Dave and I are coming up on 11 years of marriage. My awesome sister-in-law gave us access to a really cool place that’s impossible to book. We got one night out in the woods, a night to chat calmly over dinner we didn’t make while admiring the beautiful trees and sky all around us. I read a novel and went to bed early. It was divine! We didn’t hear a peep from home, and hoped for the best but feared the worst. After a beautiful hike on the way home, we came back to a calm house. The kids were working their way through school and arguing with Flora in French about their homework – which is a win in many ways! They worked together to make an apple crumble the night before, which was delicious! I will admit easily that Dave and I would never have pulled off baking on a school night. Hats off to Katherine and Flora.

We worried about virtual school all summer. We accepted supply boxes with trepidation, and winced as the kids got frustrated with the video days. And yet, within a few weeks, we’ve all adapted pretty well. Let’s not pretend that we are beyond the era of temper tantrums and stomping away from “class”. Still, I am in awe of these teachers in the school. They are teaching in a new way with empathy, patience, creativity and success. We would love for the world to be different, but we can survive this just fine.

All of the kids miss their friends. They miss recess and chatting at their tables. They miss lunch and exploring other kids lockers. School has built-in social time, but I know it’s not the same.

Tess is old enough to do some thing about it. She and a friend have started emailing each other, and it suddenly occurred to Tess that she could email more people. It’s amazing to see how much her language skills have grown, and how suddenly meaningful our communication style can become. I know full well that email belongs to my generation and older! But watching modern day penpals bloom is pretty awesome. Bringing email back!

As summer ends, our freedom to swim and play outdoors with abandon is coming to an end. We will transition to bikes and painting in the garage, but losing swimming will hurt. As much as I keep assuring myself that we are through the latest wave of change, I have a feeling that changes will keep coming for quite some time. At least Dave and I feel ready to steward the kids through the next few rounds.