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.)

XV

This year was supposed to be better. Having survived 22 weeks of a Pandemic before his last birthday, we naively thought that Owen's 15th year would involve more people and fewer masks.

We sort of missed the mark on that one.

Owen started his high school experience remotely, with only one of his friends from middle school attending the same school and only sharing one class with him – online gym. And while virtual high school was a challenge for everyone, attending a performing arts high school where you can't actually perform together and instead have to upload recordings of just your part using click tracks, kind of takes the fun out of playing. Owen sort of checked out – from classes and friends and really anything that didn't involve youtube videos critiquing the American educational system or Dr. Who. That coupled with an insurrection and just the general ennui of being a teenage boy in 2020 made for a rough fall and winter, with only a few trips and outings to break up the monotony and introduce the occasional outside social interaction (thank you Gabriel).

But in the spring, Owen started attending school a couple of days a week in person and actually got to play with some other Duke cellists and bassists. Climbing Club started up again and he was able to hang out with some kids his age (provided they all wore masks). He grew. He was able to attend Nats games again. First Day School began meeting again in person and involved activities like finding gas leaks and harvesting honey (not entirely clear which part of SPICES those activities relate to, but still...). After numerous tense conversations and more helicopter parenting then any of us felt good about, Owen finally started participating in class and even made the Honor Roll. And most importantly, Owen got vaccinated in May, relieving a lot of his anxiety and fear, and allowing him to actually relax and enjoy his summer. 

Which he did. He rode his first rollercoaster (and his second). He went to the Baseball Hall of Fame and saw all the Nationals World Series mementoes. He swam and ate s'mores. He went to camp and stayed in a cabin with a bunch of other 14 and 15 year olds without any electronic devices. He kayaked. He discovered he's weirdly good at miniature golf and not bad at pool. He jumped off the high dive numerous times, performed in a hootenanny, and was willingly pummeled by waves. And he was really, really happy for the first time in a long time.

Which we really hope continues as Owen starts his sophomore year of school in-person (though due to the recent spike in COVID cases, it still won't be a "normal" school year). And while we know that there are still trials and tribulations ahead, the fact that Owen has survived 74 weeks in a Pandemic and is still the sweet, enthusiastic kid that we all know and love, makes us feel like he can handle whatever life throws at him. Happy birthday, little man. We love you so, so much and know that you've got this (and that we've got your back). 

1. Finland – now that that's a country that understands how to run an educational system.
2. You know the rules.
3. Actually...
4. Pool sharks are cool, baby sharks are annoying, and land sharks should only be observed from a safe distance.
5. We will defend our house. Eventually. Once we rebuild the Nats and I'm in college...
6. Trust your captain, but keep your seatbelt securely fastened.
7. Imposters, they walk Among Us.
8. Music writers may argue, but the definitive top five Marvel movie scores is Iron Man III followed by Thor, Winter Soldier, Civil War and Dr. Strange.  
9. You're never fully dressed without a... fleece and sweatpants. 
10. And in the immortal words of Dr. Who, There's a lot of things you need to get across this universe. Warp drive... worm hole refractors... You know the thing you need most of all? You need a hand to hold.

Pandemic, Week 74 (August and Everything After)

This week, Taliban forces gained control of most of the major cities in Afghanistan in the south and two-thirds of the country overall as American forces prepare to remove all troops from the conflict. The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a study that finds human activity affects climate change, the Earth's temperature has risen over 1 degree Celsius since 1900, the past 5 years have been the hottest on record since 1850, but that the rise in temperature and sea levels can be limited by reducing carbon emissions. Haiti experienced a 7.2 magnitude earthquake, killing at least 700 people. The Senate passed a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan and a $3.5 trillion resolution regarding education and health care, which will now face scrutiny by the House. 46 Republican senators signed a letter pledging to not increase the debt limit, which expired on July 31st.  Andrew Cuomo announced he would step down as Governor of New York after multiple claims of sexual harassment and will be replaced by Kathy Hochul, the first woman to hold the office. Jeopardy announced it's new host, Mike Richards, a producer of the show.

The world reached 207.8 million COVID cases and 4.4 million deaths this week. The US accounted for 37.4 million of the cases and 637,000 deaths. 198 million (60 percent) of the US population has received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine with 168 million (51 percent) fully vaccinated. The CDC gave final approval for booster vaccine shots for immunocompromised Americans. DC joined California and other localities to require teachers to be vaccinated or else be subject to regular COVID tests this school year.

We re-acclimated to life post a month of trips. Nora went to the pool with friends, got a haircut and had a less than great Panther Pride morning at Stuart-Hobson. Owen started back with in-person cello lesson and had his friend Adam over for some lego and video games time.  Allen and I worked. We had planned to head up to Katherine's on Friday in order to go tubing on Saturday in West Virginia for Lee's birthday, but the weather meant that the outing was delayed, though the meet-up continued. Allen's cousin Joe was in town for Naval Reserve training so he met for dinner on Friday. On Saturday, Katherine decided that we all needed activities before we converged for "pool party" and dinner. Allen and Owen opted for miniature golf and batting cages while Nora and I joined Katherine and Makayla (after borrowing hiking clothes from Katherine – who knew Nora and Katherine wore the same size?) for a "fun" little hike in the woods. While it started out lovely, we diverged from the trail into uncharted territory. There was uneven terrain, and long grasses with prickly things and a whole lot of mud. We ended up having to forge across a river twice (once without shoes), just to eventually be able to double back. The children were not pleased.

But after returning to Katherine's and cooling off in the pool (along with some cocktails for the adults and cheese and crackers for this kids), we mostly forgot about the afternoon, and instead enjoyed the evening and the local fauna.

