A Tornado and a Global Pandemic

Just past midnight on March 3rd, we woke up to hail and rain hitting our windows, gusty winds and a crazy lightning show. It was impressive and very scary. We knew that something was off and turned on the TV to hear the weather man talk about taking immediate shelter due to tornado warnings. Not far from us, the emergency sirens also went off. I kept an eye on the radar, ready to wake up everyone in case of it coming any closer. Eventually though the powerful and fast moving storm moved on and we went back to sleep.

We live inside the blue circle. 

Unfortunately, the next morning, we saw the outcome of the what happened that night: a destructive EF-3 tornado carved a path of damage through Downtown and East Nashville and on for many more across East Tennessee. In total that night, 10 tornadoes were reported, the nearest and most powerful one only 5 miles away from our home. The overnight disaster injured scores of people and damaged or destroyed homes, businesses, schools and churches across 4 counties. 25 people lost their lives, including 5 children, and tens of thousands of people were without power for several days. The destruction the tornadoes left behind is horrendous:

But we are #Nashvillestrong: 

As soon as daylight hit and for many days/ weeks to come, thousands of people showed up to volunteer - clean-up, assess damage, distribute provisions- donate supplies and money. I now know why we call this the Volunteer State. It is amazing to be part of this effort and to help each other out. While we were not able to volunteer yet, we ensured that we contributed necessary school supplies and hygiene articles to the cause. 

But despite being occupied with what just happened here in middle TN, we also kept an eye on what is globally going on. The Coronavirus Covid-19 is now on everyone's mind and occupies the entire newscast. While America is one of the last countries to finally act upon this global pandemic - until now testing has been far and few - it is impacting all of us and will affect how life unfolds in the next three, four, even six weeks from now. 

From empty grocery shelves to school closures, events being cancelled or postponed and employees working remotely, social distancing is becoming reality for all of us and while this is something totally new and unexpected, we will have to adjust and be patient and gentle with each other. We can be diligent in following the recommendations of what's expected of us and our community. We can be hopeful and find joy in the small things that will make up our new routine for a while.  

So today (Day 1 of social distancing) we slept in, did some chores and then went to the park for a walk. When it started to rain, we went home to play games and watch some TV together. I already organized a couple of closets and spring cleaning will ensue as well as finishing up certain DIY home projects. This is a scary and disruptive time as there are so many unknown factors. But it may also be a time we all desperately needed...to step away from the hectic lifestyle of working long hours, running from one activity to the next and being busy all the time.  The circumstances of this "taking a step back" may not be ideal by any means and I do pray that we can contain this global outbreak as fast as possible as way too many lives have already been lost/ negatively affected due to the virus but putting a focus on helping each other, need vs want (what do people do with 144 rolls of toilet paper???) and precious time with my family - finding pleasures in the simple things in life and the gift of time - is now what it is all about. So make the best of it so that our grandchildren will one day talk about how the world came together in this time of uncertainty, panic and need and how love and community prevailed thru it all. 

School Happenings

This week has been quite busy at our school. It was Read Across America Week, where the children were able to dress up for different days: hat day (designed them ourselves with what we had on hand), Wacky Tacky day and Book Character day.

There were two Spiderman in class: 

It was also Picture Day:

Action and shot:  

And yesterday, the Kindergartners had their music program. Elliot's class had to wear green.

Ready to perform for all the parents, siblings and family members:

The concert was fun and cute and all the things...and even a tad sad as this is my last baby performing in his last Kindergarten concert. So we savored every moment of this and loved being there. 

Dancing the Nights Away

Friday started off with a winter surprise: it snowed and the children got a day off school. While Derrick was at the office, I worked from home. There is always someone around me when I'm home:

 But after an hour, the children were ready to embrace the cold and go out and have fun in the snow.

A little video clip:

The snow melted fairly quickly and by night time, all of it was gone. But the day was not yet over as Elliot and I had our first ever Mother-Son Dance that night. Every year around Valentine's Day, our local town hosts a Mother-Son and a Daddy-Daughter Dance and this year, we were able to participate in both. First up, Elliot and his mommy, all dressed up and ready to dance the night away:

 My boy gave me rose!

