Life as a Lewis

Camden's in the thick of basketball season and is gone for the third Friday night in a row. When Camden is gone, I entertain Rory with movies that he will not enjoy--Hairspray, Emma, You've Got Mail, and The Devil Wears Prada--and Brian takes her out for ice cream. On tonight's agenda is Julia and Julia.  A couple of weeks ago, Camden gathered with a small group of friends at the local funeral home to watch WandaVision together. Yes, a funeral home - owned/operated by a classmate's family. It was a good place to spread out but still be together. We're still laughing about it. Rory is hoping to play soccer this spring. In fact, she had her first workout this afternoon. It's hard to know how Covid will affect schedules. Basketball has certainly been full of stops and starts, but since Camden had Covid in November there's a certain level of comfort that comes with having Covid off the table. That concern starts all over again with Rory and the socce...

The kids saw their pediatrician for annual physicals last month, and, surprisingly, Rory is the one doing all the growing these days. She grew about 5 inches and gained 20 pounds. In fact, Dr. H says she's moved from tiny (3-5th percentile which has been her norm) to just small/petite (10th percentile). Camden is 5'11" and 129 lbs so he's still a beanpole. The most significant information from this visit is Dr. H confirming that Rory's asthma is most improved from the last several years. Unfortunately, Rory came down with a seasonal cold (and a few allergies thrown in) not long after she finished her COVID-exposure quarantine so she sneezed her head off and was generally miserable for a couple of days. Because of our current COVID climate, she was unable to attend school in person while having these symptoms, which is understandable. She shed a few tears the first morning, but a hot cup of coffee perked her right up. Can't do that at school! Our lives have chan...

But as for me, God's presence is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge, so I can tell about all you do. -Psalm 73:28 1. Sunday after church we jumped in the car and made our way to East Tennessee for a quick overnight visit with Brian's parents. I was pretty desperate to get away from the house! If you're also still sheltering at home, then you understand how difficult it is to continue to stay home for months on end especially when it seems no one else is doing so. I convinced Brian to grab curbside coffee from Crema on the way out of town. The weather was beautiful; Rory got to drive Gramps's mule (so did I), and we unexpectedly had the opportunity to see friends for a bit. The trip was definitely worth the hours on the road.   2. Rory returned to school Tuesday after nearly 2 weeks of remote learning, and she was ready (although I think she secretly misses staying home all day and the extra screen time). 3. Basketball conditioning started Tuesday, and...

The most important thing to note on this fourth day of September is the weather is supposed to cool off to 57 tonight. Our highs go back up to upper 80's tomorrow, but 57 is going to feel awesome, and fall is coming. Maybe not soon enough but it's coming.  1. Rory was exposed to COVID almost 2 weeks ago so she's been home with me. She is able to do remote learning so she hasn't missed a beat regarding school. Speaking of school, Brian is also back to his bonus career as bus driver after a 5-month break. Approximately 40% of our county school population chose remote learning so his bus has 25ish students instead of 65ish students, which makes for a much easier day.    2. I have been doing a ton of reading recently and the two books I read this week were both 5 stars, and a 5 star book is a rarity for me. The first is Code Name Helene by Ariel Longhorn. It is historical fiction from WW2 and is based on the true story of a woman who helped lead the Resistance in German...

 Yes, I know I missed the entire summer. I will catch up soon, but I didn't want the start of school to slip by. Because I have an 8th grader and a junior! As usual, I just don't know where the time goes. There's this little thing called COVID-19 continuing to keep us all captive so returning to school is no small matter. Brian and I (mostly me) spent many anguished days and nights trying to decide what was the right choice for the kids. Ultimately, we decided to keep them at the same school they've always attended which is meeting in-person with masks and other safety protocols. Both Camden and Rory are thrilled to be back with their friends and I'm so glad they continue to love school. We've completed our first week and are well on our way to finishing up week number two and no snags for the kids yet. (I won't count the quarantined freshman class as a snag for my kids. Yikes!) Camden is taking difficult classes, along with dual enrollment (college classes)...

(obviously, this is old news; I just never hit publish on this post) It is increasingly difficult for everyone (adults most definitely included) to get up and moving each morning. Even Brian, who is an extreme morning person, sleeps until nearly 6 (which is unheard of for him). I begin work (from home) each morning at 8 but my standard of what constitutes getting ready for work is lower each week. We might miss a lot of things about our pre-shelter-at-home days, but I cannot be convinced that there is anything better than a slow morning. I will be working from home for the rest of May. The kids will finish schoolwork Friday and who knows how they will fill their time for the summer since every activity is canceled. I do know that they're ready for a break. I read two 5-star books last week. The kind you can't quit and whose characters stay with you for days. The first is the One in a Million Boy by Monica Woods. Sad but sweet with a redemption story. The second is ...