2020 -- what a year, amiright? Phew. I'm not sure I know anyone who won't be thrilled to see this mess of a year in their rear-view mirror, but despite everything, our family has much to be thankful for as this year draws to a close. Christmas cards never leave enough room for a proper update, so I thought I'd provide a little bonus content here on what we've been up to this year, plus a whole lot more visual evidence (you can just scroll down if you're here for the photos). :)
Let's start with our favorite little guy. Unbelievably, Camden will turn two in January. He is the light of our lives and a constant source of laughter and, let's be honest, frustration. The polar opposite of his brother, C gets into everything and is always the one to charge ahead, but his sweet little smile makes it impossible for us to stay mad long. He loves being outside and never tires of walks (thank goodness, because they were essential this year), eating, playing with brother, cars, Sesame Street, and books.
Beckett just turned nine in November and is in 3rd grade. He started the school year virtually, but we felt comfortable enough with the precautions to send him back in person by late October. As always, he has been thriving in school (with plenty of caveats for technology frustrations, sadness at missing his friends, pandemic-related anxiety, etc.) and continues to impress us with his smarts and humor. He loves books as much as ever but has also started to really dive into the world of video games.
I found myself pulled in even more directions this year in almost every sense. Work wise, I was able to grow the connections I've built between my quilting hobby and my editing work, taking on several new clients for pattern editing and writing. No longer the president of the St. Louis Modern Quilt Guild (a position I held the last two years), I was able to shift some of my extracurricular focus to other causes and got especially involved in efforts surrounding the election, including becoming a notary to help with absentee ballot options in Missouri, writing countless postcards and letters, and serving as a poll monitor and volunteer for a local ballot initiative on Election Day. Sewing wise, I made a whole bunch of masks and pincushions (a new obsession), and while much of my quilting revolved around testing the patterns I worked on for clients, I found great solace and pleasure in broadening my hand sewing with many new embroidery projects under my belt.
Matt continued to
find new purpose and inspiration in his work at SIUE. He began teaching
remotely in the spring and will continue to do so through this school
year, which has been interesting, to say the least. He has continued to
shape and develop the first-year transition program he helped create last year,
as well as doing meaningful work on issues surrounding racial equity and inclusion at the
university.
He continues to run and has found many new routes during the pandemic
while pushing Cam in the stroller. He looks forward to getting back to
races in the next year.
As a family, while we have struggled with many results of the pandemic (no family visits since last Christmas, no childcare help -- a particular struggle while trying to work with a toddler at home, missing friends dearly), we have also found great blessings in this newly enforced lifestyle. Though we enjoyed the outdoors before, we have fully embraced hiking and biking as our favorite ways to spend time on the weekends. We have explored countless amazing areas around Missouri and Illinois since the spring and had such fun doing it. We also still both have our jobs and a roof over our heads -- things we know many Americans can't say right now. To close, a final list of thank yous both personal and broad:
- To the Poole-Joneses for joining us on so many backyard and hiking adventures and always making us laugh
- To the Miller-Pearsons for always be willing to come to us for wonderful adult backyard dinners
- To the Cashens for your generosity in sharing your pool with us this (and every) summer and topping it off with more backyard dinners
- For the memory of Jess's Aunt Lisa, who we lost unexpectedly in July. She will be greatly missed.
- For health-care workers, the makers of Zoom, essential workers, USPS employees, scientists, all those who played a part in allowing us to have a safe and fair election season, teachers, restaurants and businesses with curbside pickup, all those who have done their part to keep themselves and others safe, virtual trivia nights, and so much more.
- For the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. We are crossing our fingers for a true turnaround for this country while recognizing how much more needs to be done.
We hope everyone has a safe, warm, loving holiday. Know that we can't wait to see you again, so get those vaccines and be responsible until then.
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