 

There was a professional DJ and photographers, snacks and drinks and games. Not only the boys loved it but all the moms seemed to have a great time as well. The music was awesome and so we danced all evening. Look at those dance moves!

And a peck for me. What a memorable and fun night it was:

Saturday evening, it was Amelia's and Derrick's turn to head to their first ever Daddy-Daughter Dance.  Daddy bought his girl some flowers and a corsage:

Same venue, same DJ, all fathers and their girls. Many of our friends from church were there too: 

 Favorite picture of the night:

Of course, there was dancing too:

 Grown men doing the YMCA dance:

The children loved having this special one-on-one time with us and it was so fun. We definitely have to do it next year again.

My Book Review 2019

 In 2019 I have read 16 books and listened to 21 audiobooks. Audiobooks took a bit to get used to but now they are a great way to "read" some books while exercising, cleaning or driving. I seem to especially enjoy biographies, read by the author, as these ranked highest in my list. 

Audiobooks:

1. Eat Cake, Be Brave                  Melissa Radke ★★★★
2. Becoming                                Michelle Obama ★★★★
3. I know why the caged bird sings Maya Angelou ★★★★
4. Whiskey in a Teacup          Reese Witherspoon ★★★★
5. Flat Broke with 2 Goats               Jennifer McGaha ★★★★
6. The Secret Wife                                   Gill Paul ★★★★
7. Angela's Ashes                        Frank McCourt ★★★★
8. Where the Crawdad's Sing            Delia Owens ★★★★
9. Unbroken                            Laura Hillenbrand ★★★★
10. When Live gives you Lululemon Laura Weissberger ★★★☆
11. Haunted                                       James Patterson ★★★☆
12. The Death of Mrs Westaway                Ruth Ware ★★★☆
13. The President is Missing              Bill Clinton ★★★☆
14. The Light we Lost                              Jill Santano ★★★☆
15. Someone knows                         Lisa Scottoline ★★★☆
16. The Almost Sisters                       Joshlyn Jackson ★★★☆
17. Class Mom                                 Laurie Gelman ★★★☆
18. City of Girls                              Elizabeth Gilbert ★★★☆
19. On Turpentine Lane                  Elinor Lipman ★★☆☆
20. A Gentleman in Moscow           Amor Towles ★★☆☆
21. Good Riddance                          Elinor Lipman ★☆☆☆

Books:

1. Muttertag                                  Nele Neuhaus ★★★★
2. The Book of Essie                           Meghan Weir ★★★★ 
3. I am Watching You                         Teresa Driscoll ★★★★
4. The Wild Robot Escapes (Read aloud)    Peter Brown ★★★★
5. You've been Volunteered          Laurie Gelman ★★★★
6. The Last Year of War                 Susan Meissner ★★★★
7. Wenn wir wieder Leben                 Charlotte Roth ★★★☆
8. Why French Kids Eat Everything     Karen Le Billon ★★★☆
9. All the Missing Girls               Megan Miranda ★★★☆
10. Wartime Sisters                          L.C. Loigman ★★★☆
11. Sold on a Monday                   Kristina McMorris ★★★☆
12. Wish (Read aloud)                    Barbara O'Connor ★★★☆
13. A Christmas Star                        Donna Vanliere ★★★☆
14. The Christmas Town                Donna Vanliere ★★★☆
15. The Christmas Journey                Donna Vanliere ★★★☆
16. Those Girls                                 Chevy Stevens ★★★☆

My favorite reads this year were The Book of Essie,  Becoming (I will get a hard copy of the book to re-read), Unbroken, and Where the Crawdad's Sing. If you want a good laugh, definitely read Eat Cake, Be Brave (very honest but funny) and Laurie Gelman's two books Class Mom and You've been Volunteered. A very interesting read was also Why French Kids eat Everything as it brings some perspective to why Americans snack so much and other countries don't. Being raised in Europe myself, I can totally see how the culinary spectrum for children and (let's be honest) most adults in America has taken a detour for the worst. 

