April 17 - 19, 2020 So many lasts - happening in a new, FIRST kind of way. Like the Social Distancing Prom trend on social media. Emma found this to be interesting, and intriguing. And in true Emma fashion, she MADE IT HAPPEN! She came back to Orlando from her home in Ponca City on Saturday to get dressed up on her prom dress. She called her oldest and best guy friend, Brock, and talked him into it well. Got her step-mom, and Brock's mom to take some pictures. And it was EPIC! Thes photos speak for themselves! These two best friends forever went to their first school dance together in 6th grade and just couldn’t fathom not getting to have the last one so they made their own. This is just another in a long line of memories these two share!
Lara also had the last of something this weekend, too. Her last (sort-of) "Senior Night." The baseball season was basically non-existent. She has no pictures from this very short season. But this week, the baseball coaches highlighted one of the 9 seniors and their trainer on social media. Each day was dedicated to a senior and their memories. Saturday was Lara's day! Her final senior sports season came to a new, FIRST kind of end. And we are so proud of her!
A little more than 3 weeks until they turn 18 and their Senior Year comes to a dramatic, early "official" end. Still not 100% sure what graduation will look like... *sigh* This is not at all what I had imagined...
This week seemed just like the last. And the one before that. Same 4 walls. Same 5 people. Same food. Same quiet chaos. We've been just like this for over a month now. Technically, the kids and Britt started this before I joined in. I was at work until March Wednesday, March 25. The kids started being home all day on March 16. There is no end in sight. School ends on May 15th now. One day after the Twisters became adults. Adults in a crazy, uncertain world. It seems appropriately ironic that Spotify is playing Louis Armstrong "What a Wonderful World" right now for me...
Nothing really to report. Sunday was Easter. The Easter Bunny brought treats to those some-bunnies on Greystone STreet. We watched church from our grey sectional couch on the big LG tv. And we had our annual egg smash. Finn won and got the golden bunny to eat. There were dog walks, lots of TV, maybe a little homeschool. Netflix. Fortnite, memes, and lots of food. Our coping mechanisms are Netflix, blankets, and snacks. LOL!
Easter Baskets
Kids before the Easter Smash contest
The incredible shrinking Lara
There was this Facebook thing...
And, as is customary for me during the Coronacation, I have to leave you with a meme that made me laugh this week. Here we go!
What a weird time we are living in. We have marked everything on our calendar for the month of April as "CANCELLED." It's sad. But, it's also nice for a break. Less rush. More family time. More people out walking the neighborhood. More people checking in on each other. More kindness. More love. I hope it stays that way when things go back to "normal."
I am cherishing this "extra" time with my kids and family. I get all these extra hours with my Lara Beth before she goes off to college. Emma has basically moved out of her dad's house and is finishing her semester in Newkirk working for her grandpa and doing her online schooling. They both have had their last day of school rescheduled for May 15. ONE DAY after they turn 18.
But there was no Prom on Saturday, April 4. No make-up appointments. No hair appointments. No pictures. No glam and glitz. Emma's prom was supposed to be here in Stillwater at the Community Center. Lara's was to be in the Student Union Ballroom on the OSU campus. Lara was supposed to take the ACT one last time this day. And Emma was going to attend Greek discovery day on campus. None of this happened. We did get to celebrate Nana's birthday with a drive-by greeting though!
We also got to participate in a fun community social media video challenge. Our elementary school, Westwood, was challenging folks to make a video of themselves singing the school song. Lara was nominated by her babysitting client, Gabe (she is his summer Nanny). He nominated Lara, and his big brother Luke. Lara and Luke were in the same second-grade class at Westwood 10 years ago (with Mrs. Fox, same teacher Jake had and Finn currently has). This was her challenge. She challenged Mrs. Fox and her brothers!
(peep the shirt!!!)
We spent some time working on graduation announcements this weekend, too. We got mailing lists together, chose the pictures to put on them, designed them, and now we wait. Do we wait to see if there is a date for this? Do we send them now to be ahead of the curve? What do we do?!? More on that in a later installment...
Tomorrow, Monday, April 6, we "go back to school." Distance Learning. Packets. Zoom meetings. Each kid doing different things at different times. We'll see how it goes!
We had an idea over the weekend to honor the Stillwater High School Class of 2020 and leave a legacy from them for the high school. Stay tuned for updates next week...
This past week, they canceled the rest of the school year in physical buildings with in-seat learning. The State of Oklahoma has moved to distance learning starting April 6. Everything is canceled. Prom, Spring sports, meetings, event, extra-curricular activities, and if you're 17 and a graduating senior in the class of 2020, LIFE. Or at least it feels that way for them.
So, with everything (EVERYTHING) canceled, there is not a lot to blog about. Emma has basically moved out of her father's house in Orlando and is living with her Grandpa Bruce in Ponca City. Her father works as a pilot for Eagle Med, and her step-mother is a NICU nurse. She is trying o limit her exposure. (Emma and Lara got to see their dad all decked out in his flight suit and a hazmat type suit load up a potentially COVID-19 positive patient into his plane this week - they will always remember that.) The Auto Parts store is considered "essential," so they are still open. She is working there, hanging out with her grandpa, and doing her college classes online. Her Meridian and Mulhall-Orlando classes move online this coming week, and in 2 weeks, respectively. Lara has been helping hold down the front at our house in Stillwater. Cooking, cleaning, doing homework for her college class, and being Evie BFF. The dog thinks anytime Lara puts on shoes it is time for a WALK!
During these trying times, Netflix has had our backs! They released a new docu-series about a roadside zoo owner in Southern Oklahoma who goes by the name Joe Exotic. "Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness" chronicles Joseph Maldonado-Passage (joe Exotic) and his exotic animal park just outside of Wynnewood, Oklahoma. It is a jaw-dropping true tale of con artists, polygamy, rivalry, and revenge. And it is ALL the internet is talking about. Joe has an impressive blonde mullet, a flamboyant wardrobe, multiple husbands at the same time, and a raging feud with Carole Baskin (that B!tch), the owner of a big cat sanctuary. And then it gets weirder from there. We watched. we cringed, we made memes. Good way to start the next wave of our coronacation.
We watched movies (I Still believe, Pretty in Pink), practiced social distancing, Spent countless hours on social media, laughed at tiger king memes, cooked ALL THE THINGS in our Instant Pot, and played with Evie. Finn learned a new song. And we tried to make Evie TikTok famous. Saturday, we saw Emma from the end of the driveway as she came by to pick up some tools and other items she had left here. Since he is living elsewhere, we felt the need to stay socially distanced. We attended church online Sunday with our Life.Church Stillwater campus. We are hanging in and hanging together!
We are all coming to terms with all of the cancellations and our new "temporary" normal. The entire nation's Class of 2020 is grieving and finding new ways to celebrate. We are still praying they get to walk across the stage this Spring. In the meantime...
