Pandemic, Week 93 (A Holly, Jolly Christmas)

This week Joe Manchin announced that he would vote "no" on the Build Back Better bill, despite months of negotiations with the White House. In response, the United Mine Workers of America have asked him to reconsider his position. Stop the Steal organizers provided the January 6th Special Committee with communications with GOP members from the time, including Representatives Paul Gosar and Mo Brooks. In response to an increase in extremism in the military, the Pentagon has announced that they will hold service members accountable for their views expressed on social media. President Biden announced that the pause on student loan repayments will be extended to May 2022. The James Webb Space Telescope which is designed to capture infrared light, from galaxies far, far away, was launched into space. Santa came.

The world reached 279.8 million COVID cases and 5.4 million deaths this week, of which the US accounted for 53.0 million cases and 838,000 deaths. 242 million (73 percent) Americans have received at least one dose of the vaccine while 205 million (62 percent) are fully vaccinated. Omicron is now the dominant strain of COVID in the US, accounting for 73 percent of all new cases. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser reinstated the mask mandate while DC Chancellor Lewis Ferebee announced that Winter Break would be extended two days in order to distribute rapid tests so that all students can be cleared before returning. The DC council then passed a law that all eligible DC students – including those in private and charter schools – must be vaccinated by March 2022. Meanwhile, President Biden held a press conference where he announced the White House would mail as many as 500 million at home tests beginning in January.

We headed to Iowa this week, but not before the kids finished school. Well, sort of. DCPS announced that Nora's school would be remote starting Tuesday due to the number of positive COVID tests. Meanwhile, Owen, who has to ride the metro and bus to school where he's surrounded by COVID-spewing instrumentalists, was open for the whole week. So we decided we needed to verify we were all negative before exposing ourselves to the midwest. Despite a dearth of COVID rapid tests in the DC-metro area, Allen was able to find some abandoned rapid tests in our bushes, which we dutifully took and verified we were all negative and then packed up the car Wednesday night.

We left DC around 5:40 on Thursday morning (we may have had to circle back to pick up a forgotten item which delayed our initial departure) and made it to Iowa on Thursday night, where we were able, after two long years, to reunite our kids with their cousins (who spent the visit talking loudly, playing games and having various jam sessions). Kara wasn't able to make it in person due to a sick kitty, but Dave was able to represent the Colorado Zimmermans. We ate lots of goodies, drank probably more wine that advisable, and just generally enjoyed everyone's companies, for the first time since 2019. Hopefully, we can all (including Kara) do it again for Thanksgiving 2022.

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)

Merry Christmas!

 Here's your 2021 Crossword Puzzle Solution.

Pandemic, Week 92 (and the Ensembles Played On...)

This week the House voted to hold former representative and Trump chief of staff, Mark Meadows, in contempt of Congress for failing to appear before the January 6th Committee. Meanwhile, a trove of text messages and other documents sent to Mr. Meadows regarding the the January 6th insurrection were made public. Former Minneapolis policeman and convicted murderer Derek Chauvin pleaded guilty to violating George Floyd's civil rights in May 2020 when he knelt on Mr. Floyd's neck for nine minutes. A NASA spacecraft, the Parker Solar Probe, flew into the sun's atmosphere and produced recently released images of the sun's corona. Supply chain issues has resulted in a shortage of cream cheese, prompting Kraft to offer customers $20 to forego making holiday cheesecakes. Noted author and feminist bell hooks died.

The world reached 274.5 million COVID-19 cases and 5.4 million deaths this week, of which the US accounted for 51.7 million cases and 827,000 deaths. 241 million Americans (73 percent) have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 204 million (61 percent) are fully vaccinated. A number of colleges (including Cornell, Harvard and Stanford) announced that they were returning to online classes due to recent outbreaks and Omicron surges. Prince George's County schools also announced they would be virtual until January 18th.

This was our week of musical holiday celebrations. On Sunday, we joined Allen's colleague Jeb for the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, DC's Holiday Show. Jeb, as both a member and supporter of GMCW, scored box seats for us where we enjoyed  tap dancing elves, a cappella carols, and some impressive (and exhausting) choreography to the 12 Rockin' Days of Christmas as we were wished a Merry Everything. On Thursday, it was Owen's turn for his first in-person concert at Duke Ellington since he started going there last year. Mom Mom and Grandpa Don joined us to hear Owen perform in both the String Ensemble and the Orchestra, as he was cheered on by some very enthusiastic friends in the balcony. Owen celebrated the successful performance by wearing the Union Jack trench coat that Allen made for an old Halloween costume for school the next day. We were a little nervous that Nora's DCYOP concert, just two day later, would be cancelled due to Omicron concerns, but we managed, with Mom Mom and Grandpa Don joining us, to get it in on Saturday afternoon (by showing proof of vaccination and sitting socially distantly in the audience) just under the wire. Now we just have to see if they make the last three days of school before break and heading off to Iowa...

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 91 (Teatime)

This week, the US announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics in protest of human rights violations (athletes will still attend). Angela Merkel stepped down as Germany's Chancellor after 16 years. The Justice Department is suing Texas over its redrawn Congressional map, arguing that it was drawn to, "deny or abridge the rights of Latino and Black voters." Inflation rose 6.8 percent in November, the fastest rate since June 1982.  The Senate finally reached an agreement to raise the debt ceiling. Tornadoes ripped through at least six states, killing more than 70 people and destroying at least one town in Kentucky. Former Senator and Presidential Candidate Bob Dole died at age 98. Fox News had its 50-foot artificial Christmas tree set afire outside its New York City office by a mentally ill man.

The world reached 270.0 million cases and 5.3 million deaths of which the US accounted for 50.8 million case and 818,000 deaths. 239 million (72 percent) Americans have received at least one does of the vaccine and 202 million (61 percent) are fully vaccinated. New York City announced a vaccine mandate for all private employers.