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

Pandemic, Week 73 (By the Sea and Sand)

This week, the CDC and the Biden Administration announced a two-month extension to the eviction moratorium in areas with high COVID rates after member of Congress slept outside Capitol in protest of its expiration (the extension is expected to be challenged in court). The economy added 943,000 jobs in July as the unemployment rate fell to 5.4 percent, down from the Pandemic high of 14.8 percent in April 2020. Olympic high jumpers Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar and Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy decided to share the gold medal instead of resorting to a jump off. Barak Obama turned sixty, but had a much smaller party than planned due to the Pandemic.

The world reached 202.9 million COVID cases and 4.3 million deaths. US is now average 100,000 new COVID-19 cases per day, resulting in 36.5 million total cases and 633,000 deaths. The rise in cases has resulted in an increase in vaccinations, with 194 million (59 percent of the total population) having received at least one dose, but only 166 million (50 percent of the population) being fully vaccinated. Florida's Governor has threatened to pull funding from school districts that defy the ban on mask mandates he issued, despite increased pediatric hospitalizations in the state. Texas has similarly declared that they will not require contact tracing or parental notification if a child's classmate is diagnosed with COVID (though they will be notified if that classmate has lice). In contrast, Arkansas's Governor announced he regretted previously signing a law banning local mask mandates and called for a special session of the state legislature to change the law. 

Meanwhile, we headed to the Outer Banks for the fourth time during this Pandemic. This time it was for our annual family trip to Duck, which was a week earlier than usual (first Sunday of August came early this year...), and involved flash flooding on both the first and last days (and a fair amount of rain in between). Still, we managed to get a lot in.

There was beach time and hot tub time and a lot of family time (and cocktails!). Owen and Grandpa Don went golfing. Allen claimed he saw a spinner shark jump out of the ocean. Owen and I watched some fisherman reel in an actual shark – which they then released back to the ocean from whence it came and where we all swam.  

We dined unfashionably early at the restaurant Mom Mom & Katherine first christened three years ago (and they made the Facebook page again!). Lee and Katherine ran into one of Lee's former teammates from both Virginia Tech and the Browns while admiring his sandcastles handiwork. 

There was cornhole and marbles and walks on the beach. There was welcomed pummeling in the ocean, and some unintended consequences. There was a lot of food. And while the weather was a bit of a bummer, it did allow us to play more indoor games than usual which resulted in a dark horse winning the Pelican Prize this year – congratulations Nora!

We're hoping next year doesn't involve a Pandemic. Or thunderstorm warnings. Or more sharks. But I bet will have a good time anyway...

(To see all of our pictures (and some of Katherine's), click here.)

Pandemic, Week 72 (Homeland)

This week hearings began for the January 6th Select Committee with testimony from four police officers regarding their experience during the insurrection. The Senate voted to move ahead on its $1.2 trillion, bipartisan infrastructure deal. The Department of Justice turned over notes to the House Oversight Committee investigating Trump's efforts to overturn the election, regarding a call with the former President where he pressured senior officials to declare the election "corrupt." GOAT gymnast Simone Biles pulled out of the Olympics gymnastic team finals due to mental health concerns after a fall in the qualifying round – the women's team went on to win Silver. In the final hours before the MLB deadline, the Washington Nationals traded 2019 World Series Champions Max Scherzer, Daniel Hudson, Trea Turner, and Yan Gomes, as well as Josh Harrison, Jon Lester, Kyle Schwarber, and Brad Hand (Owen is fairly crushed). 

The world reached 198.5 million cases and 4.2 million deaths; the US reached 35.7 million cases and 629,000 deaths. Vaccinations in the US increased this week in response to cases and hospitalizations rising: 191 million people (58 percent) have now received at least one dose of the vaccine and 164 million people (50 percent) are now fully vaccinated. The CDC issued new guidance stating that vaccinated people should wear masks in indoor public spaces where transmission rates of COVID are high – which currently includes roughly 1,500 counties in the US and every county in the states of Arkansas, Florida and Louisiana. President Biden announced that all federal workers will need to show proof of vaccination or be subject to regular testing (similar requirements were announced in New York City and California).

Meanwhile, we were happily ensconced in our Iowa bubble. On Sunday, the Fawcetts hosted a Hootenanny at the pond which involved high dives (Grandpa Z defended his record as oldest jumper), wagon rides, corn, cousins, s'mores, a campfire, lanterns, Owen breaking out his cello for Minuet, Dick Fawcett breaking out his guitar for Hallelujah, and a number of neighbors requesting a cappella renditions of various funeral dirges (plus, You are My Sunshine). Monday, Allen went up to the pond early to see Ken and Kent awarded the 2021 Iowa Conservation Farmer(s) of the Year Award (and use of a John Deere tractor for one year!). Tuesday, we dined al fresco at the Iowa River Power Restaurant to celebrate Grandma and Grandpa Z's anniversary. Wednesday, we met up with the Mettenburgs (who had been visiting Joe's parents in Mount Pleasant) for an afternoon of swimming in the pond. Thursday, after an extremely long day at work, we headed up to the pond for a happy hour (which we thought was going to be a dinner) and then headed back to Grandma and Grandpa Z's to pack for the long drive back to DC before heading to the beach.

This was a bit of a tragedy, as it meant that we didn't get to attend Corn Fest 2021 and that Allen couldn't reclaim his title in the corn-eating contest from Thomas (who then won again this year – and got a commemorative cup for his prize!).  Fortunately, Allen has a whole year to train for 2022...

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