or
"Hooray, 2020 is Almost Over!!"
It's finally time to return to the blog...but what to write about this year? What, really, can we say about 2020? What can ANYONE say?? It has been long; it has been hard for us all. Fear, loneliness, isolation, stress, exhaustion, contention, illness, death, depression, uncertainty, violence, hatred...the list goes on and on, and it's seemingly all around us. As a family, we have been spared much of the worst of 2020; we have not fallen seriously ill with COVID-19 or anything else (nor, thankfully, has most of our extended family), and we've only had minimal financial hardship. But we know many others who have been touched by tragedy and trials. We have had to say "goodbye" to many activities and events in our lives we used to take for granted. We have had to deal with changes in our work and educational environments. We've often found ourselves impatient, frustrated, and more uncertain about the future than ever before. Such is life in a pandemic!
And yet...in
spite of the worry and uncertainty that has defined 2020, our family
has found things to be happy about and to be grateful for. It’s true that many
things have changed in our everyday lives; nevertheless, we have been able to
draw closer together. We have been fighting less, listening more, and
better appreciating our blessings, large and small.
It is true that we really miss our friends, family, and "normal" social interactions. We are impatient for the pandemic to be over, and for us to reclaim our lives, changed though they might be. But as part of our unexpected "extra family time," we have also learned to better work together, worship together, pray together, and laugh together. As our girls become teenagers, we know our family time together is running short...so we have cherished this extra time together as a "silver lining" in a difficult year. At the beginning of 2020, my girls' relationship with one another was strained & distant. Now, they love spending time with one another. They don't even mind hanging out with their "lame" mom and dad once in a while too!
This year, our family spent most of its time at home....the girls' schooling was primarily done online, and Nathan was also working from home for about 3 months in the spring. It was a crowded & somewhat stressful time, but we survived!
We tried to break up the monotony with some outdoor adventures (mostly hiking in the spring, then neighborhood walks in the fall/winter).
Thankfully, we were lucky enough to take a family trip in July, to Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Glacier National Parks this summer…with a bonus Barrett family reunion while we were in Montana. It was beautiful country and great company! We felt very fortunate that the National Parks re-opened shortly before we were scheduled to leave (although some of the parks were not able to open all the way due to the virus complicating things).
It was divine to experience the cool days and lush greenery of the northern United States. We really want to revisit this area again sometime soon! As (2020) luck would have it, this summer turned out to be one of the hottest and driest in Arizona HISTORY, so we are doubly glad we had this short break from the heat.
Nathan has continued working for Pima Association of Governments…although his office has been much quieter this year, as many coworkers have chosen to work remotely. He also worked from home for a few months in the spring! Nathan is currently working towards a Human Resources Certification from Pima Community College. He serves as gospel doctrine teacher in our ward, but he was not able to teach very many lessons before church services were suspended. He has diligently kept up his audio-book habit, as well as taking regular walks, so he is likely in better physical shape than most of us at this point!
Adrianne was “unemployed” for large stretches of 2020, due to school closures. As of this writing, she has still not returned to her music teaching job at Great Expectations Academy; she misses her students and hopes she can see them again in 2021! After a quiet summer, she has resumed teaching several private piano lessons a week (even organizing a "virtual recital" this month), and she has also sold a lot of baked goods this fall to get a little extra cash. She’s spent the remainder of her time reading a LOT of books and trying to stay on top of the girls’ remote learning. She was also just called to be a Mission Prep teacher for our stake, and she is excited (but nervous!) to help teach future potential missionaries.
Lorelai performed in a district-wide school concert last January as the first-chair trombone; she was very proud of that honor! In February, she was able to appear in the local drama production of “Into the Woods” with some of her friends. With no marching band this fall (her sophomore year), she has branched out a bit, joining her high school’s golf team. She loves it and wants to try it again next school year.
Lorelai also served (as best as she could) as the class president in her Young Women's class at church. Isolation is hard on our high-schooler; she sometimes worries her life as a teen is slipping away from her while she is trapped at home. But she has made deeper connections with a few of her closest friends, and she has been slowly improving her relationship with her sisters, her parents, and her Father in Heaven. She is a diligent, smart, funny, hardworking kid, and we are proud of the ways in which she has grown more mature, resilient, and responsible this year.
Celeste has really missed seeing her friends during this quarantine; social distancing is hard on our social butterfly. However, she has been developing her other talents from home (playing piano, cooking, and makeovers). She was also able to have a small outdoor movie party AND a mani-pedi for her birthday, which gave her some much-needed social time. Celeste was ALSO class president in her church Young Women's group, and deespite the pandemic, she really stepped up to the plate and showed initiative and compassion in leading her class and working with her adult leaders. She is enjoying seventh grade so far, and is happy she gets to attend school every day (at least until multiple COVID cases sent the middle school back to remote learning in December...ugh!).
...and she got braces, too!
In spite of these setbacks she rarely complains; her naturally positive demeanor is a shining force for good in our family (especially those of us who sometimes tend to the pessimistic!). We are all so grateful to have such a helpful, sunny person like Celeste in our home.
Aurora was about to perform as “Young Elsa” in our charter school's production of “Frozen” just as the quarantine hit. Sadly, the play had to be canceled, a fact which brought her much sorrow.
However, Aurora is nothing if not determined; she has found happiness by achieving other goals. She has been lucky enough to attend school daily for the last couple of months (she's in fifth grade this year); it has been very helpful for her to have regular social contact. She has also finally caught the reading bug: so far this quarantine, she has read the entire Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, AND Keeper of the Lost Cities series...wow!
And (of course), she's been playing as much soccer as possible! Aurora played on her first "all-star" (tournament-playing) team last winter pre-lockdown, and she has been practicing informally with her old team this fall in preparation for a new winter season starting in 2021. Through it all, Aurora has tried to stay positive. She is sometimes nervous about the future, but she has also enjoyed the extra time to "laze" around the house and hang out with Mom & Dad.
We love you all; thanks for reading! We wish you all a safe and healthy 2021. May we learn and grow from the trials we face, and learn to rely more on the Lord and each other while counting our blessings, both great and small.
PS. Enjoy this "mini-recital" from our three girls!
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