Sunday, Nora and I had our annual tea with Jacqui – where Nora for the first time, ordered from the adult selections – followed by my getting a pedicure with friends, as Owen joined the teens at Meeting to complete his volunteer work for the Shoebox project and provide resources for the homeless in our own version of a Tale of Two Households.  On Monday, Allen and I spent 4.5 hours selecting paint colors for the house interior while Jacqui and John enjoyed cake and the company of one of Jacqui's close friends. On Wednesday, we finally had our neighbors (of 10 months) over for a fire and some mulled wine. Thursday, Allen met up with his co-workers for a holiday happy-hour. And the rest of the week was spent prepping for the crush of holiday happenings next week...

(So see all of this week's pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 90 (Out and About)

This week, the Supreme Court hear oral arguments on the Mississippi case, Dobbs vs Jackson Women's Health Organization, which attempts to ban abortions after 15 weeks (despite fetus's not being viable at the time). Based on the questions posed by the majority of justices, it appears that abortion access secured by Roe v Wade is very much at risk. Former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has agreed to provide documents and a deposition for the Select January 6th Committee. The US government averted a shutdown after passing a CR keeping the government funded through February 18th. Television personality and health supplement hawker, Dr. Mehmet Oz, announced his candidacy for Pennsylvania's open Senate seat, even though he's been a resident of New Jersey for thirty years. A Michigan teenager and his parents were arrested after the 15 year old killed four students and wounded seven more – with a gun purchased by his parents the previous week as an early Christmas present – the same day that his parents refused to remove him from school following a conference with administrators regarding disturbing notes and threats they had discovered that morning. The parents subsequently fled the area after being charged with manslaughter, though they were eventually apprehended. Barbados declared itself a republic, ending its colonial relationship with Great Britain.

The world reached 265.7 million COVID cases and 5.3 million deaths this week, of which the US accounted for 49.9 million cases and 809,000 deaths. 235 million Americans (71 percent) have received at least one does of the vaccine, with 199 million (60 percent) fully vaccinated and  45 million (23 percent of those fully vaccinated) have received boosters, which as of this week includes Allen and myself. President Biden issued travel restrictions to seven African nations following outbreaks of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. A federal judge in Texas blocked the President's nationwide vaccine mandate for healthcare workers arguing that it would require approval by Congress.

We had a busy week. Allen attended a conference all week, via Zoom, that started each day at 7:00 am. Wednesday, Allen and I went to our first live show in over two years, catching the New Pornographers at the 9:30 Club playing their entire first album, Mass Romantic (fun fact, the show we saw in November 2019? The New Pornographers at the 9:30 Club). The next day, I got my COVID booster, Jacqui arrived, and Allen and I were joined by Brad & Marlo for our second live show in over two years, the New Pornographer playing their entire third album, Twin Cinema, at the 9:30 Club (after Owen gave Brad a live cello performance). On Friday, Allen got his COVID booster while I muddled through work and crashed heartedly at 5:00 pm. On Saturday morning, Nora and I headed to DCYOP while Allen and Owen ran errands and picked up Gabriel for some morning Minecraft. After Nora and I returned, the whole crew headed to Meeting to participate in the annual Shoebox Project (which this year was actually backpacks because, COVID). Three hours and 140 backpacks later, we dropped Gabriel off at his house and Owen decided to join him, which meant he missed pâté and cheese with John and Jacqui, but got some extra Minecraft in, so...

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 89 (Thanksgiving)

This week, the three men that ran down and killed jogger Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia while claiming it was a citizen's arrest, were found guilty of murder. A jury awarded $25 million in damages against organizers of the Charlottesville Unite the Right Rally of 2017. In Wisconsin, a man drove into a Christmas parade, killing at least 5 people and injuring 48 people. Ohio revealed its new, heavily gerrymandered congressional map despite a state constitutional amendment that bans such practices. Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim died. Clair, a four-year-old Scottish deerhound won best in show at the National Dog Show. 

The world reached 261.3 million cases and 5.2 million deaths, of which the US accounted for 49.1 million cases and 799,000 deaths. 231 million Americans (70 percent) have received at least one dose of the vaccine with 196 million (59 percent) are fully vaccinated. Cases in the US jumped by 18 percent this week with Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New Hampshire and North Dakota each reporting per capital increases of over 60 percent. Meanwhile, a new COVID variant of concern, Omicron, has emerged in South Africa that may be more more easily spread and who's mutations may make current COVID vaccines less potent. As a result, both the US and EU have issued travel bans to South Africa.

For us the week was about family and Thanksgiving. The kids only had two days of classes, though Owen's last day was longer than intended when Dave Chappelle arrived an hour late for a surprise meeting with students to discuss the recent controversy involving his statements regarding transgender people and renaming Duke Ellington's auditorium after him. In response, we decided to watch his latest special as a family on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, Elaine worked and baked before joining a friend for premier seats (and free food and drink) at a Capital's game, while Allen and the kids mostly hung out. Thursday, the whole crew went up to Nancy and Danny's for our traditional Thanksgiving meal complete with three different potato options and lots of photographs. Friday, Allen and Elaine purchased, set up and decorated the Christmas tree while Owen and Nora watched videos, though we did manage to get them out of their rooms to meet up with some friends for dinner and a movie. The week culminated in John's 78th birthday on Saturday, whose celebration involved a yurt, beer, and not as many blankets as initially expected (given it was 34 degrees).

(To see this week's pictures, click here.) 

Pandemic, Week 88 (The Quiet Before...)

This week Steve Bannon pleaded "not-guilty" to criminal contempt charges associated with failing to testify before the January 6th Commission. The House voted to censure Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), who posted animated videos of himself violently attacking President Biden and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). The House passed President Biden's Build Back Better Act, which expands Medicare, lowers prescription drug costs, subsidizes childcare and provides hundred of millions to combat climate change.  Kyle Rittenhouse, the Illinois teen that drove to Wisconsin with an AR-15 and his mother to protect private property and provide medical assistance but ended up shooting three people, two of them fatally, was acquitted on all counts. Kim Kardashian and SNL star Pete Davidson are officially dating.

