A Long Blurry Year

It's been 372 days since I've blogged. 

Today is the first day that Solon has gone into the office all year. The kids are at school and the house is quiet. My Christmas cards have been prepped to send, and all the presents are wrapped. I'm ignoring the 4 baskets of clean clothes that are up in my room, needing to be put away. This is first time in the longest time that my house has been this still. I am sitting in the chair by the window, one cup of coffee in my system, with Sunny asleep in the chair across from me, and all I hear is the gentle hum from the leaf blower outside. It's nice. I'm reflecting on what an absolutely insane year (2 years?) this has been. 

Here's our 2021 in monthly recap form:

January 

Paloma turned 10. The Hamilton Soundtrack was still playing non-stop in our house. We watched a Presidential Inauguration and I shed tears of joy at the sight of our first female VP in the 245 years of our country's existence. We had our first snowfall of the year at our house, and ate it like a snow cone with flavored syrup. I got my picture taken for the Bridal Bliss website, and officially started with the company.

 

February

More snow, that in fact turned to ice. Winter Storm 2021. We lost power on Valentine's Weekend, and used the battery pack to ignite the gas fire place and keep warm. Became extra grateful for our gas stove, and cooked by candlelight. Frozen ice on our roof got trapped, sprouted a leak, and we had to deal with that for a bit, but it could have been much worse. Took Solon to enjoy some teppanyaki for his birthday - it was our first time eating indoors in a long while.

March

Solon and I had a little 48-hour getaway to downtown Seattle to celebrate our 16th Anniversary. We stuffed our faces with seafood, and went to an Irish Pub. It simultaneously felt slightly normal, and yet didn't quite feel normal. The new normal, I guess.

April

Praise the Lord, the kids got to go back to school in person. Granted, it was only for a few hours a day, a few days a week, with the rest still online, but it was SOMETHING. So extremely grateful for the teachers and staff at our kids' schools for getting their vaccinations, and doing everything they could to make things good for the kids. We flew my mom in to celebrate her birthday with us, and we enjoyed every minute together. We took her to the Tulip Festival in Woodburn, on what turned out to be a beautiful day. Solon and I got our first Pfizer shot, and I actually teared up (shocker). Verlinda came to see us at the end of the month, and I had a blast showing her around Portland. We enjoyed all the nature and togetherness we could.

May

I really started jumping in to part 2 of my book process. I had already written the story, and my cousin Kerry had been working since the beginning of the year on all the illustrations. I sent her minor edits, and she sent back the revisions. In my research, I learned about everything from ISBNs (International Standard Book Number) and applying for copyrights, to page spec dimensions and how to format an eBook. It was overwhelming to say the very least, but I just had to do things ONE AT A TIME. Quincy got his first Pfizer shot, and was so proud to do his part. Paloma started basketball again, and things were starting to pick up the pace in our world. We did another quick trip up to Seattle to visit with Alynsia, since Papa Allen and Danita came to visit for a few days.

June (the next 2 months are a little crazy)

Paloma participated in a program called Girls on the Run, which was a combination of life coaching and running. It encouraged communication skills between peers, and taught the girls how to vocalize worries/fears, while pushing through physical goals as well. Very cool program! School ended for the kids, and we kicked off the "Summer of Fun" with a week-long visit from Quincy's best buddy Daniel, who flew in from Colorado by himself. The boys had a blast bowling, jumping on the trampoline, nerf battling, paintballing, and working on stop motions together. A week later, Holly and Makena came for a much needed visit. We ate well all week, went for runs through our neighborhood, visited the Oregon Coast, and all the beauty along the Columbia River. Oh, and we also sang lots of karaoke. The month ended with a quick soul-filling dinner and overnight visit from our Piedmont, CA neighbors. We made a lot of memories this month!

July

We spent July 4th with the Stromski family, and had a wonderful visit. The kids shucked corn, and Paloma baked a cake, and it was just a great summer weekend. A few days later, we were on a plane headed to Nassau, Bahamas to join Christina on her family vacation. We stayed at the Royal Atlantis and enjoyed it very much. The covid protocols were put in place throughout the island, and we felt very safe since the youngest members of our group weren't able to be vaccinated yet. We learned so much about the people and the culture, ate amazing food, and spent quality time with friends who have been like family to me for 25 years. It was a truly relaxing and fulfilling vacation. We had a wonderful visit from the Shrieve family this month, and then Paloma drove back with them to Piedmont, where she stayed for a week, and then she flew home BY HERSELF! Big girl status for sure. I had my first wedding event at the end of the month, where I shadowed my friend Katy on a wedding she had planned, just so I felt prepared before I was on my own in August.

