Scenes From 2020

I wrote this in January of 2021, but I didn't post it because it didn't feel right. Now, I can see that it isn't bragging to say that you are lucky that you can count your blessings. 

I can't say that 2020 was worth celebrating, but I don't want to forget some of the things that we were able to do.

We started the year off with a bang at Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

We now know how lucky we were to have gone to Florida right after Christmas. If we had waited to go during spring break, then the trip would not have happened.

Planning for our June trip to Nova Scotia began in February. Thematically, we ate breakfast poutine at the BeerStyles Taproom while we booked houses through Airbnb. 

We were lucky that all the places we booked refunded our deposit money when the border to Canada closed. 

Charlotte attended her first piano festival in March. Here a nervous pianist gets some support from Mom. 

It was lucky that the festival was on the 7th. Things began to shut down a few days later.

Charlotte made this Easter wreath for our front door in April. 

We were lucky that she was able to roll with the punches and not just sit around and complaining all day about missing her friends.

We brought Ellie home in May. Our two girls bonded quickly, and they are now best friends.

We were lucky to get a dog with such nice disposition. 

We enjoy walking down to the Johnston library during the summer, and we were pumped when we discovered that you could pick a private browsing time. We did this more than once for books and movies. 

I don't think you can book a browsing time now, so it was lucky we got in when we could.

We lost power for 18 hours, but other than that, we weren't really affected by the derecho in August. But in mid-July, we believe a small funnel cloud ripped through our neighborhood. 

Quite a few trees were left with a "V"-shaped bite taken out of them. 

You can see another tree like that standing behind the wood-chipper.

We were thankful that no one was hurt, and we were lucky and grateful that our house and property were okay.

On August 25, Urbandale schools opened their buildings in a hybrid model, and Char was able to return to class in person.

She had to wear a mask, and only half of her class attends on "J-Hawk" days, but Char was just as excited and nervous as she was on the other first-days-of-school.  I asked her when she got home, "How did it go today?"

 

Charlotte quickly replied, "It was great! We... and then we... our teacher... then we played... Ha! I love school!" 

Daphne and I gave each other a high-five. We had been telling Char, "No, we can't do that," all summer long. We kept reminding her that our major goal was to keep ourselves as healthy as we could so she could go back to Karen Acres and see her friends again. We were lucky that it worked out for her for almost three months.

I was almost as excited when Flix Brewhouse reopened two days later. We were only going to stop by for some takeout on a Saturday afternoon, but the rest of the tables were empty, and the precautions Flix had taken were well thought out. 

When they brought us our boxed lunch, we surprised ourselves by sitting down and eating there. 

We only removed our masks to eat (and read).

The menu was limited, but I had them add tomatoes to their meat lovers pizza to approximate a supreme.

They did have Daphne's favorite salad. 

Daphne and I each took our first bites and then looked at each other. I don't know who teared-up first, but it was Daphne who said, "This is how life is supposed to be." It was the first time we had eaten outside of our car or home in 165 days. I suppose it isn't too surprising that we got a little emotional.

I felt so lucky to be able to enjoy the atmosphere at Flix again. We went back for lunch several more times. The deal was if the dining area was busy, we'd get takeout. If the area was empty, we'd stay. 

Sadly for Flix, it was almost always empty. The Urbandale Schools District moved to online learning the same week in November that Flix was forced to close their theaters again. 

We are now back in our school buildings, so I am hopeful Flix can also reopen again sometime in 2021.

We reopened up the garage theater during Thanksgiving break. It was cool out there, but we were lucky to have Grandpa's propane heater to warm the space up before the movie started.

Here's where I taught school while UHS was confined to online learning only. I didn't enjoy working with students this way, but we did okay. I never thought I would get out of bed in the morning and walk past my school desk on the way to the bathroom.

We were lucky our internet held out, and we had enough data for three computers running Zoom all day.

We had a small gathering at Christmas, and Char was exited with her gifts.

It's lucky she likes to read so much. That will serve her well in the years to come.

For New Year's Eve, Char invited us to her movie party. Her goal was to stay up until midnight. She wanted to be there when 2020 finally said goodbye.

It's lucky we made it until 12:00. I mean that in more ways than one. 

In this post I used the word "lucky" 13 times. That isn't because I do not have a thesaurus. Lucky is the word I have used all year to keep my spirits up. 