The world reached 257.6 million COVID cases and 5.2 million deaths this week, of which the US accounted for 48.6 million and 793,000 respectively.  230 million Americans (69 percent), including 2.7 million children between 5 and 12, have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 196 million (59 percent) are fully vaccinated. The CDC has endorsed booster shots for all adults, making them available as soon as Monday. Meanwhile, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that starting Monday DC will relax its mask mandate for private businesses, despite concerns voiced by the DC Council and local businesses and that neighboring Montgomery County, MD just reinstated its mask mandate.

We had a relatively quiet week. Owen completed 3 volunteer hours of the 100 required to graduate high school (I think his current tally is 10) at Martha's Table, where he helped set up its Winter Coat Giveaway for DC residents. As the press continued on Allen's recently published collaborative Science paper, a colleague suggested some stunt casting for the unplanned Avengers: Net Zero, with Allen as Hulk (to which Allen responded, "Hulk smash GHG emissions"). Elaine and Nora made what the New York Times calls Bolani with Morgh Kofta (albeit with sausage in lieu of chicken) and what Nora calls, "a thingamawhatsit." But most impressively, Nora was inspired to create their own stuffed animal using a sock, buttons, pillow-stuffing, and a pompom they repurposed from a Santa hat. The result is Boba-Kiki, our newest – and arguably most adorable – family member, who weirdly channels Max Scherzer.

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 87 (Ordinary Time)

This week both prosecutors and the defense rested their cases in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year old who traveled from his home in Illinois to Wisconsin with an illegal AR-15 rifle in order to protect the private property of people in another state from Black-Lives Matter protestors, including the two he shot and killed. Meanwhile the defense attorney in the Ahmaud Arbery case, where a black man was chased and killed by three white men in Georgia who believed the jogger was trespassing in a vacant lot, drew criticism after he informed the court that, "[w]e don't want any more Black pastors coming in here... sitting with the victim's family." Republican House members that voted for the bipartisan infrastructure deal have received death threats after fellow republican Marjorie Tylor Greene, posted their office phone numbers on her social media accounts and are now facing calls from fellow republicans for the loss of their committee assignments. After two weeks of intense negotiations COP26 came to a close as nearly 200 countries signed the Glasgow Climate Pact agreeing to phase down unabated coal power, finalizing the Paris Rulebook, and raising ambition under the Paris Agreement to keep 1.5C alive. Britney Spears's conservatorship has ended.

The world reached 253.8 million COVID cases and 5.1 million deaths this week, of which the US accounted for 47.9 million cases and 783,000 deaths. 226 million (68 percent) of Americans have received at least one vaccine dose and 195 million (59 percent) are fully vaccinated. Over 1.1 million children under 12 years of age have received at least one does of the vaccine, 924,000 in the past two weeks, including Big Bird, who after tweeting that his wing was a little sore from the shot, drew the ire of Senator Ted Cruz who argued Big Bird's vaccination was government propaganda directed at five-year olds.

Things returned to some level of normalcy for us this week. Sunday we attended Meeting and its Open House where the kids volunteered to serve refreshments (in the hopes that Owen could make a dent in his graduation requirement of logging 100 volunteer hours). Allen's article in Science was published and his Spanish-language interview even made the rounds in our friend circle (based on Google translate we think he didn't say anything wrong). We had our holiday photoshoot on Thursday – this year at the Botanic Garden, where the annual holiday train display is being displayed outdoors. Nora learned how to make candles. Allen was the big winner at poker. Owen made significant progress on projecting his latest bouldering goal.

But probably the most significant sign that things are returning to some semblance of normal is that Nora went to their first sleepover in two years, to celebrate Harper turning 13. We're still a little anxious, given the mixing of households and whatnot, but as the kids are all vaccinated we decided that it was finally time to relax a bit. Hopefully, this all ends well...

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 86 (Boo!)

For once, it truly was infrastructure week, as the House finally passed the $1.2 trillion bill which had languished for months, and sent it to President Biden for signature. While world leaders (minus China and Russia) met in Glasgow for the COP26 Climate Summit and announced updated NDCs and Long-Term Strategies, and pledged to reduce methane emissions by 30 percent and halt or reverse deforestation by 2030, thousands of activists gathered to protest those leaders' lack of urgency. Meanwhile republican Glen Youngkin won the Virginia governor's race, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments regarding the Texas abortion law, which effectively puts bounties on individuals that aid a woman in receiving the medical procedure and the Atlanta Braves won the World Series beating the Houston Astros.

This weeks the world reached 250.3 million COVID cases and 5.2 million deaths, of which the US accounted for 47.3 million cases and 775,000 deaths. 194 million (67 percent) Americans have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 194 million (58 percent) are fully vaccinated. On Tuesday, the CDC signed off on the recommendations for children age 5-11 to receive the vaccine. 

We started the week off with Halloween, where for the first time, both of our children celebrated completely independently from us. Nora met up with their friends for a dual ghost-murderer costume (we didn't get it either) that we failed to photographically document. Fortunately, Owen gathered with his friends at Adam's house where we happened to be having cocktails, allowing us to snag a couple pics of him before they headed out for whatever 15-year olds do on Halloween, and we went to Steve & Megan's for a movie.

It was an odd week. The kids were off of school both on Tuesday for Election Day – even though no elections occurred in the District – and Friday for the end of the quarter. Allen's second Science paper was published and so he spent much of the week doing press, particularly with CBC (because they love him in Canada!).  Meanwhile, Elaine had her last day in the Office of Enforcement at EBSA, while preparing for her first day temporarily heading the new Offie of Research and Analysis in EBSA. But in the end, we managed to meet up for dinner with Billy, have the Sodermans over, and somewhere in there, Allen got in a couple of naps.

