What Would've Been

It's hard not to think this week about where we would have been right now had this been a normal year: a cruise ship touring Alaska. We would have boarded in Seattle on Sunday, after a few days in Portland. I would have crossed two states -- Oregon and Alaska -- off of my short list of states left to visit.

I know that in the scheme of things it's not really that big of a deal. We'll rebook for next summer or, if this is still going on, the summer after that. Still, we booked this trip a full year ago and have been looking forward to it ever since. I don't think I've ever booked a vacation that far in advance!

At the moment we aren't planning a trip this summer. Beach vacations seem the safest bet, but we did that last year and I really don't care for the beach well enough to go more than once every few years. In any case, wrangling a 7-year-old and 5-year-old into masks in an unknown location doesn't seem like much fun. We'll see what the months (year?) ahead brings.

Maybe the Summer Will Be Saved After All

For once I'm adding things to the calendar instead of taking them off.

I'm still totally and completely bummed that our Alaska cruise was canceled. We were supposed to leave tomorrow for a few days in Portland, Ore., followed by the cruise and than a couple of days in Seattle. Don't get me wrong, I understand why it had to be canceled and agree with the decision. It's still a major downer though.

Swim lessons have all but been canceled, festivals are off -- it was shaping up to be the summer that never was.

But the city is again in the process of approving block party permits, yay! We'll follow some pandemic-inspired changes and precautions, of course. But it looks like the party will happen after all, probably in August. It was supposed to be the first weekend in June, and as luck would have it, it was a perfectly beautiful day. I was rather hoping it would be rainy and miserable.

And we're hoping to have our annual crap swap (think a garage sale where everything is free, and you invite your friends to participate, too) later this summer. Maybe we'll have some fun this year after all.

June Update

Playgrounds are open! After a long pandemic-induced closure, playgrounds in Columbus opened last Wednesday. We went on Friday, and I was prepared to leave if it got too crowded. It never did. It's nice to have another option for the summer.

My back hurts! I feel like I'm getting a preview of life in my 70s, and I don't care for it. This is the second time this year that I've hurt it in a ridiculous manner. (The first time I was rolling over in bed in the middle of the night. This time I think I first felt a twinge when I was brushing my teeth on Saturday morning. Sigh.) It seems to follow the same pattern. Day 1: I'm completely useless. Day 2: Mostly useless. Day 3: Slow moving and in pain, but I can do more. Day 4: Much better. Today is day 4, so we'll see.

I'm freelancing more! I recently started writing for The Hub Springfield, and I love it! I worked for Springfield's daily newspaper from 2003 to 2007 and have been freelancing for a few Springfield and Dayton publications since we returned to Ohio from New York in 2013, so I know the area well. I love the features and profiles that I've been writing. An added bonus is that it's all online, when many of the long articles I've written in the last several years have been in print only. Check it out! New articles are published on Thursdays.

COVID, Protests & More

It's been such a week of nothing and everything that I hardly know what to write.

As far as the coronavirus is concerned, things are starting to open up here in central Ohio. Playgrounds and the zoo are opening this week. Our social circle is expanding, although we do still take some basic precautions. It's a relief to feel that things are moving in a "normal" direction, although of course I'm still concerned that the virus will spread as people go about their daily business more and more.

And then there are the protests following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Locally they started in downtown Columbus, some four miles from our house, and there were a few news cycles of broken windows at the Statehouse and at businesses. (The kids asked what "looting" meant.) Then came a city-wide curfew which covered our neighborhood that ended only this past Saturday. The rougher protests made their way to campus, about two miles away. Here in Clintonville, there have been some rallies but nothing even close to dangerous.

Of course we've been talking to the kids more about race, hopefully in a way that they understand. I myself hardly know how to show my support and for once words don't seem adequate. But I'm following closely and hoping for real change.

Atticus's Big Boy Bed

May 23

Atticus has rarely been as excited as he was when he got his "big boy bed" in May. Yes, it's just a twin bed, but it was an upgrade from the toddler bed he's been sleeping in for so many years. I think he likes the extra space, of course, but even more than that he likes to be "even" with Edith's bed a few feet away.

The first day it was set up, practically the only thing he wanted to do was sit on it. Forget the beautiful day outside -- he wanted to relax on his bed! And bonus for the rest of us: he doesn't jump on this new bed like he did on the lower toddler bed. Phew.