I had to keep reminding myself that we were lucky to stay healthy. Not everybody did. We were lucky to have each other. Not everybody did. We were lucky to alway have food on the table. Not everyone did. We are lucky we stayed together. Not everyone did.

I know it's too early to celebrate the end of the pandemic, but it's never too early to count my blessings.

7 4 2 6: Solving a Mystery

I've had this combination lock since I was a kid. I think I found it in a box that my dad bought at a farm auction. 

It had a paper tag wired to the shackle. The tag read "7 4 2 6." Those same numbers are written and scratched all over the lock's back cover.

7 4 2 6 has to be the numbers to the combination, right? I tried spinning the dial to 7-4-2-6 about a hundred times in my lifetime. I tried the sequence clockwise. I tried the sequence counter clockwise. I tried turning pass the 7 twice. I tried turning pass the 4 three times. It didn't matter. I'd tug on the shackle after each sequence, and the lock would not move. It was so frustrating. What were theses numbers for?

It's not that I thought about it very much. Every few years I'd find the Gougler lock sleeping in a box in the garage or our basement. I'd try those numbers again, and again I'd get the same, locked results. Then I'd put it back in the box. Ten-year-old me wouldn't let adult-me throw it away. That would be admitting defeat.

Charlotte likes to say that that if you have ever clapped your hands once, then you never really stop clapping. You just take long pauses between the claps. I guess I never stopped trying to open this lock. I just took decade-long pauses.

The last pause began when we moved in 2013, and eneded in the summer. This time technology finally caught up with me. I Googled "Gougler Keyless Lock," and I actually got results:

I learned that my padlock is a Red Dot No. 30-S. Its "touch-click" feature made it a popular lock for schools in the 1950s. You can feel ten different "clicks" as the dial rotates. If you know how many clicks you turn to in either direction, you can even open this padlock in the dark. 

So, I always had the correct combination; I just didn't know how to use it!.*slaps forehead* The numbers on the lock's face have nothing to do with it. The numbers are for "clicks" not for positions. The combination begins at 0:

Counterclockwise: 7 clicks

Clockwise: 4 clicks

Counterclockwise: 2 clicks

Counterclockwise: 6 clicks

I was stunned when the shakle opened for the first time. I felt a sense of relief, satisfaction, and wonder as I looked at the open lock in my hand. I laughed out loud and mentally gave 10-year-old me a high-five. 

We did it. After all those years, we finally did it.  

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I thought about cleaning up the lock's case, but I don't want to erase the lock's history. 

I understand the irony of writing the combination on the back of a combination lock. I also understand how forgetful kids can be. That's why I think this padlock was used in a school. I can imagine some principal in the 1950's with a black frame glasses and a buzz cut announcing to freshmen, "Everyone has a locker, and eveyone has a lock - use them both!" 

But 7426 is written in four different types of handwriting. Wouldn't one set of numbers be enough?

The scratched numbers at the top look like a child's handiwork. The same goes for the numbers on the bottom. The numbers written in the middle and on the left side appear to be written by a much surer and mature hand. 

I'm guessing the numbers were put there for a forgetful kid in a series of forgetful kids. That makes me wonder how many different kids used this lock? 

That's a mystery I'll never solve.

The End of Her Elementary Days

Last Friday was Char's last day as a 5th grader.  We took a selfie after our last ride to Karen Acres together. I'll admit to tearing up a bit when I drove away.

Due to building constuction, Char had to transfer to a different school after kindergarten. We chose to send her to Karen Acres for first grade. We chose well. The last five years at this school have been so good for her. The work these teachers do humbles me.

The 5th Grade Promotion Ceremony was at two o'clock. Both Daphne and I were able to attend.

We were proud to learn that Charlotte was one of the students chosen by her peers to give a speech at the ceremony. I think it was brave for a kid who has been in speech therapy for five years and battles a stutter to stand in front of a crowd and speak.

I thought I was filming Char accepting her certificate, but I forgot to press the red record button on my phone. So, like a fool, I just watched her walk across the gym through my phone's screen. 

It's not on a certificate, but Ms. Johnston has won Char's "Favorite Teacher" award. 

The school has a "Clap Out" at the end of the ceremony. All of the students in the other grades line the halls of the school and applaud and cheer as the 5th grade parades through the building. Their walk ends outside with the parents clapping, too. 

After the Clap Out, I was able to go into KA with Char to gather her things. It was weird. Usually I walk her to her locker or room each morning, but Covid kept me out of the building. This was the first time I had seen Char's locker. 

