It's New Year's Eve, Readers,
and time for Eloise's annual Lamp Post Lookback.
It's been a long year.
Inhale. Exhale. Focus on this blog for a bit.
Back in January,
when all looked forward to another Roaring 20's,
things were sparkly and fun.
Little did we know that Roaring would take on an entirely different spin
for this 100 years.
Choosing a word for the year was a trend.
I chose focus.
Although it was not what I had originally imagined the word to mean for me,
looking back, I'm pleased with my choice.
Focus carried me through many a challenge this year.
I continued to find postable quotes
that kept me focused on my 2020 intention.
January 2020 welcomed us with warmth.
My daily diary recorded 60 degrees last Christmas day.
Sam's Junior High basketball team was kicking butt on the court.
Hazel was chewing her way through the New Year.
We were stunned with the news of the sudden passing
of a good friend.
We slogged through the end of the month in sadness
but realized that no matter how painful life can be
you have to keep moving forward.
February 2020 gave us an extra day.
In hindsight maybe the world was giving us
an extra day to prepare for what was to come.
During the month of love
Sam's team grabbed a tournament trophy.
For much of February, Sam couldn't join his team on the court.
He was very sick with a mysterious 16 day illness
that stumped doctors over the course of four visits.
Sam was unable to eat in terms of having no motivation for food or drink.
He ran high fevers.
He was listless and lethargic.
He watched the Super Bowl horizontally
and fell asleep at one point.
Testing negative for Influenza A and B,
Hepatitis,
Strep,
Mono,
and Pneumonia,
one doctor joking asked Sam if he had traveled to China.
There was a virus over there that was very severe.
Sam returned to school 15 pounds lighter
after laying sick 3 weekends
and two full school weeks.
It took him almost a month to catch up
when the paper assignment packets came rolling in.
How differently school absences will be handled from now on!
Schools better equipped for digital and online instruction
should make this giant paper workload obsolete,
And Hazel kept eating her way through February,
munching up this winter tree,
clearly snow weary, too.
This shot made her Erie News Now famous
for her Dog of the Day photo
featured on the morning weather report.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Focus.
March brought birthday cakes for me--
Inhale. Exhale. 49 times.
Sam--meets the 'teens.
March nature is so erratic--
gray days,
frosty days,
and warm days start to poke in.
Early March felt ominous,
with news reports of the novel coronavirus spreading.
Spring break was extended,
which seemed exciting at first.
Then the storm blew in on Friday, March 13th.
PA schools were closed until the end of the month.
Schools closing,
colleges moving to full remote,
no restaurants,
no haircuts,
no dog grooming.
Masks mandatory.
Toilet paper shortages.
Hand sanitizer.
Grocery pick ups.
Plexiglass partitions.
The US had to face the pandemic.
A National Emergency was declared.
Grandma and Grandpa sheltered in place.
Louie and I had embarked in crash courses for virtual instruction.
We watched the news
while trying hard to stay hopeful
and healthy.
And Hazel,
in a momentary lapse in judgment,
mistakenly ate my favorite donkey.
She, too,
was frustrated at hearing of the closure of all
Pennsylvania public schools until the end of the year.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Exhale.
Focus.
We tried to focus on what we were gaining
rather than what we lost.
This bluebird of happiness showed up in my tree
to remind me of this one late March morning.
In April,
the slow realization set in
that this was not just a two week hideout from the virus.
We set out Big Bear
for the teddy bear Bear Hunt
that many people set out for kids.
The melting snow and warmer spring temperatures
forced people into the outdoor parks and nature spaces.
That, was probably the best outcome of all of this.
Natalie became a pro dog walker.
Bull Dam in North East was a great place to visit.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Focus on nature.
People started to experiment in the kitchen.
Whipped coffee was a favorite.
Easter was warm and we held a small family gathering outside.
Easter baskets door dash style--
minus a couple of things because Hazel ate the eyes off.
My claim to fame was
correctly picking the
American Idol Top Ten.
Easter gifts!
Goodbye dear tree house.
It's life taken also by a natural invader--
the emerald ash borer.
May 2020 brought some recognition to groups often overlooked.
Frontline health care workers,
Teachers.
Anyone who keeps the day to day heartbeat of this country moving.
We appreciate you!
Mommas are most important.
I resurrected my old children's novel I penned years ago
and shared it with my students when I was running low on ideas
at the end of the year.
They are a tough crowd to please,
but they loved it.
I also discovered how much I love this feature.
Sam finished his school year with lots of studying done outside.
Also another pandemic perk.
Natalie turned 22.
The bowling banquet was a bit different.
So were college parties.
Here's Cinco de Mayo--
party of two.
This one got kicked from the party for rowdy behavior.
Maybe things would get better in June.
For us, they did,
mostly because we found a diamond in the rough
in the middle of the Allegheny Forest.
The fix-up process of our new little camp in Marienville, PA
began in June
and lasted the whole summer long.
Advice from Dad sure helped.
I spent lots of time with Erik on walks at home
while Louie fixed up the cabin for us.
Louie got a cabin for his Father's Day gift this year.
Louie earned several stars this summer for his work on the camp,
but moved up the ladder five places by spotting
these killdeer eggs in a rock nest in our walking path.
I've looked and looked and looked for years and never found a nest!
Nature is so incredible.
June brought with it cooking fatigue for Eloise.
I told Natalie she had to start fixing her own breakfast.
Ahh. Sweet Summer.
Not much to do besides fix up the camp all through July.
Darn if we could decide on a color!
We thought we had it down to either
cedar (left)
or ember (right)
and asked for some facebook feedback.
A few of the artsy folks said,
What about that green you have for the door trim?
Sometimes you can't see the forest through the trees.
Greenbriar it was!
Thank you facebook friends.
Sometimes social media works in your favor.
Most other times it's just like this:
And so Sweet Summer 2020 turned sickly.
Injustice.
Mistrust.
Confusion.
It was an uphill fight to stay positive.
The t-shirt quilts by Kate looked great in the cabin bedroom.
Erik and I hung out on the trampoline a lot
with his favorite poop emoji ball.
Well, until Hazel ate it.
By August, Sam was able to play a little baseball.
Distancing guidelines and no travel made for a lackluster season,
but even a little time on the diamond was good.
He popped a random summer virus with symptoms
similar to covid,
so it grounded all of us a week until he had confirmed
NOT POSITIVE FOR COVID-19 results.
It was then we really understood the impact
of the quarantine guidelines.
We made up games and challenges--our specialty.
Sam holds the record for longest tic tac held in the mouth
without melting.
We also discovered Fat Lenny's!
We realized after we took this photo that
Natalie was scared of the unicorn.
Natalie was scared of the unicorn.
By the end of August the camp was ready for show.
Hazel and Opal celebrated their second birthday--
on Taco Tuesday, nonetheless.
Hazel kept her hat on the whole time,
and ate Opal's.
August 5th marked 27 years for Louie and I.
One of my favorite former students,
little freckled Josh,
made us a hand crafted clock for the cabin.
I even caught a virtual Tim McGraw concert.
It was very good!
Here on earth the summer sun was setting
on the weirdest summer of my life.
Our focus turned to school.
How were we going to pull this off?
College students living at home full time.
Natalie was heading back to work.
Sam was headed to hybrid.
Hazel, we determined is a needy dog.
Maybe she needs a friend-? you said.
September was a month of high water
one way hallways
and a looming election dividing the nation.
Trying to learn computer skills to keep up with virtual instruction
was difficult.
TEACHING virtually is also very taxing.
Do you know how long it takes to type out
Do you know how long it takes to type out
what you could ordinarily tell someone?
This is me in the beginning of August.
This is me at the end of September.
Partly because I was trying to help Mr. LaFuria look cool for his
cute second graders.
Schools took what seemed impossible
and made it possible.
Kids can and will learn!
By September school was in full swing.
I enjoyed going to school,
even in the hybrid model.
I felt safe and in my element.
The Huskies got most of their season in after a delayed start.
Ellen embarked on her long 12 months ahead--20!
20 is such a long year.
Sam was killing it on the lanes.
September 2020 in the midst of the coin shortage
we found our Lucky Penny.
By October the Parks Department
put up some nice displays.
We developed a fall routine
and I began to get a little more rest.
The west was aflame,
brining a new set of worries.
The upper atmosphere was so thick with smoke
it gave the sun an eerie glow over Lake Erie one evening.
The football season ended with waves and helmet tips
rather than Good Game Hand Slaps.
Sam got to bring home his commemorative
#77 personal equipment bucket.
Also in October we found one of our favorite hiking spots--
Minister Creek!
Ask any of my gang.
The overlook is worth the climb.
After about a month of bonding,
Penny and Hazel became partners in crime.
Hazel and Penny started trading secrets.
November came and we all started thinking
about what the holidays would look like.
One clear, cold morning at the camp
the thermometer read 27 degrees!
As the election week passed,
I started to think about Thanksgiving.
How could I provide something for my family
but still stay within recommended guidelines?
When these are the first guests to arrive,
all worries get cast aside.
It doesn't matter if you wear your fancy hat next to
gasoline cans and paint thinner.
Health is wealth this year.
Moments spent together are wise investments.
Life was beautiful in the woods,
but not so good at the beach.
The cottage met the ferocity of high winds and high lake levels.
If outdoor dining is still a thing next summer,
we've got you covered.
The dogs have become terrible mooches,
pulling the Poor Pittie from the Pound card
when they beg for evening snacks.
By December 2020 the coronavirus cases were rising.
It was like watching a storm blow in.
Hopefully not another toilet paper scarcity.
Could Eloise pull off the Christmas holiday
in pandemic style?
The snow arrived with perfect timing
on December 1st this year.
No kissing allowed under the mistletoe this year,
so the dogs ate it.
For dessert they ate the cover off of the Clark School Balto book.
We forgave our Pretty Pittie and
our little lovable Love Mutt.
The tree lopsided with ornaments
and missing the chewed off lights on the bottom half,
but we loved it just the same.
Christmas shopping was fast and focused this year,
and arrived mostly in shipping boxes.
Sam is a great shopper and a chip off the old block.
We got to see what Marienville looks like in the winter.
Sam tried out for the basketball team
and got his uniform.
Now we are on a hiatus
until January.
I couldn't wait for 2021 to roll in,
so I already started my
Great Adventure Journal.
Great Adventure Journal.
If 2020 taught us anything,
it has taught us not to waste a day.
Christmas Eve arrived,
and although we made plans for the
Worst Case Scenario,
we really didn't think it would happen to us.
Especially to folks who followed the guidelines so carefully.
Christmas was missing a few people this year.
The Jolly Holly Trail
sputtered to jerky Holly Stops.
But in the end,
with just a few hours left of the year
as I sit and write this blog,
it was all worth it.
No joys can truly be celebrated
unless you have lived through times of trial.
Many thought of 2020 like this:
In a way, it was.
As we head into 2021,
I wish you all the best.
Goodbye, 2020.
It's been real.
It's been a little fun.
But it hasn't been real fun.
Eloise
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