winter blast

I'm hibernating. We are experience an arctic blast that has me wearing my robe over my clothes with the fireplace on, and vowing not to come out until Tuesday.  This is the perfect weekend to plan my garden and order seeds.

We've had a full week.  Last weekend, we stayed at a guesthouse at a state park for a few days.  I talked Bryan into going on this outdoor adventure, with the promise of real beds, heat, a kitchen, and a bathroom with shower all under the same roof. The guesthouse was not fancy, and intended for groups larger than our family. It was what I could find relatively last minute. 

It was nice to have a change of scenery.  We had originally planned to meet up with Meemaw and Papa and do some ice fishing, but those plans didn't work out.  It was the start of the arctic blast, but we did enjoy some snowshoeing. Knowing it was going to be very cold, I ordered a new board game (Trekking the National Parks), and we packed a dvd player and movies to watch.  Well, we were really roughing it, because the TV wouldn't even turn on! 😉  It's a good thing the kids liked the new game!

On Sunday, Reggie participated in a wrestling tournament.  It was...different.  The typical wrestling tournament starts early in the morning with registration, weigh-ins and skin checks.  Then at least an hour or even two of waiting to be put in a bracket (2-4 other wrestlers around the same age, weight, and skill level) and being assigned a mat.  Usually younger kids go first - the older you are, the longer you wait.  There are crowds of people yelling around the mats squeezed into an overfilled gym.  People are strewn all over with extra kids and stuff to keep them busy, wrestling and winter gear, and coolers of snacks and drinks.  It's a full day of noise and sweaty bodies.  You can easily be there for six hours and your kid might wrestle less than 10 minutes.  But it ends with the bracket standing on a podium proudly adorning their medals with a crowd of adoring fans snapping pictures. Basically, a covid-spreading paradise. 

In Minnesota, we are currently required to keep events to 250 people or less.  So to accommodate this, MNUSA Wrestling has set up a series of tournaments in a large leased warehouse. "Sessions" based on age are spread out throughout the day.  For each session, there is a limit of 100 wrestlers and one named adult.  That's 200, so it leaves 50 spots for organizers, referees and table workers.  Everyone preregisters, weight is on the honor system, and brackets are set ahead of time. The mats are spread out, and everyone must wear a mask unless you are actually wrestling.  No posing for pictures at the end; you just grab your medal on the way out.  Reggie and Bryan were in and out in about an hour.  I watched from home.  Reggie only had two matches and he managed to use "blood time" in both - he got a bloody nose in the first match and his mouth was bleeding from his braces in his second match! He got second place.  We hope he will get two more tournaments in this year (a typical year would be around 15).

Monday was Reggie's first day of in-person school.  I could tell he was a bit anxious.  He was up around 5am.  I woke up to the sound of him sharpening pencils.  He had already showered, dressed, and packed his lunch.  On the way to school, he told me it wasn't fair that Lydia and Brett "got to" stay home.  I told him Brett would gladly trade spots with him. (Lydia wonders why anyone would choose to spend a full day at school when she can get all her work done on her own in less than two hours.) 

On an impulse, I took Penny with me to pick Reggie up at the end of the day.  Partly because it was cold, and partly because I didn't want to have any messes to clean up, I stuck her in a stocking hat and had her on my lap.  Reggie flipped out when he saw her!  Then his teacher saw us and came to let me know they had a good day.  I'm pretty sure he thought I was nuts to have Reggie's guinea pig there.  Nice first impression!

Reggie's anxieties quickly settled and he is thrilled to be back in school.  I hope it lasts.  

the things we have not done

We're quickly approach one year since we initially began experiencing the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. On Thursday, March 5, 2020, Lydia and Reggie attended their last day of school before spring break.  We had parent conferences that night, and we brought home two boxes of candy bars to raise money for Lydia's 5th grade three-day fieldtrip that would never happen.  Reggie also won't be going on the 5th grade trip. I distinctly remember Lydia's teacher telling us about her husband who was on work assignment in China.  She told us how he had to get a temperature check twice a day and other restrictions. It seemed unimaginable. 

On Friday the 6th, Lydia and I went to a Frozen 2 viewing and party at our church, the last time we would enter our church building for well over six months.  On Saturday, March 6th, Reggie would participate in what turned out to be his last wrestling tournament when all indications were that he would perform highly at the upcoming state tournament. Bryan was so confident in this that he had custom designed a t-shirt for him.  By the time it arrived in the mail, the state tournament was canceled.  

That same day, we left for a four day trip to Chicago.  That trip marks the last time we went to any museum and the last time we stayed in a hotel.  Ironically, we never made it into the hotel pool, so the last time we swam in a swimming pool was in January 2020.  It was also the last time we would dine-in at a restaurant, the only exception being in June when Bryan and I ate on the patio at a restaurant.  

When we returned from Chicago, Brett had basketball practice on Wednesday, March 11th.  It was the last in-person practice he would have with his Lumberjacks Special Olympics team.  On Thursday, Lydia had her last in-person piano lesson.

None of us have been on a plane for a very long time. In March, it will be two years for the kids and I. Typically, Bryan travels for work about once or twice a month.  The last time he flew was in the middle of February 2020. 

Bryan's brother, Adam, got married in January of 2020.  It was the last time we would see them and his other brother's family.  Adam got married in Green Bay, where they live.  It was the last time we've been to Green Bay.  Typically at least Bryan will go to Green Bay at least 3-4 times a year.

We have not attended an in-person church service in eleven months and counting.  With our church as large as it is, they have not attempted to hold regular live services yet.  When case numbers are lower, the church has hosted smaller group gatherings, and we have participated in a few.

Some other things we have not done but normally would do are going bowling, going to a movie, going to a theme park or water park, and going to any indoor recreation venues such as a trampoline park, arcade, gym, or sports activity center.  We haven't attended any concerts, parties, or celebrations.  We haven't attended any professional sporting events, with the exception of our minor league baseball team in St. Paul.  

We have not had anyone stay at our house overnight, and we haven't had anyone over for dinner indoors.  The reciprocal is also true. Without school, the kids and I have literally not spent more than 4 or 5 hours apart in nearly 11 months.  The longest time I can recall being away from the boys is recently when Bryan took the boys ice fishing.  They were gone before Lydia and I got up and we brought them lunch.  Lydia and I probably haven't even spent 4 hours apart!

Sometime around Christmas, I heard someone say (I don't remember who, maybe our governor) we are in the second half of the pandemic.  While thinking about this being the "middle" could be quite disheartening, thinking about putting this all behind us feels empowering.  And with the vaccines picking up pace, I hope it's true.  Minnesota hit it's peak of cases around Thanksgiving and there has been a steady decline since then.  

So changes are happening.  Reggie is back at wrestling school, even though we didn't have his youth wrestling club this year. Once a week practice is better than none, but it is a far cry from our regular three practices and one or two tournaments a week. There are only a few very restricted options for youth tournaments locally this year and we are going to try one on Sunday. 

But the big news is Reggie is returning to full in-person learning on Monday! We have our doubts - at least with distance learning, we know it's consistent. But we're ready to give it a go, and hopefully, it will be a good change.  It will be strange for Reggie to be away all day, and I suspect Monday will feel like a very long day for Brett, Lydia, and I!  

And Reggie's guinea pig, who is used to "going" to school with him.