Charlotte cried on the way to the car. Hard. Really hard. She was so sad to be leaving elementary school. Next year she be going to school with so many more kids. I understand how that could be intimating. 

I took her to Game Day to see if we could win any of the prizes in their claw machines. We did. And Char felt better.

One of her classmates was kind enough to throw a "bash" for all of the 5th graders at her house at 5:00. We dropped off Char and proceeded to drown our sorrows in drinks, chips, salsa and queso. 

Onto middle school...

Why do I have the feeling that the roller coaster is just beginning to climb the hill?

I Kind of Hate That Heraclitus Guy

 I always say to Daphne at the end of each school year, "Can you believe that Charlotte is going to be in ______ next year?'

But hit me a little harder this year when I received this letter from Charlotte's principal. 

It's the principal's last sentence that gets me, but not because we are already at 100% in person learning.

I've been driving Charlotte to daycare or to school for the last ten years. I used to think I had drawn the short stick in that deal. I handled the screaming/tearful drop-offs when Char was an infant and a toddler. Daphne got to be the hero that Charlotte ran to when the day was over. Often I was the first person out of bed in the morning and the only one who was late for school. Now those mornings are almost over.

These are Char's last weeks as an elementary student. Next year she'll be at the middle school where Daphne teaches, and Char will ride with mom to UMS. For the first time in a decade I'll be flying solo. I won't know what to do with myself.

To make matters worse, the RAV4's motor took a dump a couple of months ago, and while it was in the shop, I had been driving a loaner from my father-in-law. It's a Ford Focus, and because the back seat is so small, Char began riding in the front seat next to me. 

I saw no reasen why she should return to the back seat when the RAV returned. Daphne agreed. It has been really nice to carry on conversations face-to-face instead of through a rear view mirror. Char also enjoys not having to yell to be heard. 

On Monday we discussed the pros and cons of Pop-Its vs Simple Dimples. Yesterday Char wanted to talk about, "Positions that everyone seems to enjoy, but aren't comfortable to you." Today she explained to me why 5th grade has been the best grade so far. We've been listening to the first Maze Runner book on CD, and it's fun for her to be able to pause the story whenever she wants to comment on the action or make predictions about what might happen. More so than ever, taking Charlotte to school has felt like a privilege.

5th grade:

6th grade:

"There is nothing permanent except change." - Heraclitus

A Last and Some Firsts

 On Monday Char had her last Girl Scout meeting. She's been a good sport about Zooming with her troop, but the GSs are just a little too "crafty" for her tastes. She will go to Girl Scout camp this summer, and I think she'll join the Scouts next year. (She's wearing her blue light glasses for practice.)

Wednesday was Char's first day of school wearing prescription glasses. She went with a Harry Potter look when she picked out the frames. No surprise there.

"Everything looks so clear! I can see the board and the clock now!"

Later we went back to Flame to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Daphne had their mango shrimp tacos.

I had the birria tacos again.

This was Char's first time at Blaze, and she loved their fries and the cheese quesadilla, "This place is so good! I could bike down here with my friends!" Actually, she could. 

On Thursday night Daphne realized a dream she's had for over ten years - for the first time she got to sit in the audience at a band concert as a parent.

Charlotte doesn't care for dresses, but she did dress up. She's worn the Harry Potter tie before, but this was her first time in khaki pants.

She reminded me of Diane Keaton in Annie Hall. 

I was glad we got there early, there really weren't many seats to choose from. Each student received only two tickets for family members. 

She's in the back with the other percussionists. 

I'm not going to do this at every band concert, but since this was the first, I recorded her band's first warm-up.

Here's the first round of applause. 👏 

And here is one song all the way through.

During the drive to the concert, Char was lifting her glasses from her nose to her forehead and back again to see the improvement in her vision. All of the sudden she froze, and her face squeezed into a grimace of terror. "Oh no!" she cried, "I'll be able to see the audience!"

After the concert, we asked Char if her glasses made it easier to see the music, "No. But I could see my teacher for the first time." 

Daphne and I just looked at each other. 

The Old Saying Goes...

 If you don't like the weather in Iowa, just wait a minute... 

The view from my classroom at 8:15 am:

10 minutes later...

I think the orginal saying was written by Mark Twain about New England weather, but it applies here, too.

15 minutes later: