We finished!
On Tuesday Kris and I officially ended the school year. It was a lovely, cool, May morning so we decided to pack a picnic lunch and head out for a hike in celebration.
The National Arboretum is about fifteen minutes from our house. We have a few favorite spots to go. The views that day were simply stunning, set against the clear blue sky.
For us, it was the perfect way to decompress a little, to let the stresses of the academic year begin to ebb away. We made it a true celebration by stopping off at Rita’s on the way home for ice cream. I thought it was a good way to say goodbye to my homeschooling days.
My very thoughtful husband had other ideas. These beautiful roses were waiting for me when we got home from the hike. There were 27 of them, 7 were white (one white rose for each of my students!).
My daughter Katie dropped these off and all of my former students congratulated me on getting to the end of all things.
After dinner my husband presented me with custom wine glasses and we toasted with champagne. I didn’t expect anything at all, so it made a lovely, surprising day. I am grateful for the tribute he paid to me.
On Thursday Betsy came home from college for the summer! It is amazing to have her back.
On Friday I took Kris to get her first covid vaccine. We had been waiting for the CDC to approve her age group and as soon as we could manage, we scheduled her to get it. (Summer freedom, here we come!)
That evening we had a dinner and movie night with my oldest son’s family. If it sounds humdrum it wasn’t! It was the first time our families had gotten together for a fun night at their house in over a year…
On Saturday my son Tom brought his kids over for the day. They had not been able to visit us to play inside for, yes I am a broken record, over a year.
We had such a good time.
My husband capped the weekend off by running his first ever half marathon!
And Kris passed her ballet exam that she had been waiting to take since last spring!
Yes, we were all exhausted by Sunday night. We were not used to being invited out to socialize. We had forgotten what it was like to have leisurely visits with the rest of our family. It was nearly unbelievable that the time for getting together had finally come. It took more energy than I remembered to just be with everyone.
It was most joyful to enjoy each other’s company, and it was overwhelming, too. I had trouble falling asleep on Sunday evening. My one bit of blue coming in to tinge the mostly yellow memory ball…
It was hard not to mourn, just a little bit, all of the times we had missed in the preceding year. The change was so abrupt and sharp it caught me off guard. When I was getting my first mom and grandma hugs it was impossible not to feel deeply the difficulties of what we had been through.
There was a realization of just how horrible it had been to stay apart.
I am thanking heaven that this part of our isolation is over. My blessings are flowing out of my cup, a good measure, shaken down, God’s gifts for me to enjoy, these very simple pleasures.
The Last Lap (and what comes next) 