Looking Back at May

For a long time I felt the need to start all post from mid-March on with a comment on how life was weird right now.  And COVID-19 and quarantine are still a part of our lives, although not currently like they were in the second half of March and through most of May, but now there is so much else going on.  It seems quaint that just a week or two ago people were arguing about masks and if the corona virus was real.  That seems like a much simpler problem than the race wars and rioting currently going on.  Corona might be "solved" (vaccine?) in the next 18 months, or at least largely eliminated as a problem.  Racism and unfair treatment of black people has been going on for centuries.

There is so much that has been weighing heavily on me recently and I definitely know I'm not a voice to be teaching anyone anything about it.  I've always known I was lucky to be born into the family and place and time that I was but I can't say I've thought a lot about how lucky I was to be born white.  It's not something I've had to think about much because my race has never been a problem in my own life.  (And I know that's very much white privilege.)  And as much as I've tried to impart on Luke for years that it doesn't matter the color of your skin and making sure he sees diversity in the books we read, just that alone isn't enough.  I'm trying to learn what I don't know and what I can do to fix my own knowledge gaps.  And just not being racist and hateful isn't enough.  It's a journey many of us are on right now and there are no quick and easy answers, as much as I'd like there to be some.  I am optimistic for change but know that I have to do my own part too.

TOPIC CHANGE

All of that largely happened at the very end of May.  The rest of May was a pretty good month.  We mostly had spring weather (and a few very hot days - we went from overnight freezing to our first 90° day of the year in just a few days).  We wrapped up Luke's quarantine homeschool, finishing more than 2 weeks earlier than he would have gotten done, if it had been a normal school year (one plus to quarantine school!).  We were back at the lake and I went in my first public places in over 2 months.  Back to work, back to some stores, back to Mass, back to getting physical library books (curbside).  We wear masks, limit our stops, and it'll be awhile before we take the boys in public places again but life is largely returning to something resembling normal.  Those ~10 weeks we spent in quarantine already feel like a blip of time.

Looking back:
1 year ago: Backlist Summer Reading Guide (I still really like this list)
2 years ago: Reflections on Mother's Day
3 years ago: The Best Part of Having a Garage Sale
4 years ago: If I Could Write a Letter To Me... 5 years ago: Painting (Inside) Kitchen Cabinets (this project feels familiar)
6 years ago: Easy No Sew Curtain
7 years ago: An Ode to Our (Former) Jet Skis
8 years ago: APPROVED!

1) Our massive library book return pile right before the library started accepting returns again.  I was VERY ready for some new picture books for the boys!
2) I believe this is a dogwood and I'm kinda obsessed with it's approximately 10 perfect days in early May.  I have a lot of pictures of it and I LOVE it.  I finally remember the name by remembering "it's the only dog I'll allow in my yard".
3) See, more dogwood. I show serious restraint by only including two pictures here!
4) Enjoying a Homemade Honey Margarita on the patio in the sunshine!
5) Also enjoying (on a different day) Nutella Turnovers in the backyard which are also amazing.
6) Making my first sun tea of the year!!  I will drink gallons of this by the end of summer.
7) Back to the lake and Sam found watching Matt mow the very muddy grass to be good entertainment.
8) A perfect May evening for a boat ride!
9) I rarely go to the mall but it may have been the first store I entered in 2.5 months, solely to do some returns before the window closed (from items purchased online).
10) Reading at the lake while watching Luke swim!  And getting a sunburn on my shins and tops of my feet which is just now peeling.  We kinda forgot sunscreen was a thing over winter.
11) Sunset jet ski ride, I missed you.
12) Golden hour at the lake, I also missed you.
13) Luke enjoying the pontoon, pretty sure he missed this.
14) New reality - keeping masks in the car for going to the store and Mass.
15) Reading on the porch with one of my favorite biscuits before the boys are awake.  I have time most mornings to do something (usually work) before they are awake since Matt and I get up so early for him to go to work!
16) At the very end of May I finally made it to Lowes for my flower buying and I went a little overboard, I wanted new life and color in my backyard!  Now I need to go water them.


Books finished: 16
Miles ran: 40.8!
Currently watching: Matt and I are almost done with season 2 of Making It! and I'm watching Take Two occasionally while I work/work on projects before the boys are up in the morning!  Getting that DVR cleared off, slowly!
Most read post this month: Stripping: Laundry Style - this one has gone viral! (which I heard defined as "getting more than 100x's it's usual views".  I think from Pinterest.  Reminds me I should do that again.
Luke's current favorite song: I'm going to guess anything from Dude Perfect or the weird Star Wars music videos Matt shows the boys (Sam even walks around saying "Yoda stick!")


Happy June!