August

We started the month with a quick visit from some more Piedmont friends. Kim and the boys came to stay for a couple nights as they road tripped through Oregon. Hunter was one of Quincy's very first friends in Piedmont, and it was fun to see how much they each had changed in 5 years. We had an impromptu visit from Lisa and Alynsia, as Solon's grandparents were visiting from AZ, and they all drove down so we could be together. This marked our last official visit for the summer, as the next 3 weekends, I had weddings and special events for work. I learned a lot from my first month of events in Portland, and really enjoyed myself. I absolutely love meeting new people and seeing two families come together to celebrate a new union. Being a part of making their day special is so awesome. I turned 42 this month and treated myself with tickets to the Counting Crows concert. It was everything I wanted it to be. During the month of August, I launched my Kickstarter campaign to help me raise the funds I needed in order to print my book, and pay my illustrator/cousin what I thought she deserved for helping me bring my project to life. I had 30 days to fulfill my goal, and thanks to all our amazing family and friends, we smashed the goal in less than 3 weeks!

  

September

The kids started school on the 1st, and a few days later we were on a plane to Hawaii to celebrate Lisa's big birthday with family. We spent almost every day at the beach, and soaked up as much sun as possible because we knew it was only a matter of time before rainy season started in the PNW. Our days were filled with swim time, good food (always), birthday surprises for Sasa, an adventurous boat tour of the Nā Pali coast, crystal shop discoveries, and the most gorgeous scenery for miles. The rest of September was filled with more basketball, school, one more wedding for me to close out the season, and formatting/finalizing files for my book project.

October

My brother's family came for their first visit since we moved here in 2019. We gave them the full Bell Family PDX experience: Voodoo Doughnuts, Portland Saturday Market, Friday night karaoke (every Friday night since the pandemic started), Pumpkin Patch, and a hike along the scenic Columbia River. We fit in visits with 2 of Natan's old friends that live out here - Kieran (from college) and Robbie (from high school)- and thoroughly enjoyed catching up after almost 20(!) years. Paloma's basketball season came to an end, and 2 weeks later, we were in AZ for a very quick weekend to see my 98-year-old grandma (for the first time in a year), and help my mom out since Tía Billie moved in with her the prior month. While we enjoyed being back, and seeing the family we could, it was definitely weird being there since Arizona had treated the pandemic so differently than Oregon. And even though 3 of us were vaccinated, we brought home the covid souvenir after being exposed to someone who tested positive while we were there. I will spare you all the details but Paloma thought she was going to die, had to be quarantined for a total of 17 days (she tested positive on Day 9 of her quarantine - and was asymptomatic the whole time), and yeah, it was just an all around super-inconvenient and crummy experience. But Solon was back to 100% in the matter of 4-5 days and has had no lasting effects, and Quincy and I remained healthy and continuously tested negative throughout the duration - which is proof that vaccines are in-fact effective. So yay, Science! And now, thankfully, everyone in our family is vaccinated and some of us are even boosted, so there is a light at the end of this awful tunnel.

November

I spent this month waiting for an update from the printer about when I could expect the hard cover proofs of my book. Due to shortages (workers, supplies, etc), printing was expected to take 25 business days (!!!) rather than the usual 15 business days. I had initially hoped that I would have all the books in house, and ready to send out to all 134 of our backers by Christmas, but I learned very quickly that this was not likely, and there was nothing I could do about it. (SIGH) Meanwhile, Paloma was finally able to go back to school halfway through the month, and was terribly nervous about how she would be received after being gone so long. Luckily, she has an amazing teacher who provided her with online work that corresponded with what her class was doing, so she didn't fall behind at all, and on her first day back, she was received with open arms. She had been missed greatly. We had a wonderful (SO DELICIOUS) Thanksgiving holiday up in Seattle at Lisa and Tony's house, and got to connect with the Stromski family and have a night out to listen to live music, provided by Tony's band.

December

Here were are exactly halfway through the last month of the year, and we officially have a TEENAGER in the Bell household. Quincy turned 13 on the 10th, and it really is just all happening so fast. Paloma has been battling some anxiety ever since our AZ trip and we are working through that. Young girls start to deal with insecurities at this age, and do it now (post-pandemic) with the weight of the world on their shoulders. We are trying to teach her to control what's controllable, believe in herself, and fight though her fears. It's really a lesson for all of us.

We are grateful to have Papa Allen here with us for 10 days for some pre-Christmas togetherness, with Alynsia joining us this weekend. We are all looking forward to the memories we will make together.

May the Christmas season be warm and merry for you all, and may you have good health and happiness in the new year!

What A Year It Has Been - 2020

 I think it's safe to say that 2020 for most of us, in general, has been a bust. Kids have been "distance learning" since March. Solon has been remote since March. Mommy hasn't had a minute to herself since March. Hahaha.

We all have been dealing with changes in mental health with each day that passes without in-person interactions and hugs that don't require masks. Our hands are SO DRY from the continuous washing. We miss going to movies, and social functions, and SCHOOL, without the fear of contracting a crazy virus, or not knowing if we're the ones who are sick and asymptomatically infecting someone else.

