The Bits: August

A Covid Story: 100,000

100,000 lives gone to this virus....  My words don't feel sufficient, so I'll defer to The Atlantic.

From the Atlantic:

"That number—100,000 dead from the coronavirus—is hard to grasp. For those who have lost someone, the pandemic’s scope is not just a statistic; within the abstraction lies an intimately life-changing event. For the rest of us, it is a fact we must try to wrestle into perspective. One hundred thousand people is nearly the population of the city I now live in; it is a neighborhood’s worth of people in Brooklyn, my longtime home; it is perhaps 10 times the total number of people most of us will cross paths with in our entire lives. It is graveyard upon graveyard upon graveyard. It is mass burials at Hart Island, bodies stacked in refrigerated trucks outside hospitals and nursing homes. It is PTSD for the nurses and doctors in the hardest-hit areas. Mostly, it is the shocking echo that follows the loss of even one person: zero, zero, zero, zero, zero. A lament: O, O, O, O, O.

What we don’t know yet: how death on this scale will change the life of the nation, if it will. Perhaps it will lastingly affect the life of New York City—which has once again found itself at the center of a national tragedy, as it did after 9/11—but not of a small town in Arizona that goes largely unscathed.

What we do know, or ought to know: Mourning together is at least as important—more important?—to our survival as the divisive arguments about whether restoring the economy or protecting vulnerable people matters more. In this election year, every aspect of the pandemic and the nation’s response to it has been politicized, and there is no collective, top-down mourning process—an absence that is exposing the unseemly seams of our barely stitched-together society. Right now, our mourning feels individual, not collective, with fights breaking out about masks, freedom, “fake news,” and the like.

A formal feeling, as Emily Dickinson put it, sits in me, a sense of remove I want to eradicate by walking among the bodies of the living instead of sitting at home alone. What feels out of step right now is not my grief, but my distance from the community that shares it."

The Weird End to the 2019-2020 School Year

Whelp, the 2019-2020 school year has come to a close!  We stumbled across the finish line once again, but boy it was a tough one.  It was 3/4ths great, and 1/4th super weird, but there you have it.  Thanks, Coronavirus!  Ben, Luke and Tommy all finished up on May 20th, but for some reason, poor Josh had to go on for another week to the 27th. Go figure!

The boys all had successful years, even with a quarter of it consisting of eLearning.  While they did the work, it wasn't ideal for any of the boys, and even my motivated learners struggled to care much.  Hopefully next year, if some hybrid eLearning is needed, they will feel reconnected with school enough to get back in gear.

Ben took 5 AP classes, and although the test results have yet to come out, he learned a ton and loved the challenge.  Josh thrived as a freshman and loved the new opportunities of high school.  He's already planning on a second band class (Jazz Band) next year, now that he has more space in his schedule.  Luke really liked his team this year, and although French was still a struggle, he performed solidly in every other class.  We're moving on from French for him next year, and will be trying Spanish in high school.  I don't even have to say how much Tommy loved School in the Woods, because DUH!  It's amazing out there!  I am so grateful he got to have three quarters there.  I recognize some kids don't even get one, and that next year's class may not be able to participate in the many amazing things unique to SITW, like the overnight and field trips.

So we're on to the next one, whatever that looks like come fall.  Ben will be a *gulp* senior (here we go again, wahhhhh).  He had a nice long call with the coach from Wyoming, a D1 school, who is looking at him for their XC/Track teams.  That was a pretty dang cool way to wrap up junior year.  Luke is moving on to 8th grade, which is kind of unbelievable because he's really just a baby, so NOPE.  and Tommy heads to 5th grade and not just his, but OUR, last year of elementary!  Hard pass.  Thank God for Josh just being a sophomore, because I need ONE that isn't having some huge finale.  We have a lot of moving-ons, lasts and endings coming up next year, and I'm not really OK with any of it.  So please check in on me once in awhile.  I'm gonna need it.

Last day Grade 11

Perusing the yearbook

Lasts day grades 7 and 4

Boy if this photo doesn't sum up their relationship right now, I don't know what does...Luke bugging the he** out of Tommy, while Tommy does his best to good-naturedly get him off his back.  Hopefully we will move on from this fun phase soon!

Yeah, Lukey!!

It was so good to get one more chance to see all of the amazing staff at SITW at check-out.  It is truly one of our favorite places on earth for the amazing educational opportunities, unique learning environment, stewardship over the earth that is taught, but mostly, without a doubt, a place these kids know they are loved.  Once a Naturalist, Always a Naturalist!

Catching a few more moments at SITW.  Photos with Mr. Wuerth, the beautiful entrance signs that are the gateway to someplace magical, and his buddies Breck and Luke who happened to be at check out at the same time as us.

Tommy with the school, with his wikiup, which was in the process of renovation before Spring Break and was never able to be rebuilt, and the middle bottom picture is of Tommy playing one of his favorite recess games: throw the small tree.