(To see this week's pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 85 (The Way the Wind Blows)

This week President Biden met with Pope Francis before heading to the G20 Summit in Rome and then to Glasgow to discuss the United Nations Framework on Climate Change. President Biden unveiled the Build Back Better bill that includes $555 billion for climate programs. Senate Democrats unveiled a plan to tax billionaires on assets they own to offset costs in the Presidents' social spending plan. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a state where no billionaires reside, voiced his opposition.  The Supreme Court agreed to review EPA's authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. An army led coup occurred in Sudan, where the new leaders have suspended internet and other communications, restricted movement of civilians and reportedly killed at least 10 protestors. The civil trial began related to the violence that occurred at the Unite the Right march in Charlottesville, VA in 2017. Facebook announced that it was changing its corporate name to Meta – CEO Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement while standing in front of a bookshelf with a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce prominently displayed.

The world reached 247.0 million COVID-19 cases and 5.0 million deaths this week, of which the US accounted for 46.8 million cases and 766,000 deaths.  221 million Americans (67 percent) have received at least one dose of the vaccine with 192 million (58 percent) being fully vaccinated. The FDA cleared the Pfizer vaccine for children age 5-11, but the CDC still needs to make a formal decision before roll-out can begin.

This week started with some climbing (and ping-pong) for Allen and Owen, therapeutic massage for Elaine, and homework for Nora. Our friends Brandon & Anneke (and their kids) from Austin joined us for dinner on Wednesday, having intended to visit last month before an ill-timed COVID exposure thwarted the scheme. I hadn't seen them in years and had never met nine-year-old Olive; Allen hadn't seen them since March 2018. It was also spirit week at both Stuart and Duke, so the kids used alternative backpacks, dressed in decades long past, and wore administration approved costumes to school. We even swung by the Brown family's 25th Hottern' Hades Chili Cook-off/Sudds Halloween Party on Saturday (which in addition to costumes, chili and beer, included live music this year) before heading to Aunt Katherine's for homemade Chicago stye pizza, s'mores and tales of Katherine and Adrienne's latest ill-fated camping experience (think bomb cyclones and an empty gas tank...).

But the big event for us was seeing Hadestown at the Kennedy Center. It was our first live theater experience since January 2020 (if you don't count Owen's June 2020 performance of 10 Ways to Survive Quarantine or Nora's turn in the December 2020 performance of Virtually Ever After). It was also the show that we were supposed to see earlier in the month on Broadway with our friend who passed away. But as we keep reminding ourselves, joy and grief can co-exist. So we went, and enjoyed having a night of family and theater and watching a great show together. But we also cried a little bit, reminded, as they say in Hadestown,

To the world we dream about, and the one we live in now. 

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.) 

Pandemic, Week 84 (Note - We Don't Really Have a Podcast)

This week Donald Trump filed suit in District court against the January 6th Select Committee and the National Archives to block release of White House records related to the insurrection.  Republican's used the filibuster to block the Freedom to Vote Act. The Supreme Court granted an expedited review of the Texas Abortion Law, but refused to block the law in the meantime, despite Justice Sotomayor's dissent. Seventeen members of a Christian aid group are being held hostage by a gang in Haiti that's demanding a ransom of $1 million per person. Netflix employees walked off the job on Wednesday in protest of its treatment of non-binary and trans employees related to the release of Dave Chappelle's new special, The Closer. Former Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff and Secretary of State Colin Powell died of complications from COVID-19.

The world reached 244.0 million COVID cases and 5.0 million deaths this week, of which the US accounted for 46.3 million cases and 756,000 deaths. 220 million Americans (66 percent) have received at least one COVID vaccine dose and 190 million (57 percent) are fully vaccinated. The FDA announced that the benefits outweigh the risks for the Pfizer vaccine in children age 5-11; the CDC will meet on November 2nd-3rd to make recommendations on how the shots should be administered to younger children.

We had a quiet week. The kids returned to their activities and school, including homework assignments which required some questionable assistance from their father. Allen and I had work (which for Allen involved meeting with China about climate and admiring the proofs of his new joint article in Science). We watched Dune (Part 1) with the Telfair-Chas and finally finished Thor: The Dark World at home. We started decorating for Halloween (and had fun with gourds), though are holding off on carving  jack-o-latterns for now lest the squirrels get them (Nora went rogue and carved one at a friends). Owen grilled porkchops for the first time, resulting in three generations of carnivores overseeing the cooking of protein over fire. And finally, after being thwarted by a sick postal employee in October 2019 and then the Pandemic, we submitted the paperwork for the kids' new passports in anticipation of a planned trip to Italy this summer which meant both kids were subjected to a portrait session with Allen which was fun for all.

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 83 ( )

This week, the House approved the temporary debt ceiling increase. The US announced that it will be reopening the borders for non-essential travel to Canada and Mexico next month (proof of vaccination will be required). 10,000 John Deere workers went on strike demanding larger shares of the company's recent record profits. William Shatner, aka Star Trek's Captain Kirk, completed a sub-orbital space trip on Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin rocket, making him, at 90, the oldest person to reach space. A British bakery is being forced to stop selling a number of treats that use American-made sprinkles which include a color that is  banned from sprinkle use in the UK; the baker has instituted a sprinkle strike in retaliation. 

The world reached a total of 241.1 million COVID cases and 4.9 million deaths this week of which the US accounted for 45.8 million cases and 744,000 deaths. 219 million Americans (66 percent) have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 189 million (57 percent) are fully vaccinated. Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbot banned all state entities, including private employers, from enforcing vaccine mandates.

We spent our week having a lot of family time – playing games, watching movies, admiring Owen's Dr. Who costume – as we prepared to say goodbye to our friend. She was a smart, funny, strong and beautiful 13-year-old that struggled with anxiety and depression during the Pandemic, and died by suicide two and half weeks ago. Her memorial service was held at our Meeting House on Friday, and as is the Quaker tradition, people spoke when moved to. Nora – who considered her a big sister and had been her sidekick on so many adventures and experiences – was one of the first. While the prior speakers focused on the loss and the grief that we have all been feeling, Nora instead talked about how mad they were that everyone was hanging their heads in sadness and focussing on the moment our friend took her life, rather than the amazing person she was. Nora went on to describe some of their favorite memories together – which included laughing and playing, but also talking about things they didn't want to share with anyone else, and somehow (I'm still not clear on this) also included flying turtle bats – and how much more she was than that one, fatal moment. I think for everyone at the Meeting, Nora's words helped remind us to focus on all the things we loved about our friend and all the things we would take away from having known her. Because knowing her was a gift.

Earlier in the week, I went to a session for the parents of the kids affected by her death, and how to help them in their grief. And the one thing that stayed with me most (aside from, hydrate), is that joy and grief co-exist. While there will be times when we miss our friend so much it hurts, there will also be times when we laugh and smile, either because it's something that would have made her laugh and smile too, or just because we need to. And that's how it should be.

So we spent a lot of time together as a family this week which involved a fair amount of laughing; and we spent a lot of time thinking about our friend this week, which involved some tears. And we're ok, but we still really miss our friend.

(To see this week's pictures, click here.)

If you or someone you know is thinking about ending their life, call 1-800-273-8255 or text SHARE to 741741 for free, 24/7 crisis counseling.

Pandemic, Week 82

This week, the Senate approved a temporary lifting of the debt ceiling, thereby avoiding default by the US government until December, which coincidently is when the continuing resolution for the budget expires. Facebook and its affiliated platforms of Instagram and WhatsAp all crashed on Monday for roughly six hours – Twitter meanwhile was fine. Whistle Blower Frances Haugen testified before Congress this week, detailing how Facebook knowingly harmed user by using algorithms the amplify insecurities, particularly those related to young people. The Pandora Paper were released, which expose an offshore system that allowed government leaders, billionaires and criminals to hide financial accounts. A pipeline leak off the coast of California caused more than 100,000 gallons of oil to spew into the Pacific Ocean. Washington National player Juan Soto flew out to LA to support former teammates Trea Turner and Max Scherzer in the NL Wildcard game.

The world reached 238.5 million COVID cases this week and 4.9 million deaths, of which the US accounted for 45.2 million cases and 733,000 deaths. 217 million people (65%) in the US have received at least one full dose of the vaccine and 187 million people (56%) are fully vaccinated. Pfizer requested emergency authorization for its COVID vaccine for children ages 5-11 which, if approved, could mean younger children could have their first dose before Halloween.

The kids were off of school for the latter half of the week due to the conferences (FYI: they're both doing well and their teachers love them), but we cancelled our planned trip to NYC in order to stay closer to home. Nora got a new viola and restarted in-person lessons; Owen ordered his full Dr. Who Halloween costume; and Allen submitted the draft Long Term Strategy to the White House for review. Other than that, we mostly spent the week being there for our friends and each other as we navigate the loss of our friend and loved one.

(To see this and last week's pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 81

We lost someone incredibly special this week. She's been a big and important part of our whole family's life, and we're missing her dearly as we try to figure out how to help our friends and each other go on without her here.

We don't really have anything else to say, except to note that these are really hard time for everyone. Please take care of yourselves and those around you.

Pandemic, Week 80 (Seeking and Striving)

This week President Biden addressed the U.N. General Assembly where he focused on climate change and COVID-19. The House passed a bill to avoid a government shutdown next week and raise the debt ceiling, but Senate republicans have threatened to filibuster the bill while democrats are tying it to disaster relief in the hopes of forcing republicans from states hit by recent hurricanes to vote for the package. Roughly 15,000 asylum seekers, mostly from Haiti, were cleared out of an encampment in Del Rio, TX by the Department of Homeland Security, and while some are being allowed to press their claims for asylum in the US, most were being returned to Haiti – which is still dealing with the assassination of its President and a recent hurricane and earthquake – and Mexico. Disney is suing former Marvel Comics artists over rights over various superheroes, including Iron Man and Thor. Actor Matthew McConaughey is considering a run for Texas Governor.

The world reached 232.2 million total COVID cases and 4.8 million deaths this week, of which the US accounted for 43.7 million and 706,000 respectively. 213 million Americans (64 percent) have received at least one vaccine dose and 183 million (55 percent) are fully vaccinated – including Nora! Pfizer announced it had demonstrated a strong immune response for children age 5-11, suggesting that a vaccine might be available to children beginning in October. DC announced a vaccine mandate for any adult that works in a school or childcare facility. Florida announced a new state Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, who doesn't support vaccine mandates. The FDA approved booster shots for older Americans as well as those with underlying health conditions or with certain at-risk jobs.

We continued to enjoy our visit with Audra and took in the Van Gogh immersion exhibit, which involved a gallery, immersion room, coloring and virtual reality. We all really enjoyed the exhibit and most of the bike ride, until Nora was distracted by a mural on the Metropolitan Branch Trail, and crashed (there was blood, some bad scrapes and tears, but no stitches were required and they even managed to bike the rest of the way home). Once Audra headed back to Michigan, the rest of the week was devoted to getting Nora fully inoculated, two separate (with varying degrees of success) back-to-school nights, one major climate analysis, a happy hour with an old friend, and a few Ducky food fails (where our temporary houseguest managed to abscond with some tacos, pizza and a ginger-lemon biscuit – emphasis on "temporary").

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 79 (Company!)

This week the Justice for J6 Rally was held at the Capitol to support the insurgents that tried to destroy the place back in January – it was not well attended by anyone besides police and media. California Governor Gavin Newson won his recall election. The US military admitted that it had mistakenly killed 10 civilians in Kabul when they targeted the wrong vehicle in a drone strike intended for IS-K militants. North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the East Sea. Olympic gymnasts, including Simone Biles, testified before a Senate Committee on the FBI's mishandling of the Larry Nassar sexual abuse case. Comedian Norm McDonald died.

