8 Is Great: Happy Birthday, Edith!

 

Nothing about Edith's 8th birthday on Saturday went according to plan.

Of course, a big family-wide party was out. I had hoped we could see the lights at the zoo during her birthday weekend (a nice outdoor activity, right?), but that was a no as Covid cases went up in our county. And even a small masked-up outdoor get together was out of the question as I awaited a Covid test (finally scheduled for this morning, so more about that next week).

So birthday No. 8 was spent in quarantine.

But I had the ingredients to bake Edith's cake by special request -- lemon with blueberry frosting -- and we got a pizza delivered. And friends and neighbors dropped off balloons, cards and special treats all day Friday and Saturday. So in many ways, this birthday held the biggest surprises of all, and not all of them were bad.

Election Eyes: Glued to the TV

I've watched more daytime TV in the last week than in the last decade.

I'm not talking soap operas, although you could be excused for mistaking this election for just another Days of Our Lives storyline. But for better or worse, this is real life.

With my newspaper background, I'm not much of a TV news fan. But elections call for the drama of CNN. I couldn't help myself last Monday night -- I snuck it on for a bit after the kids went to bed. On Election Day itself, I miraculously managed to avoid the TV til 6:30.

But all bets were off starting Wednesday. While the kids were in Zoom school, I'd watch with closed captions. During lunch, I'd turn on the sound. And after school was over, it was all news all the time -- basically til I went to bed.

Georgia. Pennsylvania. Nevada. Arizona. My ears were tuned to hear the slightest whisper of these words. And yet when the race was finally called on Saturday, I was outside. Paul handed me his phone: The race was called for Biden. The day (the week! the year!) immediately brightened.

There's no denying that I'm pleased with the results of the presidential election (even if so many other races left something to be desired). But the truly hard work begins now. Here's hoping that we all do our part in good faith to overcome the divisions of the past. And turn off the TV.

Halloween Fun

 

Trick or treat was going to be extra tricky this year. It was scheduled for Thursday last week -- in Columbus, trick or treat is moved to the Thursday before Halloween if October 31 falls on the weekend -- and the day was both cold and rainy. But even before we had seen the weather forecast, we had decided to skip the traditional shebang. We had alternate plans instead.

In response to COVID and social distancing precautions, our block decided to do a parade, outdoor dance party and private trick or treat. Neighbors put their goodies on tables or blankets near the curb, stood back and watched the kids go by. The weather was much better, we could actually see the costumes since it was in the afternoon, and I think the kids had even more fun than usual. Even Darth Vader got his fill of candy (plus some!), and our little witch was thrilled to finally be able to wear the dress and cape that Grandma made!