Tommy with: Mr. Perry and Mr Ulizio, Mrs. Teger, Mrs. Selke (used to be Zaranek, and was Luke's teacher), Mrs. Powers, and Mrs. Frei

Done at last!

Bravo, Josh!

Celebrating!

Check out at CTMS

The Bits: May 15th Through May 31st

May Part 2!

Zac started a summer job as a lot technician at a dealership in town. Although not intellectually stimulating, it's a pretty great job; he's moving cars around the lot and from lot to lot at different dealerships, all thanks to the fact that he can drive manual transmission. 

For home church one week in May, we invited Grandpa to give us a message via Zoom.  We loved the change up, and he's a great speaker!  Also, Tommy is so adorable getting his lesson ready; he takes it so seriously and does a great job.

Quarantine hobby level 2.

Backyard sword battle tournament!

Ben and two buddies hiked up into the Mount Herman area for an overnight camp out in their hammocks.  Ben caught the gorgeous sunrise, as he was up with the first peek of the sun.  He was also really excited to try out his untested can-opening trick for his breakfast can of cold chili, that tasted good until about halfway thorough when he wasn't hungry anymore, then cold chili is just yucky.  Not pictured: my 2:30am anxiety wake-up call that included all the spinning thoughts of the terrible things that could beset the boys.  Forest fire!  Hooligans intending them harm!  Bears!  Did they remember to hang their food? (The answer is no, but thankfully no bears.)  Why can't my brain just shut up?

Our Seattle hearts love a rainy day!

I've been itching to do this Pancake Rocks hike for years, but we just hadn't gotten around to it.  It did not disappoint!  So much beauty!  It was cold when we started and there had been snow in the mountains the night before, so the tail was a little snow-covered, but those factors made for a relatively quiet trail.  We were surprised when we found ourselves alone at the top for a good long time!

Thanks for the awesome earth, Father.  We like it a lot!

The sprinkler instillation crew did an awesome job!  Hopefully we can bring our trees back from their orange winter burn with some hydrotherapy.  Nice job, guys!

Static season loves Luke!

Giving a shout out to my number one crush!  He spends his long days on endless phone calls, putting together data and sharing/explaining his results in the basement dungeon while the WiFi drags with everyone home to use it, wraps that up only to battle dandelions and make sure the new sprinkler system is running well, takes time to chat with a sis about big life plans, and still has time to be a great dad to five lucky boys (and husband to a busy, crazy, grateful wife).  Love you, Adam!

Sixteen miles climbing up from the AFA to Palmer Lake and zooming back downhill on a beautiful morning bike ride date!

This Sunday Sandlot finished up just 15 minutes before the storm hit!

The storm.

Luke loved his special lake day with his separated-at-birth-twin, Cooper, and Cooper's family at Pueblo Reservior.  We were all jealous!

Our nation is going through a long-overdue shake up right now.  There have been sparks flying for years and they are growing into fires: Ahmaud Arbery killed by two white men while jogging, Breonna Taylor killed by police who entered her home mistakenly and opened fire on her as she slept--for no reason, Amy Cooper using her whiteness to phone police and criminalize a black man, Chris Cooper, who was out birding and simply asked her to put her dog on a leash.  And due to quarantine, people are watching, their eyes are being force open and people are getting angry.  Not just black people, who have felt the anger for years.  White people are finally seeing just how bad racism in our country IS, and HAS BEEN.  Following the video-recorded death of a black man named George Floyd, who was killed by a white officer who kneeled on Floyd's neck for 8 minutes, which killed him, the voices of outrage have grown louder.  Outrage is hard and sad and sometimes peaceful and sometimes violent.  Growing pains hurt.  Hopefully we really are at the beginning of a change for the better where we white people listen to the experience of our fellow black Americans, and do not diminish or try to explain; do not feel like it is a "them" problem, but see that it is so much an "our" problem; and join them to fight for change, for something better.

In mid-May, the Shevitz kids invited us Conlins to a little two-family virtual Prom Night.  It was fun getting dressed up, having dinner and dancing together all while 1,400 miles apart!  So fun!  (Luke was there, but was exhausted from a late night and long day with a buddy, and hit the rack right after dinner, before I remembered to take a picture.)

A Covid Story: Chapter Five

It seems that there will be a point at which the Covid stories become part of our everyday stories.  Already I had a hard time as I put this post together deciding which photos to put in The Bits versus which made the most sense to be in the Covid Story.  I guess that is evidence of how the world and our experience in it is changing already by this virus.  We will see how this continues to move forward, how the pandemic weaves itself into our every day living and just becomes the new way we live our lives, no longer a unique chapter in our Conlin Chaos Story, but part of the everyday narrative.

For now, I give you Chapter Five. 

On the home front:

One of Luke's assignments for eLearning in P.E. was to make a home Field Day with at least three activities and then invite your family to play.  He grumbled about it for awhile, but in the end he got it done, and guess what: everyone really enjoyed it!

Ben had to take five AP exams online rather than in a large testing environment.  Although not ideal at all, the positives were that the test was shortened by quite a bit and mostly focused on understanding of the conceptual pieces, rather than memorization of facts and formulas (which would have been harder to control to prevent cheating), plus, Ben was able to take these tests in the comfort of his own home.