The world reached 229.0 million COVID cases and 4.7 million deaths of which the US accounted for 42.9 million cases and 692,000 deaths.  211 million Americans (64 percent) have received at least one does of the vaccine and 181 million (55 percent) are fully vaccinated. Public Health Ministers in Trinidad & Tobago and in the United States debunked rapper Nicki Minaj's claims that her Trinidadian cousin's friend's testicles became swollen following a  COVID shot, resulting in his impotency. The art installation, In America: Remember, which features a single while flag for each COVID death in the US, is now on display at the National Mall.

We started the week with Owen and my own version of Breakfast at Wimbledon. That afternoon involved a bread-baking session for Mom-Mom and Nora, followed by a butter-making session for Grandpa Don and Nora, followed by some pasta-making by Allen and me (Nora was pretty tired by then), followed by all of us (even Owen, who acknowledge he did nothing) enjoying a lovely meal together. Later, Nora and I attempted our very own cat-yoga session with Ducky to mixed results, Allen briefed staff from the White House and the Senate on the state of various climate studies, Owen made second chair in the orchestra at Duke, Nora restarted DCYOP rehearsals (inside!), and Allen visited the COVID inspired art installation on the mall.

But the big event was Audra flying out from Michigan for a visit to attend the Van Gogh Art Immersion exhibit. We originally got the tickets well before the J6 rally was plan, or they announced the H Street Festival was on the same weekend, or that due to the Delta variant, DC would have "red" ratings for its reopening metrics in daily case rate, hospital utilization and positive cases interviewed, as well as the indicator for community spread, but we played the hand we were dealt. After picking Audra up from the airport on Friday night, we enjoyed a lovely outdoor dining experience at Pursuit. The next morning we made our way around various road closures to drop Nora off at DCYOP before exploring Takoma Park. After rehearsal, we headed back to DC to check out the H Street Festival (my first time attending in 10 years) and get a late lunch, followed by nap time, spring rolls, dinner, a Zoom call with the other former residents of J1, and then called it an early night.

So we'd be fresh for the exhibit the next day.

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 78 (Some Semblance of Normal)

This week President Biden issued broad vaccine mandates requiring all firms with 100 or more employees to require COVID immunization or weekly testing of workers, requiring most health-care facilities that accept Medicare or Medicaid to vaccinate employees and mandating all federal employees and federal contractors be fully vaccinated. Biden also requested the resignation under threat of firing of Trump appointees to military academy boards, including Kellyanne Conway and Sean Spicer, who are threatening to sue in response. The Justice Department is suing Texas over its new abortion restrictions, arguing they are unconstitutional; meanwhile the Supreme Court of Mexico ruled that it is unconstitutional to criminalize abortion. Richmond, VA removed the statute of Robert E. Lee from Monument Ave. The fraud trial of Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes began.

This week the world reached 225.1 million COVID cases and 4.6 million deaths, of which the US accounted for 41.8 million of these cases and 678,000 deaths. 209 million Americans (63 percent) have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 178 million (54 percent ) are fully vaccinated.

For us, things were relatively quiet this week. On Sunday we had dinner at Katherine's to celebrate Nora's birthday (we opted not to spend the night fearing a relapse if we overdid things). Labor Day we met up with the Telfair-Chas to watch Shang-Chi – currently ranked as Nora's favorite Marvel movie and solidly in Owen's top three. The kids started back to school on Tuesday and managed to attend each day (though not without some help to ensure they didn't oversleep). Grandpa Fawcett left for a visit to Iowa with Aunt Katherine and was replaced by Ducky. Elaine hosted a bunch of the 7th grade Stuart-Hobson moms for a happy hour. Allen and Elaine got their flu shots while the kids finished their birthday thank-you notes.

And while that may all seem pretty boring, after last week we'll take it.

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 77 (The Agony and the Ectasy)

This week, the Texas law banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy (including in cases of rape and incest) went into effect after the Supreme Court refused to block the law due to procedural concerns. The law is not enforced by government officials, but rather deputizes citizens to sue for $10,000 plus legal fees anyone they believe is engaging in or abetting an abortion. The decision effectively overturns Roe vs Wade and ends women's reproductive and privacy rights. Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana and Mississippi with 150 mph winds resulting in one million people without power. The storm caused record flooding in the northeast as well,  killing dozens. The US officially ended the war in Afghanistan, pulling all troops after 20 years of occupation, while instituting drone strikes on the Islamic State, which killed 10 civilians – including children – in Kabul. The Chinese government has limited children's ability to play video games to one hour per day on Fridays, weekends and public holidays. California is closing all national forests for two weeks due to wildfires. Actor Ed Asner (of Mary Tyler Moore Show fame) and weatherman (and centennial enthusiast) Willard Scott, have died.

The world reached 221.1 million COVID cases and 4.6 million deaths this week, of which the US accounted for 40.8 million cases and 666,000 deaths. 207 million (62 percent) of Americans – including Nora! – have received at least one vaccine dose and 176 million (53 percent) are fully vaccinated. The FDA continues to warn against taking ivermectin, a drug used for deworming livestock, to combat COVID. Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia and Texas all have less than 10 percent of their ICU bed capacity left. The Department of Education has opened a civil rights investigation against five states that have banned masked mandates, while Florida withheld funds from two counties that refused to adhere to Florida's mandate ban.

It was a weird week for us. On Monday, we dutifully sent both kids off for their first real day of in-person education in 77 weeks. Nora came home ecstatic; Owen came home looking rough and crashed right after dinner (which he barely ate). When we checked on him later that night, he had a temperature of 102 degrees. Allen quickly went on a pharmacy run to try and get a rapid at-home COVID test, but had no luck. Fortunately, we had a friend with a stockpile who delivered four tests to us that night while I furiously tried to figure out whom to contact at Duke to let them know we had a potential exposure and Owen slept.

