weekend and we can take a break from being online. Last night we watched Uncle Buck and Cool Runnings...a little John Candy marathon helped to lighten the mood. :)

One silver lining to this crazy kickoff of 2021 (and 2020, for that matter) is that it's given us the chance to talk to our kids more about real world issues. Things like racism, the pandemic, and apparently what it means to have an attempted overthrow of democracy. These all feel like "once in a lifetime" events and we're just being super efficient and condensing them into a much smaller timeframe. Yay?

These talks have led to discussions about what it means to recognize that not everyone is treated the same, to be selfless vs. selfish, to be honest and gracious when one loses, to pay attention in civics/social studies classes (!!), and how it's ok to disagree with loved ones on topics, as long as it's not on the basic level of human rights. Some things are not negotiable.

I've also been curating my social media lists. A FB/IRL friend said that Wednesday's insurrection was really not a big deal, and that it was just some people messing up some desks. Um. Nope. See ya! My newly created resolution is to be more mindful of who and what I allow to occupy my time and my space. Seems that's an incredibly healthy way to keep sane!

Comments

Exploring Local Places

Last Sunday was the perfect day to explore an area that neither Arya nor I had been to before. We headed east to walk around the Vermillion Falls/River and Greenway area. The path was nicely paved, with lots of overhead shade from trees; there were so many families out on bikes and walking, and we had a nice view of the Vermillion River. Arya got some great pics, and I enjoyed spending time outdoors with my sweet girl. This weekend, G and I will be heading out to explore a creek area in a few towns just south of us. And I've already got an idea for another creek I want to walk by next month (it's a bit further away, and I'd rather put that aside until Arya is off at college) The tree leans to find the sun On the way home, we stopped at the DQ in another town (we have a love/hate relationship with the DQ in our town, so I wanted to avoid it.) The warm weather felt great, and we enjoyed some sweet treats while watching the world drive by. We're counting down the days unti...

What a Week

The weather has been unseasonably warm this fall, so we've been able to extend our outdoor projects just a bit. This past week Scott's been working in the garden, cleaning everything out, and repairing the back wall of our garage. Ava was such a good little helper, scooping up dirt, but still trying to keep her hands clean while doing it! I swear, a box is all she needs to make her happy. Princess Darla. Princess Darla has had enough. I personally like how she and Ava have the same expressions in this picture. Apparently Spanky was bored - check out that yawn in the background! We went down to Grand Meadow this weekend, and as always, it was so fun to see Ava and Isabel play together. They actually had several little conversations with each other - and they were so polite while doing so! We even had them share a room last night...boy, that was a challenge. I think they finally fell asleep around 10:00pm. And of course, Ava wa...

All Done!

We made it! May was extra busy this year, leading up to Arya's graduation. And now that we are a week out from the chaos, I'm happy to report that we survived and are enjoying a slightly less busy pace in our days and nights. On Friday, May 29, 2026, 601 Rosemount High School seniors graduated, with the ceremony held at the University of St Thomas campus in St Paul, MN. It was a new venue for graduation this year, and it went really well. We were allowed six tickets in total, but were provided with a link for others to stream it on YouTube. We ended up parking at St. Kate's and shuttling over to St Thomas, so the parking situation was easy peasy for us. The ceremony was so well done, focusing on the triple A philosophy: academics, arts, and athletics. We are so proud of Arya, and can't wait to cheer her on in the next phase of her life! We did a pre-graduation photo shoot with a few friends from school Last day of high school! Red Pine is a special school in the distric...

Go, Go, Goers!

Search This Blog