Signs of the Times

This pandemic has handed us one benignly surreal experience after another.

This week, we lined up with countless other families at our kids' schools . . .

. . . to receive bags of artwork, old assignments, and random school supplies that were in students' desks on what turned out to be their last day of school back in March.

As we passed the middle school on the drive home, the question mark on this sign highlighted a nagging concern that's been in the back of my mind for weeks: Will the kids be able to go back to school in fall?  Socializing would be good for them, and having some quiet time each day would do wonders for my sanity, but there are still hundreds of new coronavirus cases every week in our state, and I doubt things will have settled down so much by September that we'll feel safe putting kids on school buses to go mingle in classrooms all day.  Maybe the virus will have disappeared by then.  Maybe a vaccine will be available.  We can hope, but I'm not betting on it.

In the meantime, at least this sign found some humor in the whole situation: "Jesus washes sins away, but you still must wash your hands."

Reading in the Basement

It's been pretty hot and humid around here lately, and our home doesn't have air conditioning.

On this sweltering afternoon, Anna vented her woes through art . . .

. . . then she and Todd sought refuge in the basement, which is at least ten degrees cooler than the main floor (don't even ask about the second floor--it's basically a sauna).  We set up camp chairs down there for the kids to read in, and just like that, the basement suddenly became the most popular room in the house.

The Flag Garden

This afternoon, I took the kids to a plaza in the nearby town of Pepperell . . . 

. . . where someone had planted a flag garden for Memorial Day.  When we came around the bend, the kids were amazed to see . . . 

. . . 7008 flags in the lawn around that little plaza.

There is one for every member of our military who has died in the Global War on Terrorism since September 11, 2001.

It was a sweet yet sobering experience to walk through the plaza with my children, talking about the yellow ribbons that represent support for our troops.  I told them about seeing yellow ribbons when I was Joy's age during the first Gulf War, and how those ribbons have become a powerful statement that, whether we agree with a war or not, we will always support the troops who serve and sacrifice for our country.  I didn't expect to get choked up as I told them that . . . but I did.

We also talked about the tradition of leaving a coin on a gravestone or memorial marker, to show that you knew the person, or simply that you value their service.  We didn't personally know anyone whose name was carved into the bricks of the plaza, so we left a coin on the 9/11 stone.

I'm grateful to those who have died to protect our country and preserve our freedom.  I hope we'll always do our small part to stand up for our own liberty and that of others.

Kindness Rocks in the Woods

The girls and I wanted a little change of scene this afternoon . . .

. . . so we went for a walk in the woods.

In addition to natural wonders like this lady's slipper orchid . . . 

. . . we noticed some colorful rocks that people had painted and left along the trail for other people to find.  Joy and Anna informed me that they were "kindness rocks," and we were supposed to pick them up and place them somewhere else where people will see them and be cheered up.

Some of the rocks were beautiful . . .

. . . and others were kind of funny.  Either way, it was fun to spot them, then carry them to someplace further along the path.

As we neared the end of the trail, all of the sights and smells of the forest reminded me of the hikes my Dad used to take us on in California.  Suddenly, I spotted this smiling rock beside the path.  Guess whose name was on the back of it.

I love you too, Dad. :)

Fairies and Horses

Anna's favorite breakfast lately is "fairy bread."

Fairy bread is a slice of buttered bread with sprinkles on top, and it's often served at children's birthday parties in Australia.

Speaking of whimsical ways to start the day, Anna and Todd spent the morning pretending their pillows were horses.

Time to dismount . . .

. . . and put the horses in the stable. :)

Joys of Spring

Ah, the joys of Spring.

The joy of white dogwoods.

The joy of pink dogwoods.

The Joy putting on a face mask for her appointment to retrieve whatever she left in her locker before school suddenly closed a couple months ago.

The Joy trying on the cheap, mail-order glasses we got to replace the expensive, rimless ones that have broken twice in the last month.  After being without glasses for a week or so, Joy tried her new ones on and commented how nice it was to see leaves on the trees again.  I remember the same experience when I got my first glasses about three decades ago.

When They're Not at Virtual School

These days, when the kids aren't working on virtual learning assignments . . .

. . . they're playing with bouncy balls on the trampoline . . .

. . . chatting with Pink Grandma . . .

. . . watching Phineas and Ferb at screen time . . .

. . . and reading.

Lots and lots of reading.

Not That Kind of Roast Beef

Riddle me this, Batman.

Why is this lean ground beef suddenly cheaper per pound . . .

. . . than this fattier ground beef, which is labeled as a chuck roast???

I asked one of the store butchers, and they said that due to the current national meat shortage, they're having to grind up chuck roasts to make this grade of ground beef.  We live in interesting times.

Dodge-Tag and Carnations

This weekend . . .

. . . we played "Dodge-Tag" in the church gym . . .

. . . and went for a ride-scoot around the neighborhood.

A sweet friend from church brought me flowers . . .

. . . and our neighbors took their swing set for a walk (don't ask me why--I have no clue).

Last but not least, the kids caught some serious air . . .

. . . when Daddy bounced them on the trampoline.  Woo hoo!

It Rhymes with Fan

We've been playing a lot of Settlers of Catan lately.

Sometimes Daddy joins in.

Sometimes Daniel likes to play standing up.

And sometimes he likes to just play against himself.  He also likes to pronounce the name "kuh-TAWN," because Daddy's coworker says that's how the game's German inventor pronounces it.  Everyone else I've ever played this game with calls it "kuh-TAN" (which rhymes with "fan"), so I'm just gonna stick with that.

Anna doesn't care what we call it, as long as she can keep building her own little country with the extra pieces.

Artistic Teamwork and an Ironic Board Game

Daniel and Anna collaborated on an art project again this week.

They were assigned to create art in the style of Piet Mondrian.

I'd say their collaboration turned out pretty well.

And speaking of working together for a good cause, our family decided to take irony to a whole new level by playing Pandemic last night.  We saved the world at the very last possible moment . . .

. . . but we did save it!  Way to find the cure, Todd!

The Indoor and Outdoor Garden

I bought some more plants today . . .

. . . and Anna helped me plant them in our vegetable garden.

Things look pretty sparse in the garden right now, but those little plants will be a lot bigger in just a few weeks.

With the outdoor garden all set, I moved on to the indoor garden.  We have lots of rabbits in our neighborhood, and I don't want them to eat my greens and tender herbs, so I decided to plant them in a bag of soil in our sunny kitchen (you can see a basic tutorial for this method here).

All done!  This is the first time I've tried growing most of these veggies and herbs indoors; we'll see how they do!

By the way, I didn't know pink chard also has pink roots!  Anna and I thought that was pretty cool.

I also don't know why gardening makes my hair so messy, but it does.

That's better!