I've known people who have lost loved ones. I know people who have gotten sick, and are fine. I know people who got it months ago, and now have lingering effects that they can't seem to shake. I know that some people say, "It's just like the flu, it's not a big deal." I know others who have experienced it much more intensely and beg to differ. I know that small businesses and some of our favorite restaurants are suffering, some closing... but I also know businesses that have said, "Lives are more important than my storefront." I know people who are grateful for the family togetherness that has doubled for them since the spring, but I also know people who are isolated from their families, or who live alone, and who feel like this pandemic is doing long-term damage to their psyche. It's a mess. Typing all of this hurts my heart, but considering I haven't really had access to my own laptop since my last post in May, I just needed to release it.

I wanted to "write it out" so that one day we can look back on this year, and remember what our family learned from it. I want to remember that our little family has been careful with our health, and the health of others. That we have acted as responsibly as possible, while also honoring our mental stability. I want to remember that there was some good that came out of all of this. Like the massive SLOWING DOWN of our lives, and the creative ways we have learned to connect during the Covid-19 pandemic. I'm not going to focus on the things we missed out on (for me personally, coaching Paloma's softball team this year), but rather remember the friendships we made at the start of the year, the way our kids learned to lean on each other a little more when they couldn't see friends, the extra time Solon had at home, even if he was working in the next room. I'm going to remember all the "Marco Polo" videos that I sent back and forth with friends, checking in on each other, venting about EVERYTHING, or making Top 20 KZON song lists, which brought back SO MANY MEMORIES from my radio days. I'm going to remember, since my kids and husband were taking over all the space indoors, that Sunny and I were outdoors in the yard, playing fetch, and working on my deck's potted garden. 

After growing up in the AZ desert, I never really had much success with growing anything without the help of an irrigation system. I got busy and would forget to water things. But in Oregon, I have been able to build my confidence, growing plants from seeds (!), nurturing them daily, and reaping the rewards in due time. I didn't succeed right away. I killed three basil plants with overwatering before I figured out how much was enough. And my cherry tomato babies couldn't flourish until I found a YouTube video that taught me how to properly prune my plant. After that - so many beautiful and delicious tomato babies! Cultivating this little garden of mine was good for my mental health. I loved being out in that garden, listening to music, and learning - and growing alongside my plants!

I will remember that:

• We were fortunate to see some family safely between periods of quarantine, which was imperative for our well-being, and we are so grateful for the time we had together. 
  
  

• We experienced our first Oregon wildfires, which was definitely a bit too close for comfort, and were able to escape to Washington for a few days to get some fresh air (something we'll never again take for granted). 
  

• We took Sunny to the dog beach several times, and got out of the house as often as we could to do something in the nature. 
  
  

• We taught our children about social justice and participated in a socially-distant event to promote peace, and support the community during the aftermath of George Floyd in May. 
  

• We actively participated in the democratic process this election year, and educated Quincy and Paloma about the importance along the way. 
  

• I cooked A LOT - even more than normal, and discovered I do NOT have the patience to make my own sourdough starter. 

• Solon got his indoor sound system just how he wants it, and we've turned part of our garage into a workout space.

• Quincy has been having an awesome time creating more Stop Motion animation videos for our family's YouTube Channel.

• Paloma has been making earrings and selling them on an Etsy Marketplace shop, donating $1 from each pair to either St. Jude's Children's Cancer Research Center or the Wildlife Conservation Society. (www.etsy.com/shop/PalomasPeace) 
  

• I wrote my first children's book which will be illustrated by my amazingly talented cousin Kerry, that I'm looking to self-publish in 2021.

So there's been some good, and I want to remember that. 

I also want to acknowledge all the bad. The ravaging fires; the lives of 280,000+ lost that could have been prevented if we had better leadership, and a little more decency and regard for others as a nation; the lives of people we looked up to, our kids looked up to, who died too soon; and others who, due to a highly flawed criminal justice system, are no longer with us - their deaths another hashtag. I want to acknowledge it so that I can make sure we're doing our part to do better. All of us. 

I'm hoping that you have been able to make beautiful memories despite the chaos and craziness, and that you are healthy and feeling well. I'm praying that every member of our society chooses to do the work to bring peace to our communities, cities, states, and our nation. That we teach our children, by example, and learn to truly love our neighbors. That we bring people into our lives, and our inner circles that don't look like us, or believe in the same exact ways. My dream is that people start actively communicating with one another, really listening to and absorbing the stories and experiences of others, not just engaging so they can make their own points. It's only then that things will get better. It's only then that can truly reflect what America was intended to be. It's my prayer EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

I know this year's holiday season will look different for every household. We are sending you love from Portland, and hoping that there is Christmas magic in the air around you, and a multitude of blessings on the way to all.