Check in with the Rogers: December 2020

Thursday, December 31, 2020

2020, Don't let the door hit you...

Praise God, the sun is setting on 2020! Today has been an appropriately terrible horrible no good very bad day. We cheered the sun all the way down.

I gave the girls some money this afternoon to go to Black 'n Brew at the library to get a treat. I was hoping to elicit some sisterly bonding... or at least a sisterly ceasefire. Carigan wanted to ride her bike (she LOVES her new bike), but Anna Kate did not. I told AK to let C ride her bike, first asking if there was a safe place to park them where they could see them. AK said yes. Thirty minutes later, the girls are banging on the door and AK is yelling and C is crying and I deduce quickly from all the noise that Carigan's bike that she just got for Christmas has been stolen, and that it's all my fault for making AK ride bikes instead of walk. These are the fruits of trying to do something nice. Ugh, 2020, you didn't have to rub it in! We've also been stressed about COVID, with Jonathan sick and Ralph testing positive but not showing symptoms. Thankfully, Karen was able to secure the same treatment Trump got - an antibody infusion. And the fact Ralph got it before ever getting sick is a really good thing. Still a very stressful day. I could feel the knots in my stomach loosening as we were watching the sun set on the LAST day of this stupid year. We watched the sunset from the side yard, with the little kids jumping on the trampoline and swinging on the new swings. Carigan is proud she can touch the roof with her foot.

Mom, Aunt Cynto, Uncle Pete & Lydia came over for games and treats. I made more pretzel crack and two more pans of fudge (one chocolate one peanut butter) this evening so we could sugar up 'til midnight. Aunt Cynto brought a movie trivia game, and then we all played Quiplash. Then the old people went home (taking Anna Kate and dropping her off at Quinn's on their way), but Lydia stayed and watched a movie with us so we could slam the door on 2020 together. I found Ernest Goes to Camp on DVD, which has been tucked away somewhere for the past twenty years. It's been so long I didn't remember most of it. When I was growing up, every time I had a sleepover we would either rent Ernest Goes to Camp, or Troop Beverly Hills. Tate thought it was hilarious. It' hard to find something that keeps his attention these days, but that was right up his alley.

We still had some time to kill before midnight, so we broke Tate in with some sparklers... he would hold his hand out and every time as I was lighting a sparkler for him he'd say, "I'm just a little scared." Sweet boy.

2020 IS OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We had to take our celebration to the streets! Never been so happy to see a year come to an end, ever. Wesley decided to go ahead and cut off the wristband from Wilderness at the Smokies he's been wearing for the past year and a half (or as Wesley calculated, 534 days). We were supposed to be ringing in the new year there this tonight, but we had to cancel because of COVID. Wesley has always planned to wear it until his next visit. He tried!

Cheers to a year that's not 2020!

Meanwhile, Anna Kate celebrated at Quinn's house with poppers, sparklers, silly string, and cotton candy spritzers. Them Reeses... they so fancy!

Wednesday, December 30, 2020

RIP Gary

Oh Lakeland, you're so special. Check out the sheriff's Christmas greeting. Oh Grady, Grady, Grady...

Anna Kate was eager to introduce Carigan to her newly-discovered love of Black 'n Brew at the library. They rode over there on Christmas Eve, but it was closed. So it was on the top of their to-do list the day after Christmas. I love that my girls voluntarily spent time together just the two of them! As for the rest of us, this is how we December 26:

Quinn and Wynn have been biking over to our house every day over Christmas break. We wake up to their bikes in the back yard. Wesley is so annoyed... he comes out of his room snarling, "Why are they always here??" I'm just happy Anna Kate is finding a little bit of independence. She has always been way too terrified to go anywhere or do anything without an adult present. It's been a big breakthrough that she's spending her days riding around 1980s style with her crew. She's going to start doing chores to support her new Black 'n Brew habit! They also like to ride to The Joinery on Lake Mirror.

Tate playing Wesley's Oculus is pretty much the cutest thing ever. The boy's got moves. I dropped Anna Kate off at Lake Hollingsworth yesterday morning to meet Wynn & Quinn for a picnic and puppy play date. Jasper met Mowgli:

Carigan and I were riding our bikes around the lake last night when we turned and saw the most gigantic moon directly over our house! We had to make a whole 'nother loop before I could stop and try to get a picture. The iPhone camera doesn't do it justice, but this is completely unfiltered!

We did have some sad news this week. After a couple days of no Gary-sightings, a neighbor went searching and found her post-living near the water's edge. She appears to have died of good old turkey age - no fowl play is suspected. The neighborhood page was immediately flooded with photos and remembrances. Someone posted this photo of Gary with our house visible in the background. Memorials immediately began to appear on Gary's personalized Christmas decoration. Carigan and I stopped to pay our respects.

The news of Gary's passing made every local (Tampa) news station, as well as numerous write-ups in local publications. Here is Gary's official obituary:

Gary, the turkey who arrived at Lake Morton earlier this year and brought amusement and levity in a time of pandemic uncertainty, has died. Gary’s age was unknown, as was the cause of death. Gary’s remains were found in Lake Morton on Sunday by nearby residents who went looking for the gobbler after not seeing Gary for several days. Final arrangements were handled by the Lakeland Parks and Recreation Department. Bob Donahay, who heads the department, said the death could likely be attributed to natural causes as there were no signs of predator intervention. Survivors include the many Lakeland residents who found joy in the unlikely September appearance of Gary at a lake known for its regal swans and other water fowl, as well as the many who participated in an election to determine a name for the new lake dweller. In lieu of flowers, mourners are asked to keep Lake Morton clean and to feed the remaining birds foods that are healthy for them - cut seedless grapes, cooked rice, birdseed, peas, corn, oats, chopped lettuce - instead of bread.

We are enjoying our lake's Christmas decorations as much as we can before they disappear for another year. The library shared this photo (below) of Lake Morton's tree in 1967 before it was floated to the middle of the lake. They're slightly higher-tech now in their methods.

The Pagliaros were supposed to come over a few days before Christmas, but then a friend tested positive and they had to quarantine just in case. Thankful that everyone is still healthy and we were able to get together today! They came over at 11:00 and we walked to Palace Pizza and ate in the courtyard. We had a beautiful day for it! Trying unsuccessfully to get Vivi in the group picture:

They had never been to Barnett Park before! The kids all had a big time. Wesley pushed everyone on the swings until they were all about to hurl.

Carigan was so happy they brought Vivi! Grace stayed and watched a movie with us. 1980's PG rating strikes again... We watched Big, and even though I remembered where to fast forward, my jaw dropped when they actually said the F word in a PG film... the F word!! Big is a classic, but it wasn't as funny as I remembered it being when I was a kid. I think we must have just been starved for entertainment back then. Our kids have been spoiled their whole lives with nearly monthly releases of high-quality family films... that don't contain the F word. I drove Grace home tonight and we stayed and visited for about 30 minutes, and then Wes and I hit the drive-thru at Culver's on the way home for custard. I know the kids are sad we aren't in Tennessee, but we're making the best of our time at home.