The next morning, Nora bounded down the stairs ready to start their second day of school when we broke the news that Owen had a positive rapid test that morning and so Nora couldn't go to school. We then had to contact Stuart-Hobson as well as all of the kids' friends they'd come into contact with the past few days (which Owen having just had a birthday party, was more than you'd think). Allen and Nora both took rapid tests and both got negative results (I was hoarding our last test in case we needed it). Allen took both kids for PCR tests and then returned home so that Owen could crash again (though now his fever was down to a less concerning 100 degrees) while Nora broke out the sewing machine and started crafting. In the meantime, I had a back-and-forth with the kids pediatrician to figure out if Nora could still get their COVID shot the following day for their birthday (the answer was no).

So we were a little bummed the morning of Nora's birthday. Owen, who we could only interact with while masked, asked if we could Facetime him while Nora opened their presents; Nora just slept in. But early that morning, I got an email from our health provider with the kids' PCR results – they were both negative.  Nora woke up pretty quickly when they heard that.

This revelation resulted in a number of calls to the kids' schools, DCPS, and our pediatrician (after we opened presents). It's a little hard to unring the COVID bell though, and since Owen had both symptoms and a positive rapid test, the default was to have Owen quarantine for 10 days and Nora for 14. That didn't go over well, so we talked some more to DCPS who contacted DC Health who eventually conceded that if we could get a doctor to confirm that Owen never had COVID, both kids could return to school.

So then we reached out to our pediatrician who agreed that given the negative PCR tests she could see Nora for their annual physical and get Nora their first COVID shot. In addition, she would evaluate Owen to see if he could return to school. After examining Owen and weighing the fact that he was now fever free, was fully vaccinated, had been masking in public, hadn't been exposed to anyone with COVID but had interacted with a friend who'd tested negative but had a bad cold, and had a negative PCR tests, she determined that Owen never had COVID and that both kids were cleared to return to school (and gave them both flu shots). We returned home, emailed all the documentation to the appropriate parties, sang happy birthday to Nora, ate banana ice cream cake, and watched Marvel's What If while chatting with Grandma & Grandpa Z and Dave & Kara over the phone.

We thought the earliest we could get the kids back in school was Friday, but after a call with our DCPS contact tracer on Thursday morning, we discovered the kids had been cleared by DC Health and the schools had been notified. Owen was fever free but still had a cough so we decided to keep him home one more day, but we woke Nora up, quickly packed a lunch and escorted them to Stuart so they could formally start their second day of seventh grade (only 20 minutes late for class). They had an amazing day and were relieved to be back.

On Friday, we dropped Owen off again. School got out a little early due to the holiday, so instead of waiting for us to pick him up, Owen actually took the bus home with friends and arrived excited about his day. A little later, Mom Mom arrived for a planned night at the Nationals which we decided we could go ahead with since the COVID scare was all a bad dream. It was a beautiful night and even though we left before the Nats tied it up (but also before they lost in extra innings), it was a lovely bending to a crazy first week of school.

By Saturday everything was back to normal. Nora got to attend their friend Anais's 12th birthday swim party (with Nora getting their own cake); Owen got to go to climbing. And after a lovely dinner outside, we call gathered round for a fire and some popcorn via one of Owen's birthday presents (thanks Aunt Katherine).

Just a note, while I was initially frustrated about figuring out who to contact at the schools and how the process of a potential exposure worked, everyone I spoke to at the kids schools and DCPS were incredibly helpful and understanding. Everyone is really trying their best to protect people's health while ensuring kids can safely go to school. And while it was a lot of additional stress and bureaucratic hoops, in the end the kids only missed two and three days respectively, and both got a clean bill of health. Which is probably the best we could have hoped for in 2021.

(To see all of this week's photos, click here.)

Dodecagon!

We were anxious about eleven. It was the start of middle school in the middle of a Pandemic and a continuation of remote learning, only now most of Nora's friends were at different schools. There were bad thoughts and trouble sleeping and a lot of worrying.

But eleven ended up being amazing. Having received a new phone for their birthday, Nora and their friends from fifth grade organized numerous group chats, teams meetings and socially distant meet-ups.  Nora joined the drama club (and was cast as Little Red Riding Hood and Puss-N-Boots in Virtually Ever After), was promoted to seventh grade math, received a general award for "Excellence," and occasionally got to attend school in person. They published their first book. They met their friends at Eastern Market for lunch and picked up dinner at Whole Foods. They made butter. 

Nora gathered in tents to perform Dvorak, tricked us all into cat-sitting (but not cat-adopting!), rode their first roller-coaster, went a whole week without devices at sleep-away camp, and bested the entire family in pursuit of the Pelican Cup.

But mostly, Nora figured out who they are this year, and in the spring shared with the family that they're non-binary (they'd told their friends, who were incredibly supportive, earlier). It's been a bit of a learning curve for us as we navigate proper pronouns and try to come up with catchy alternatives to gendered nouns (our most radical suggestion is "nile" for "niece"), but Nora has has been an incredible resource and guide along the way.

So yeah, eleven was pretty amazing. We watched our baby become an incredibly mature and self-aware person – while still not being eligible to be vaccinated (an oversight which should be at least partially corrected today...).  Happy birthday, little one, we love you so much and are so proud of who you are and who you are becoming. Here's hoping twelve is even better.

1. You never want to be the person throwing cold water on something, unless it's your father.
2. It's not easy, being a tween...
3. "What the heck?"
4. Why be negative when you can be Positive Pineapple Paul?
5. Fake your way through, strum along, and everything's ok.
6. Sometimes a hike isn't a hike so much as a death march.
7. It's not nice to fool Mother Nature.
8. Mrs. White is not amused.
9. Well isn't that just ducky.
10. And in the immortal words of Michael Cunningham, I was not ladylike, nor was I manly. I was something else altogether. There are so many different ways to be beautiful.

