Honorable mentions (July 2020)

As always, there are a few other July events that I don’t want to forget!

Abby lost her first tooth! (And she has already lost two more!)

CJ and Christina, two of my dearest local friends, turned 40!
We celebrated each with an adults-only pool party. It’s a great time to have a pool!

Liz, Kristy, and I went ahead with a pre-pandemic planned trip to meet up in Louisville for the weekend. It had been 6 years which was terribly too long. With five more babies born between us (a total of 4 each!), we couldn’t all get away again until now. We hunkered down in our hotel suite and talked nonstop! It was too wonderful for words.

We celebrated Papa’s 79th birthday! So happy we could celebrate together!

And, of course, the pandemic continues. I honestly thought that the months of sheltering-in-place would be the hardest. However, I have found this in-between time to be more challenging. The months at home involved almost no decision making. There was no where to go because everything was closed or canceled!

Now most businesses are open and, as our pictures from July demonstrate, the opportunity to gather with others is available. Virus cases are on the rise. Every invitation or desire to go somewhere requires an assessment of risk. And with so much uncertainty remaining about the virus itself the risk assessment is not easy. In addition, the need to be with others is legitimate. All of us have come to different conclusions about the risk, and that adds another layer of tension, too.

It was also the month when Fall was canceled (or at least threatened to be). I dreaded checking my email as the roller coaster we experienced in early spring and summer started up again. As of right now, we hope to attend our co-op and a few other classes in person (with masks). I will only believe it when it happens!

As I write this, we are beyond the two week incubation period following all of our July activities. We will never know if our precautions worked, or if, despite any foolish decisions on our part, we simply weren’t exposed. I cannot neglect to mention that my brother Mark had the virus this month. And, yes, he was doing all The Things to avoid it. Thankfully, he has not needed medical intervention and is on the road to recovery!