Year in Review - 2020

I don't know that we will ever have a more unpredictable year on a global sense. Children unexpectedly out of school, the great virtual-school experiment, Chris indefinitely working from home in the corner of our bedroom going on 9.5 months, wearing masks and attending church outdoors...and yet we feel so lucky to have had peace, no lost wages, more time together as a family, and to overall have had a quieter year. 2020 was not as bad for us as it was for many, though it did change the way we did a lot of things. The most notable change for me was pulling our girls from public school (something I never anticipated doing) and starting to home school. While I had to give up a lot of things I normally did during the days, it has been a blessing (most of the time) to all of us, but has been very time consuming for me. We could have never anticipated what was coming at the end of last year, but staying home full time has proved to be a very helpful choice given the pandemic. Chris took on a new role at work during the spring and has been doing what he does best: bringing order to chaos. Eleanor surprised us with her speed swimming this summer winning the 6 & under MVP award (maybe it was the competition with Jane?), has become a bookworm (she's read something like 150 chapter books this year), and has proven to be very adaptable given the uprooting that has happened this year. Jane's big emotions have stayed big, though she does get incrementally better at managing them. She learned to read this year, improving every day, continues to dance her heart out and put forth amazing effort at everything she tries, and completed her first year on the swim team winning the Fastest 4 award (she also was the only 4 year old on the team). Ben is still such a sweet boy and such a destructive force depending on his mood. Sometimes he seems like he's living in his own world of vehicles, constantly making "vroom," crash, or "whee-ooo" noises. The cars seem to multiply in our house. Rosie remains feisty and graduated to a big girl bed along with her brother after breaking both bones in her forearm attempting to climb out of her crib. She loves being included in her sisters' games, riding her bike with training wheels, and playing pretend games with Ben. 

(For past years, click the following links: 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008.)

January: We rang in the new decade with friends. The highlight of the month: Grammy and Opa came to visit from Texas! Jane got her first haircut, the girls got their school pictures back, and we participated in the Home Depot workshops.

February: Chris tore his Achilles. We had lots of rain that eventually turned into a snow day. We went to York River State Park. We celebrated Valentine's Day, ate pancakes, enjoyed the girls' artwork, spent an evening at the park, time with our cousin, and visited the Virginia War Museum.

March: It feels bizarre to even say this now, but I flew to Colorado to meet my niece! Eleanor was in school, and so was Jane. Eleanor celebrated spirit week, and everyone was growing and learning normally. Then the world shut down and we started quarantining and homeschooling. Our neighborhood park even shut down. 

April: We had front porch pictures taken (a COVID trend), we did a ton of bike riding, the girls even conquering the island loop, lots of hiking, lots of outdoor time including campus and CW. We celebrated Easter, spent time at the marina, and grandma visited.

May: I rode the Capital Trail from Richmond to Williamsburg! Jane graduated preschool (drive through style), we spent a wonderful Mother's Day in town, took advantage of the shut down to explore the Gardens in CW, planted our own garden, did a lot of puzzles, and a lot of hiking. We also had a great Memorial Day Weekend here at home.

June: We wrapped up virtual school with a field day at the marina and our small group met out in a parking lot for the first time since the shut down. We enjoyed Colonial Williamsburg, went back to church after attending virtually for months, albeit outdoors, and the playgrounds started opening back up after being shut down for months. We went up to Round Hill, 

July: We went out with friends on a boat, played at the marina, celebrated the 4th of July with family, and the girls swam on swim team every day. We celebrated 12 years of marriage, went to Duck Beach for the first time, and celebrated VBS with our small group.

August: I had a birthday and Eleanor turned seven! We swam almost every day and had a reunion with family.

September: Jane turned five and Chris had a birthday! The swim season ended, there was an end of season circus, and we camped in our backyard. We started homeschooling and took field trips to Jamestown, a gardenia farm, and Yorktown.

October: It was a rough month for us injury-wise. Jane got stitches (the first time for any of the kids!) and Rosie broke her arm (unfortunately our second break). We took some field trips to Maymont, Virginia Beach, played on the Greensprings Trail, biked on the W&OD for my mom's birthday, went tubing, and went out with friends on their boat. We also celebrated Halloween.

November: Ben and Rosie turned three! We enjoyed fall in our neighborhood, but took lots of field trips to Richmond/Belle Isle, Chippokes, and the Noland Trail. Auntie Ashleigh visited. We visited Harper's Ferry and spent Thanksgiving in Round Hill.

December: We took field trips to CW and the VLM. We celebrated Ashleigh's graduation in Richmond along with seeing lights, and family. We spent quiet weekends at home, and Ben and Rosie went the the dentist for the first time. We made a real gingerbread house - the first time ever! The girls went ice skating, and memorized a cold weather poem. We celebrated Christmas (more on this soon) and said goodbye to 2020. 

We will remember 2020 (who won't?) in a mostly positive light and most likely as a turning point in our lives as we really can't imagine things going back completely to the way they were pre-pandemic. We look forward to what 2021 brings with almost no expectations. We currently have no plans to travel, no idea what our kids will do for school next year, and really no concept of how next year will shape up! Here's to 2021!