Pandemic, Week 76 (Summer's End)

This week, a bomb exploded outside the Kabul airport, killing 92 people including 13 American service members that were assisting with evacuation of American and Afghani citizens. President Biden said that the US would continue its evacuation efforts through the August 31st deadline and had the Pentagon conduct drone strikes, taking out two leaders of ISIS-K, which has claimed responsibility. The January 6th Select Committee requested documents from the Executive Branch, particularly communications by Trump, his family and his senior advisors. Meanwhile, seven US Capitol Police officers are suing Trump and "Stop the Steal" organizers over the January 6th riot. The House passed the John Lewis Voting Rights Act while the Supreme Court reinstated the Trump-era "Remain in Mexico" policy for asylum seekers. The man photographed naked as a baby for Nirvana's Nevermind album cover, is suing the band for sexual exploitation, 30 years after the album dropped. Charlie Watts, the drummer for the Rolling Stones, died.

The world reached 216.7 million COVID cases this week and 4.5 million deaths, of which the US accounted for 39.6 million cases and 654,000 deaths. In the US, 204 million people (61 percent) of the total population has received at least one dose of the vaccine; 173 million (52 percent) of the the population is now fully vaccinated. In addition, the FDA gave full approval to the COVID Pfizer drug, which is now known officially as Comirnaty.

Our focus this week was on the end of summer and the start of school. On Monday, both kids had their first dental appointments in a year and a half, and despite some questionable oral hygiene practices, neither child had any cavities. Owen also had his annual physical where we determined that he is officially taller than me, yet weighs less. Friday Allen and Owen rode the D6 to Duke Ellington and back so that Owen can finally get an appreciation for what his daily commute is going to be like (hint, it's going to kind of suck).

But the big event of the week was Owen (finally) had his birthday party and got to hang out with four of his closest friends. We headed up to Sandy Springs Adventure Park for an outdoor – and COVID friendly  – outing. Initially, Nora and I were on our own while Allen joined Owen's crew for a blue, but when the boys decided to do a black course followed by a double black diamond course (aka the "Gauntlet") after lunch, Gabriel and Allen decided to join Nora and I on the more user friendly blue courses before Allen went on his own to shadow the other kids.

None of the kids go to the same school – Adam's at DeMatha, Gabriel's at Basis, Hayden's at Gonzaga, Patrick's at Wall and Owen is at Duke, with Nora at Stuart-Hobson – and they haven't gotten to spend a lot of time together over the past 18 months (particularly en masse), so it was great to see them hanging out, ribbing and encouraging each other, just like normal times except 30 feet in the air. They were pretty tired and didn't smell so good at the end of the day, but they all managed to finish and they did it together, which is probably some metaphor for the past 18 months.

And hopefully is a sign of good things to come.

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)

Family Selfie

 

I love looking back on our cuddle time family selfies :-)

Pandemic, Week 75 (Birthday Train)

This week the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. Thousands of people descended upon Kabul's airport trying to find a way to escape the country, including by hanging onto military aircrafts as they taxied on the runway. The Biden Administration claims the airport is secure and that U.S. troops will remain beyond the scheduled August 31st date in order to ensure that all American citizens are able to leave. On the domestic front, much of Capitol Hill was shut down and partially evacuated for hours due to a bomb threat at the Library of Congress. Mike Richards, the new host of Jeopardy, was fired nine days after he was announced as Alex Trebek's successor, due to disparaging remarks made by him about women, Jews and other groups in his podcast.

The world reached 212.1 million COVID cases and 4.4 million deaths this week of which the U.S. accounted for 38.5 million cases and 645,000 deaths. 201 million Americans (61 percent) have now received at least one dose of the vaccine with 170 million (51 percent) being fully vaccinated. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who is vaccinated, tested positive for COVID while still declaring mask mandates illegal in his state.  Alabama has run out of ICU beds. More than 1000 students and staff had to quarantine in Nashville after 250 students and staff tested positive for COVID the first week of school. Two counties in Florida were informed by the state that they had 48-hours to remove their mask mandates or lose funding equal to the salaries of their school boards. The Biden Administration announced plans for a booster for all adults eight months after their second-dose of the Moderna or Pfizer shot. New Zealand entered a nationwide lockdown after a single COVID case, their first in six-months.

But we spent the week preparing to celebrate Owen's 15th birthday (and finish celebrating Uncle L's 41st).  On Tuesday, Owen and Allen headed to Nats' stadium to watch the Nats defeat the Blue Jays on Pride Night and try to spend all of Allen's expiring Nats bucks (they still have a ways to go, but they got Owen a new Zimmerman jersey, two new fleeces, some Virginia Tech Nats baseball hats for Lee and Katherine and a Nats Pride button for Nora) while Nora and I stayed home with Grandpa Fawcett, who enjoyed sushi for the first time. On Thursday Nora got to go with their friend Violet to Sandy Spring Adventure Park, as a preview for Owen's birthday party. Friday was Owen's actual birthday, and because we're not Aunt Katherine, he was allowed to open presents from us and from those that mailed them in a timely manner (cough, Dave & Kara) before heading out to climbing camp. Afterwards, we met up with Katherine, Makayla and Mom Mom & Grandpa Don for a family dinner (and antics) out before calling it an early night.

Usually, it's impossible to call an early night at Katherine's, but because the weather had been iffy the previous weekend, they moved Lee's birthday tubing extravaganza to Saturday which mean we needed to wrangle the troops to drive to West Virginia in the am. After a leisurely drive, an educational video (which we totally adhered to), a short bus ride and some debate about optimal tube formations, we floated down the Shenandoah River for a couple of relaxing hours. Once we finished, returned to Katherine's, showered and maybe took some naps, Mom Mom & Grandpa Don joined us for hamburgers and birthday cake while Owen was finally allowed to open the rest of his presents.

It was a really good time.

(To see all the pictures, click here.)