Guest blogger - Annie's reflection on 2020

 January has been busy, but in that quiet, pandemic kind of way. We had a week of remote learning, then we returned to school and all the bustle of homework and lunches and bags of snow gear. Weekends are for cleaning and resting and playing and catching up on work. I haven't been inspired to write much, but Annie agreed to share a paper she wrote for social studies about 2020. So welcome guest blogger, Annie Wernet!

Let’s face it, 2020 stunk. There were highs, and many, many, many, lows. One thing that fits both descriptions is online learning (a.k.a remote learning, distance learning, online school, etc).  During online learning, I got very stressed out and felt like I had to do everything at once and get everything done (my school did not require you to do work, but most kids did the work, like me.). On the bright side, online learning at my school didn’t start until a few weeks after the shutdown. Those first few weeks, my Mom assigned us work. We all had workbooks, and she had us do a project on a country. Something that makes me think of those months at home is the musical Wicked. That’s because we had just started listening to the music when the shutdown started. Another thing that happened over the shutdown was that my sister broke her leg… twice. The first time she was sledding and hit a railroad spike, and the second time she was almost recovered, but she slipped and fell down yet another hill. 

During 2020, God has shown me that things can be very different but exactly the same. Even though everything changed, we still could learn and grow, see friends and family (even over zoom and facetime), and have time outside in nature. We also got to spend more time with family. God has taught me that the more we get used to something, the more we take it for granted (toilet paper, for example). We should look at spending time with others and having more utensils (again, like toilet paper) than we need to survive as a blessing. We need to decide if the things we think we need are actually what we want, like seeing friends or going to the store.

The pandemic has affected my life by changing how I look at things. For example, when I see family, I feel grateful instead of wanting to leave or have time to myself. I also feel like my family is a part of me, they help me learn, and they spend time with me when my friends don’t answer their phones. I can be myself around them. 2020 has also made me feel more grateful for the things I have, like friends, food, family, a strong immune system; instead of the things I want or think I should have.

In 2021, I hope that more people can be vaccinated and we can see others more. I really miss seeing others, sharing things, being able to go places (like the store), and not wearing masks! I hope we can beat Covid-19, and everyone can be safe, but in a way, they can also be with others. 

I think some of the similarities between 2020 and other normal years is that we are still having elections, we are still working and learning, we are still playing outside, and we still communicate with others; even if it’s through a screen. Now, we can go on and on with the differences, but here are just a few. For one thing, WE ARE IN A PANDEMIC! We can’t see that many people, we can’t cough without 10 people checking to make sure you’re safe, and we have to wear masks. Also, we can’t see family, we can’t go to the store (at least not that often), we have to be very careful around our grandparents and other older people, we have to miss out on sports and other activities, and we can’t go anywhere “for fun” without being very careful and wearing masks. 

Our storyline “Diverse, not Different” relates to life in 2020 because although we are not the same people and live different lives, we are all going through the same thing, and having the same experiences. Although we aren’t the same people and don’t have the same lives, we can still share the same thing, just in slightly diverse ways. 2020 relates to “Love your Neighbor” because, like our storyline, we can help others through their struggles, you might be going through the same thing. A very different thing to that is during 2020, we made lots of cookies and other baked goods, and we would share them and little notes with others to make them feel special. Again, 2020 really stunk for the most part, but I think it changed my life in a really good way, and I will never forget the experiences, the feelings, the good times, and the bad.

Annie selfie, 6th grade

Moms and Dads

Mary was snuggling with me sleepily and told me she liked my soft face. Kevin had recently shaved his beard, and Mary commented, "Now you and daddy have the same kind of face. Or maybe you can grow a beard." Laughing, she went on, "No, you can't grow a beard! Unless--" she paused, looking at me with that tell-tale serious expression of trying out an idea, "you swallow some beard seeds?"

I was making dinner, with both hands and most of my brain occupied by that nightly project. So when Eddie came to ask me for help with something, I encouraged him to go to Kevin instead. "But," he told me quietly, "it's about math." I assured him that dad is also pretty good at math.

Yes, we want to build a snowman

 We've been taking advantage of this good "sticky" snow!

This little cutie that Mary and Kevin built on our walk is 
Timmy Tommy Olaf.

Daddy Chicken, built by Mary and Nellie

This is Katie, who has eyes and a mouth made of leftover tater tots. 

The boys' snowball didn't quite make it into a snowman, but it's the biggest snowball they could physically roll. :)

This is just a picture of something cool we found on our walk--a frozen puddle where the grass was sticking through, then ice crystals made them look like tiny pine trees. 

Goodbye, 2020 - Welcome, 2021!

Another New Year's Eve! Like the rest of the year, it was a little different--we spent it at home, instead of up north--while a lot was the same. We watched movies (Endgame and Back to the Future), played games (Spoons, Uno, and Greedy Granny), and ate snacks until midnight (including guacamole, pumpkin bread, and pull-apart pizza rolls courtesy of Annie and Nellie).

I mom-forced everyone to pause the activity for a few minutes to reflect on the year. They obliged, and it ended up being a nice little conversation about all the highs and lows of the last twelve months. There was some debate about just how big a deal it was when Nellie broke her leg the second time (she thinks we're being over-dramatic about it. We think she might have some sort of amnesia.) But it was interesting to hear what people ages 4 to 40 will remember about the last year and what they're looking forward to in the next.

Mary Cate's favorite memory was "waking up a little bit early, a little bit late." The biggest challenge of the year was "trying not to cry at school." She's looking forward to being in kindergarten.

Eddie's favorite memory was Christmas, especially the surprise hoverboard. He says the hardest part of the year was "Covid" and he's most looking forward to his birthday or Easter in 2021.

One of DJ's highlights was when the Rays won Game 4 in the World Series, while his biggest challenge was starting online school "and we didn't know what to do." He's most looking forward to "Covid going away."

Annie had a hard time thinking about good memories, but she reflected on the "normal" times and how she got to play basketball with Upward and go to Willy Wonka in the winter. She remembers being stressed about online learning in the spring and being able to visit the people we love during the holidays. Since it's hard to know what we will be "allowed" to do next year, Annie doesn't know what to look forward to.

Nellie will remember Christmas and the opportunities we did have to see people. She'll remember "lots of laughter" over the last year. She's looking forward to new movies coming out and "being away from us eventually." 

Kevin will fondly remember the time [3 minutes before] that he was crowned the Spoons king! The hardest part of the last year was sending Nellie into surgery in the oddly quiet hospital. He's most looking forward to getting a puppy.

My highlight for the year was our second trip to the U.P. I didn't want to make that drive alone for one day, but we did have a great time together that was good for the soul. My low point was the moment it dawned on me that yes, Nellie had just broken her leg again when she was supposed to be days away from healed. Like Annie, it's hard to know what to look forward to because it's impossible to imagine what the next year will even look like.

At my advanced age, though (I will be 40, after all), I know enough to know that the next year will hold hard things, beautiful things, and plenty of small and mundane moments that make up life in between. That will be true whether we're at home or school, vacationing or not, playing sports or not, spending time with family indoors or on hiking trails and in driveways. It's hard to say and hard to know, but 2021 might not be better than last year. Maybe it will. A year ago, I was looking forward to watching the kids learn and grow. I certainly got to do that! I am fine with not knowing what to look forward to this year. I think I'll know it as it happens.

Waiting for the ball to drop

Midnight party! 

One sleeper