Meh

I realize it has been a bit since I wrote. I don't have anything I want to specifically address, so I expect this blog to be a strange stream of consciousness. Read at your own peril.

It is so funny how this year is turning out. I remember the goals I set at the beginning of the year, like to volunteer at least once a month. The girls and I were talking about all the sad kids who aren't getting wishes granted right now and how backed up it will be when Give Kids the World does finally open. Florida has been doing better with COVID numbers, which is nice. Sometimes I feel encouraged about the progress we are making, then I see something in the news that makes it all feel a bit hopeless again--like the news of people having been diagnosed with COVID twice and the implications that has on the vaccine.

Luke has now been physically going to school for a full week. We already got a call that someone at the school tested positive for COVID. It was not anyone Luke had been in contact with, so fortunately, he did not have to self-quarantine. There was a nearby middle school where over 10 faculty members tested positive and they shut the place down. I am really hoping that does not happen to Luke's school. It has been really nice to have him back on a good schedule. Although, I really dislike the beginning of the year when the teacher's have to assume the kids don't really know anything. But, Luke isn't complaining and I am sure it will get more challenging.

The bigger kids are still doing well. It's hard to believe it's already been three weeks. It is kind of fun having them home. Most of the day, we are doing our own thing, but Thomas and I eat lunch with Jack and Anna which we like (Kara's lunch is really early) and we at least see them as we go about our work. We all are saving so much time by not having to commute.

Wednesday after school we went to SeaWorld. We have their dining plan, so the past couple of weeks we have gone up for dinner. The kids get out an hour early on Wednesday and Thomas and I are able to end our day a bit earlier. Unfortunately, the crowds at SeaWorld are terrible with masks and social distancing. We went on one ride and the people behind us were seriously in our space (not just our COVID 6-foot radius, but our personal space). I finally asked them to please back up. They weren't wearing masks and were breathing down our necks. I find the whole mask thing really weird. I haven't found a single, reputable source that says they don't help (and, I've looked). And, if the worst case scenario is that the scientists are wrong, than so what? You were slightly more uncomfortable than you would have otherwise been? It drives me a little crazy. I am getting better at letting it go. 

While I am being divisive, politics really have me down. I have never in my life had a problem respecting political views that differ from mine, but this time is definitely a challenge. I don't understand how any reasonable person can rationalize the behavior of our President. I had a lot more written, but I am just going to leave it at that. Maybe one day, closer to the election, I will write out my thoughts more fully. We discuss politics with the kids regularly. My hope is that we can impart on them the importance of being informed on the issues, gathering information from a variety of sources, fact-checking, and then forming a reasoned opinion.

On to happier news. On Friday night we went to Hollywood Studios. We had a great time. It was probably our last visit for a while. They are going to start closing earlier, which will make the weekday runs impossible, and Friday nights are our favorite. I can't figure out captions today, but here's Anna and Kara on Rockin Roller Coaster.

Thomas and I are watching Veronica Mars. We just finished Season 3, so now we have to find the movie. Since this all started, we have watched the West Wing, the Mentalist, Lost, and now Veronica Mars. It has been fun watching the shows from start to finish. I have also been rereading the Harry Potter books and watched the first movie yesterday. I had forgotten how amazing a storyteller J. K. Rowling is. Now that I have read them through once (and seen the movies) I can appreciate more of the nuances and character-building. The girls are reading The Hunger Games, which Kara especially is enjoying. 

And some pictures from Animal Kingdom last Saturday. We just went for a few hours in the morning. But, we had a great time. We did the Safari and walked the animal trails (we finally saw the bats, much bigger than I expected) and Tree of Life. We also rode the Kali River Rapids and Dinosaur.

Okay, found the caption button. Look at that pheasant above the girls.

Finally, as an Office and Harry Potter fan, this made me laugh out loud one night: