I am not Alexander (Part 1- The Past)

Do y'all remember the book "Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day" by Judith Viorst and Ray Cruz? The kid has a bad day from sun up to sun down, and the parent tells them sometimes days are just like that. And that's the end of the book. This book was in my head the day I hit purchase on non refundable, one way, $138 tix to Hawaii. 

We have crossed the one year anniversary since we started working from home and schooling from home. Month after month, we aggressively followed every news article that came out with new safety recs and followed them as they kept changing. Matt was lysoling the mail, leaving the groceries in the garage overnight, and wearing N95 masks to walk Biscuit and Shorty. He was the only one who ventured outside from March to roughly May. 

February: #AhmaudArbery

March: #BreonnaTaylorWasAsleep, #DanielPrude

May: the sun started to come out more, we canceled Cass' bday trip to Harry Potter world, and started going outside for walks in the neighborhood. #GeorgeFloyd

June: We canceled all of the summer camps that we had for once meticulously booked back in January at the stroke of midnight; two laptops were logged in and ready for when the parks and rec registration opened so we could furiously compete for limited, cheap, safe options for childcare. Now, only one laptop was needed to cancel those bookings. The kids were sad, but we got full refunds (hallelujah) and we were still allowed to work remotely (and Amen). A privileged position not afforded to many in this country. #RayshardBrooks

July: We canceled all the camping trips we had booked back in January when the parks and rec sites opened for registration. Making camping reservations might be harder than making summer camp reservations. once again, yay for refunds. #DijonKizzee

August: We canceled a trip to DC, and waited for news about school. We ventured out for the first time, went camping at Crater lake with our chosen family-friends Adri & Serj and their 3 girls. Grandpa John arrived! A new excited sense of peace settled over the house- we had family visiting!!! Someone new to talk to! #JacobBlake

September: The schools gave us half a half of a kinda sorta plan. Not their fault, lack of guidance and support Federally with no hint of a nation wide plan didn't allow for real guidance to develop. Thank God for Grandpa John, who by this point was the person going to the stores, building a treehouse, walking Biscuit in the rain, helping with the kids, and sharing lots of cool family stories no one had heard before. Also, asked ourselves why we had two cars when we didn't go anywhere? Sold one car, traded in the other, went down to one, cute, efficient vehicle (blessings upon blessings!)

October: Grandpa John left and we were SO sad. Like, devastated. We ventured out a second time! Rented a cabin away from people for Savvy's birthday weekend. Felt a little weird. Shorty got so sick, we had to help him cross the rainbow bridge. I still call out for him sometimes. #JonathanPrice

November: Canceled plans to visit Matt's sister Emily for the holiday weekend. The cabin was such a success, we did it again! Visited Mt Rainer for Matt's birthday. We were on a roll. Renting a cabin away from people gave a false sense of security we were all too happy to hold on to as a risk for the continued sanity that came with being somewhere in nature. And even though half of the people who voted, re-upped on white supremacy and racism, Vice President Kamala Harris prevailed. 

December: Canceled plans for a Christmas cottage because of a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week.  In just one week, months of pandemic memes came together for a glorious sucker punch to the gut. The Black ancestors who created country music and the blues would be so proud. 

• Biscuit was sick, daily, with multiple vet visits. He could not control his bowles, we were cleaning up all over the house every day. Have you ever tried to clean copious amounts of loose dog poo and pee from the far corners of a dog crate? 
• A close family member had a mental health episode that landed them in jail, when they should have been taken for a psychiatric evaluation. Many hours spent trying to offer support from afar. 
• The house almost burned down. Huge thanks to Olympia Fire  for bringing out the full brigade! The culprit was faulty wiring in the freezer in the garage. It's all fixed now.
• And a consult to fill my steroid inhaler for asthma, resulted in medically necessary full vaginal hysterectomy. (Still have my ovaries- thank you Black Jesus!) The shock over the news was as stressful as trying to get the surgery scheduled before the end of the month because of insurance and work stuff. 
• and for fun, just throw in the general insanity of the country. 
• #CaseyGoodsonJr

I had just confirmed the surgery date and put in my fmla when the text came. AlaskaAir always has these ridiculously low sales, but anytime I have tried to follow up, I seemed to miss it. And I looked at my phone, and I thought of this awful week, and the little kid in the book, Alexander, just went to sleep in hopes the next day would be better. Well, I am not Alexander and I was not ready to roll over and go to sleep. I hit purchase. 

The next blog post will include tons of photos and stories and FUN and gratitude for this awesome time in the Big Island. But, for our own recollection of what led us to this journey, felt important for me to name the context. So, thanks for reading if you've made it this far. The Hawaii story will come tomorrow, part 2 of 3 will be ready tomorrow!

XOXO