This...

Hello again.  It's been a while, hasn't it?  I've accumulated pictures from as far back as February (not posted entirely in chronological order).  I can't tell if it's actually only been three months since then or if we've all been stuck inside a time warp for like ten years.  Sometimes it feels that way.

This is a February snow...I think it was the last time I was happy about snow.  Once March and April roll around I'm ready to send that cold, white stuff packing.  Not that my sentiments ever alter reality.

This happened one night in March: while I slept soundly and peacefully, someone came tearing down my street, hitting my neighbor's car and pushing her car into mine before driving off into the night.  Both our cars were totaled.  I never thought I'd be attached to a car, but I'm still a bit sad that my little red car is no more.  Perhaps I'm growing sentimental in my old age.

These are the cute crocuses (in four colors - what fun!) that bloomed in my backyard way back in March.  They're tiny, welcome reminders that spring will come.  "Cheer up!  Hang in there!  Winter won't last forever," they seem to say.

And of course, spring did come with its daffodils and tulips and warmer days and birds singing all the time.

This is what the give-away area of the laundry room at school looks like when the whole student body leaves on short notice.  (Mid-March the school leadership advised students to return home if at all feasible.  They continued with their classes online.)

This is a coloring page Jonah was so proud of he wanted me to take a picture.

These are some of my favorite people.

This is my interpretation of cheb - a Senegalese dish.  Rice flavored with loads of garlic and spices, served with beef and stewed veggies.  Comfort food. :)

This is nearly 5lbs of onions I sliced (and cried over) for yassa, Senegalese onion sauce with chicken.  The onions are caramelized with mustard, lemon (and/or vinegar), garlic, and spices.  So delicious.

This is because I believe in having houseplants, and lots of them if possible.

This is Hyacinth, a wee bunny that's been hanging around.  Can you see her?

(Yes, sometimes I name the local wildlife.  How else am I supposed to write stories about them?!)

This is Pip. 

This is Cashew.  Some days - most days, really - he's energetic and spunky, and other days he's...not.  (I guess we all have days like that, right?)

This is Isaac's rendition of the battle between David and Goliath.

Goliath: You are little.

David: I believe in God.

Also David: I have rocks.

:) 

This is another drawing of Isaac's.

I know, buddy, me too.  Meeee too.

This is Kai, Ava, and Gracie in their Easter outfits, even though there was nowhere to go.

This is Kai, Ava, and Gracie not in Easter outfits, just because I think they're so cute.

This is Ava, who is, apparently, three going on sixteen.

This is Kai, builder of Lego things!

This is Gracie, who is so cute I want to scoop her up and snuggle her tiny little self.

This is my favorite tree in the whole wide world, conveniently located just in front of my home.

This is when it snowed after said tree began to bloom.

These pom-poms are my favorite.  I look forward to their arrival each spring.  Green pom-poms exploding on a tree for a few weeks each year - isn't it so fun that God made trees like this?

This is NOT about life giving you lemons.  Life doesn't give you lemons, silly.  You buy them at the store or if you're lucky (like I used to be), you pick them from a tree in your backyard.

Anyway.

This is my chalkboard, where in pre-Covid19 days I used write verses or clever quotes or my favorite things about the current season.  Now I'm counting down the days until our state's stay home order is over.

That's where it's at, folks.

Of course, the order has been extended three times, which means that three times I've had to erase my count and write it over in smaller print.  I hope it doesn't get extended again, because I'm just about out of room and really don't want to have to buy another chalkboard.

All joking aside, this has been a challenging few months for most of us in one way or another.

Today was supposed to be graduation day for our seniors at EBI.

A day that should have gone a certain way...

The morning prep, helping take things over to the church where we hold the ceremony, passing out the caps and gowns with Esther, the silly but predictable lump in my throat when Pomp and Circumstance plays and the seniors start walking in (okay, I guess I really am sentimental after all), coming back to the school for the amazing reception that our kitchen team throws...

It's lovely and wonderful and special, but it is a lot - a lot of people and cars and bustling about. Usually I stick around until I've said all the congratulations and goodbyes I want to and then go home for a little rest.  It feels like too much to stay at the school past a certain point, but too quiet when I leave.

Graduation evening Josh and Tamara have a bonfire for anyone who wants to come, and I love that most of all.  It's something fun and social to look forward to after the let-down feeling when the reception is over.  S'mores and smoky clothes and laughing late into the evening - that's how today was supposed to be.

I can picture our seniors' faces and imagine the disappointment they (and their families) are feeling.

There have been so many "should have beens" already and there will be more, I know.

Here's where I'd normally try to tie things up into a neat lesson or something either cheerful or profound, but today I don't have any profound thoughts and while I may not be in the depths of despair, I'm not sure cheerful is the best descriptor either.

This is today.  It may never have a neat lesson to offer, but maybe it doesn't have to.