January 2021

Unlike with most months, we were all awake to see January start — the four of us made New Year’s Eve into a movie night (featuring the brand-new Pixar movie Soul), and then watched the super-weird no-audience pandemic New Year’s Rockin’ Eve show on the big screen. We popped the rest of the Christmas crackers, threw confetti everywhere, and genuinely felt hopeful for the coming month (and year). In the few days before school and work started back up again (the following Tuesday), we played the Haunted Mansion board game one of R.’s team at work had given him, had a park afternoon with the Patels, played a bunch of games on the Switch, watched S2 of The Mandalorian, and — sadly — took down all of our Christmas stuff. Booo. 

A uhhhhhhhh … memorable birthday
I did the week’s grocery shopping on Tuesday, instead of Wednesday, so I wouldn’t be spending my birthday scuttling in and out of stores in my Plague Lady coverings, which turned out to be a weirdly lucky choice in terms of world events …. January 6 was the day the Presidential election results were supposed to be officially certified, which normally is such a pro forma non-event that I honestly don’t think I’ve ever heard of it before. But this year, well. The armed pro-T**** white supremacist terrorist insurgency at the US Capitol hogged all the news, along with everyone’s peace of mind and productivity; the kids were “in” school, but R. and I got nothing done as we watched it unfold all day long on our respective computers, stopping every once in awhile to just boggle at each other like — WTF IS GOING ON. The whole thing was scary, freaky, and absolutely mind-bendingly infuriating (per the usual with that vaguely humanoid shitstain of a soon-to-be-former president). And then we had Indian food, chocolate cake, and presents, because it was my birthday, after all … (I mean, it sorta be like that sometimes, in the world right now). 

3 out of 4 tested
R. had what he assumed was his usual vicious yearly sinus infection, but it dragged on so long that he decided to get tested (which these days, only means one thing) to rule out covid; luckily, the result was negative, a definite load off of his mind. And with that, three of the four of us have undergone this modern rite of passage … 

Various fun stuff
January, though filled with craziness, also had its highlights: R. and the kids got heavily into another Splatfest (which Skyler joined us in, from Kansas); Lukas started writing a book (Diary of a Wastelander, featuring himself and Manir in a story inspired by a Roblox game they play, and being typed in Notes but intended to be transcribed into a lined journal — with illustrations — similar in style to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series); we gladly celebrated Inauguration Day (keeping the kids downstairs so they could see the actual swearing-in of this historic VP, among other things, before having them join their classes online); we had Virtual Burns Night with the Grants, the Jacksons, the Marshalls, and two other families on a Zoom call;  and we ended the month with a morning hike (me, Annika, Brandi & Alana and Fiona & Niamh) and a park meetup (me & Lukas + Ami & Manir & Amira), where the whole Grant family randomly showed up at the same park, in the afternoon. It kind of illustrated how much Lukas, especially, needs to see his friends more, despite the covid risk; he had a blast, and was just so much happier all day and even in the next few days.