Fun Fact: Since I did not grew up in America, I never had to read Maya Angelou in high school. So I listened to it this year and I must say, I probably gained more from it now than I would have if I had read it in high school. A definite must read at any age though. 

Now if you look for last year's book review, please click here. Until next year's book review:

My Goals for 2020

A new year, a new decade and new goals... but first let's look how I fared with my goal setting in 2020.  In 2019, I had 6 personal goals you can read about here but I will also summarize the accomplishments of these goals next. 

1. Living by our word of the year as a family: GRATEFUL. We wanted to teach our children to be more grateful for all they receive and live more intentionally. While we started out strong, it more became my word instead of our word. This year, there was lots to be grateful for and while we are very grateful for everything we have been provided with, we could have been more intentional about it. Especially with the children, as they often act too privileged. 
2. I did go back to being a full-time employee and with that, we had to adjust in our family dynamic. Plus, having a third grader and a kindergartner and being involved in sports made it harder to balance all really well. However, we did settle in to a good routine and figured out what works best for our family.
3. Traveling more as a family: yes, we did. We enjoyed our first ever 2-week family vacation in California this year  and it won't be the last one. I only traveled once abroad this year for business and most likely will not have to travel in 2020 at all. 
4. Working on how I respond to my children when something is not right as this sets the tone of how they will react. THIS IS STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS. 
5. Read 40 books: I read a total of 37 books in 2019 of which 19 were audio books. I started the year of strong but the more I worked, the less time I had to read. However, we still read some books aloud with the kids that I didn't count. 
6. Run 400 miles in 2019: I decreased the goal to 300 miles during the year as I knew I will not be able to achieve 400 miles. Due to some infection in November, my running slowed down towards the end of the year and I finished 2019 with 287.3 miles...so close. 

Goal seeting may not be for everyone but I like to look at the year ahead and decide what I want to focus on. Also, these goals keep me accountable and give me a way to track my well-being and find time for myself. And with that, here are my goals for 2020:

1. My word of the year: PRIORITIZE. Between being a mom, working full-time and running, I want to make sure that I prioritize and focus on what is important to me and for our family. This means, saying no to other things in order to accomplish what works for us. My priorities for this year are: family, well-being/ running, work (do my best while I'm there but focus on my family when I'm home - not always possible but I will put extra effort toward it). I also want to read more and focus more on the blog. I do enjoy posting on this little space here and it is a great way for memory keeping. While talking about my word of the year yesterday, both children decided on a word for themselves: Elliot right away came up with the word IMPROVE. He wants to improve his ball game as well as his homework efforts. Amelia decided on DILIGENT. This will hopefully help her with her attitude and completing her assignments. 
2. Continue to explore this country as a family. We all love exploring new cities and states and we will be on the road in 2020 to see more of this beautiful country. While we have not planned a big family vacation this year, we do have a few smaller trips in mind we hope to accomplish. Goal is 4 smaller trips and at least 2 new cities. And maybe even a trip to Europe. 
3. Read 40 books (audio books included). There are quite a few books on my book shelve that I plan on reading as well as some audio books I have on hold from the library. My book list keeps on growing with lots of good recommendations. I love to read historical fiction and there is no shortage of that.
4. Run 400 miles. And this year, I'm sure to hit my goal as I'm registered to run my first ever half marathon in April. Currently, we are also considering getting a treadmill, which would make it easier for me to get my runs in while Derrick travels. 
5. Be more adventurous in the kitchen. I like to cook but then time till dinner is always so tight that I often cook the same things. My goal is to make at least 4 meals a month we haven't tried yet and use my cookbooks for inspiration.
6. Catch up on the blog and continue to chronicle our adventures. This also includes working on archiving all the pictures and looking in to how to create an annual book for all the blog posts. 
7. Spend less time on social media. In order to have more time for all my other goals, I will have to step back and waste less time looking at other people's social media feeds. My goal is to only check those feed twice a day...morning and evening. 

2020, I'm ready for you!