Add this one to the list of "things that possibly wouldn't have happened" had quarantine not necessitated new ways of "hanging out" for Zac and The Bromance.

Tommy working on his eLearning Spring Field Project on ornithology.  He studied the parts of an egg with Mr. Ulizio and his class online, watched the Mountain Chickadees nest in our front yard birdhouse, and took an online bird drawing class through the Audubon Society.

The boys have all been stepping up to make our meals since there is just. so. much. eating. going on.  It was getting too exhausting for this mama!  They're all learning to follow a recipe and figure out what ingredients they'll need beforehand--the results have been delicious!  They're definitely on their way to being home chefs!

A weird phenomena of the lock-down is the rise of the "family porch photo."

 

We had a neighborhood photographer come over, and for $20 we got some fun photos of our family at home during the Covid-19 stay-at-home order.

To celebrate our 2020 graduates, we paraded past several of our ward's graduating seniors' homes in our cars, honking and cheering, as well as made a couple of quick stops by some other favorite senior friends outside of church.

Teacher Appreciation Week at CTMS Covid-19 style!  Our PTSA put together an amazing luncheon consisting of four different food trucks.  It was so nice to be able to talk and have a little outdoor picnic together--in masks and (mostly) six feet apart.

Gotta have the essentials for a take-out date-night picnic in the time of Covid!

Below are some items that have run through the news.  Some have captions, some speak for themselves.  Obviously I am frustrated with this current administration and the response it has had to this crisis.  I make no apologies.  It's been terrible.  Also, man, it's crazy to look back on these, even with the short distance of a couple of weeks since these headlines, and to think of all that has transpired:

Interesting times!

An odd, rambling town hall in front of the Lincoln Memorial where Trump discussed the virus and reopening the country (plus all the other random stream-of-consciousness talking he does) with Fox News hosts and online callers.  It did not feel like it brought comfort or clarity.  I often reflect on how differently the heartache of the pandemic would have all felt with a capable leader in charge. 

This is a photo of a viral movie that circulated around Facebook for a week.  Sadly, I jumped into the debate on the side of science and facts, and just should have left it alone.  It featured a discredited scientist, Judy Mikovits, who claimed that US public health experts and vaccine companies are complicit in creating the deadly coronavirus pandemic and using it to make a profit: saying stay-at-home orders are damaging to human health, that the virus originated in a lab and that vaccines kill millions. It was all solely based on her own research.  This is definitely not the only one.  There are others, a few videos of random doctors who go against all the other medical professionals in the world to say this is a hoax and we're doing it all wrong.  And that is who people choose to believe?  The lone wolf?  It's weird to me.  This crisis is evolving constantly, understanding is changing as time allows for study, the answers are not all obvious

It's been interesting to see the rise of the conspiracy theories during this time of uncertainty.  The best explanation I've seen for it is that people are seeking answers for things happening in a world that feels out of control and want someone to blame for the virus, the high death toll, and the damage to the economy.  It has also been interesting that most of the people who choose to believe these are also people who are loathe to put any blame on the current administration for slow action, lack of federal leadership and guidance, contradictory statements, etc. These theories are sad and divisive, they cause people to act in ways that are not safe for the people around them.  Honestly, it's made my faith in humanity crumble a little.  But I guess I can understand just a bit the desire for control when everything feels so chaotic.

This has really felt so very true.  We don't often acknowledge how interconnected every part of our daily lives actually are to situations, people and places that are locally, in the U.S. and globally.  It is a lesson I hope we walk away with from all of this, and take action to put ideas and policies into place that recognize how integral each piece is to create a better country and world moving forward.

Reopening of Colorado Springs has begun!

Exciting news for our 2020 grads!

Mental health is going to have to be a major focus of our healthcare community and families for so many starting now and into the future as we head into the post quarantine, and, ultimately, post-Covid time.

All eyes are on case counts as reopenings across the country begin.

This was a weird one to stumble across when shopping for new swim shorts for Luke.  Masks being sold by the big box stores!  We've bought some from boutiques and had friends make them and give them to us, but this is new.

100,000+.

Hope.

Good Things:

One of my favorite new Facebook groups is called View from My Window.  And that is exactly what it is: photos through the windows of homes all around the world as people live through this Covid-19 quarantine.  These are some of my favorites from one day.  There have been many that are less picturesque....  What a beautiful world!

I hope.

Things on our mantel to give us peace in our quarantine: a little baby Yoda (although the boys would say "it's not BABY YODA, Mom!") that came in the mail from a friend in Texas who knows how to crochet, words of encouragement from Elder Holland, and peonies from a friend here in town, who didn't know how much I needed them that day.  She also brought me a People magazine, just for some fluffy news.  

Misty Copeland led ballerinas from all over the world in a virtual performance called Swans for Relief to help raise funds for out-of-work performance artists during Covid.  It was beautiful.  I've watched it at least 10 times.