Resembling Some Kind of Normal

It's been a few weeks since I have written here about daily life.  It's been so busy. As May has progressed and the state has continued to reopen things have settled and shifted into a fairly normal routine. At this point, late in May, life is not very much different than it was last May. As always, life begins to rush. . .there is always so much to do! Even if we are not going out as often as usual, there is a lot to keep us busy here at home. And we have had so many nice days to get out and explore our local nature areas!

Photo by Rosie

I am learning with a new camera so Rosie has adopted my old Canon powershot! She loves it!
Photo by Rosie

Photo by Rosie

Photo by Rosie

Photo by Rosie

We celebrated Mother's Day by going to a local nature preserve and hiking the 2 mile trail. The babies kept up wonderfully and we all enjoyed being outside and especially visiting the "secret" waterfall deep in the woods. Even though the Hocking Hills were still closed (and still are, I think. . . .) this very local spot was just as lovely! We will certainly be back.

May 1st was the start of our reopening, with dental and medical offices reopening, followed by business offices and then non-essential retail stores. Dr. Amy Acton extended our stay at home order until May 29th but last week Governor DeWine lifted it; although, of course, he strongly encourages everyone to continue to keep up with social distancing, wearing masks in public and, in general, being sensible and considerate of others.

So, today, if one were to go out in Ohio, one might be able to, for instance, get a hair cut, eat in at a restaurant, shop at the mall and go to the beach. Baseball is even going forward, although we will be following state guidelines and the season will be different than we are used to. No bleacher seating, players wear masks when not on the field, etc. But. . .WE ARE HAVING A BASEBALL SEASON. I am so happy for my boys.

After a long stretch of rain it's been hot and humid and perfect weather the last few. I painted my porch, got some plants in the garden and have been reorganizing my pantry. Malachi finishes up school on the 29th and it really feels like summer now. The big boys built an enormous fort out of tarps and scrap lumber in the backyard and the little ones spend hours each day playing in it and looking for toads in the garden. While Benjamin and Rose adore toads, Anne is terrified of them. Rose and Benjamin both enjoy bringing their favorite toads to show her and cackle gleefully when Anne lets out a shriek. Meanwhile, Anne has finally learned to ride her bike without training wheels and is riding everywhere now! Benjamin graduated kindergarten and his teacher came by to visit him and give him his certificate. Today kindergarten registration starts for the fall and Rose is eager to start in August! So far, the tentative plan is having two days at school/two days of distance learning when school resumes although, of course, things can change before August.

At Tar Hollow State Forest this past weekend

Seip Mound

Seip Mound

I am so busy each day that I fall into bed at night and am asleep almost instantly. It is a good time of year and I am so grateful for my many blessings. We are healthy, we have all we need, and life continues to go forward as we find our way into what our new normal will look like.

I took these Memorial Day night...yes, she is filthy after a day of playing outside
and strawberry ice cream sundaes 😂 but she was so proud of this particular toad.

She got a nice bath and a clean nightgown shortly after! 😂😍

At the cemetery, Memorial Day evening

Much love,
Sarah