Day 1945 | Vote
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Just a friendly little reminder.
Day 1944 | A Bookshelf
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I have had buying a bookshelf for the boys’ room on my to do list since we split their bunk beds back in January. Why does everything take so long? I’m happy to report that a bookshelf has been purchased and is now happily hosting our library.
Day 1943 | Beating the Heat
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Today was uncomfortable. Just super hot and gross. I convinced the boys to take a morning bike ride to beat the heat. We had a lovely bike ride but we did not beat the heat. It sure was nice to get out, though!
Day 1942 | Owen Park
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On our morning bike ride, we discovered no one was at our neighborhood playground. Robbe took full advantage and honed his monkey bar skills—until a few other kids showed up and it was time to go. It was fun while it lasted, though! It turns out that ten minutes of monkey-barring is pretty intense.
Day 1941 | Willow River State Park
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We busted out of Eau Claire for a hike in Willow River State Park. We camped here with the boys two years ago (here’s the evidence). This time we met up with friends we haven’t seen in months. I promise we were good! Wore masks in confined spaces and did our best to distance while we were walking. Man, it was nice to have a change of scenery while enjoying a beautiful summer day with a good friend I’ve missed terribly. This Covid thing is really wearing on me lately.
Day 1940 | 4-H Projects
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The county 4-H fair is a go. I’m surprised, too. So here we are starting fair projects in the middle of July. Not unheard of, but definitely not my favorite. Today’s photo is of the boys during our leaf scavenger hunt. We collected leaves from twelve different varieties of trees and then we’ll identity them and figure out a way to showcase them. I’ll let you know as soon as the final project is ready for public viewing.
Day 1939 | Chimney Rock
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I don’t mean to brag, but I climbed to the top of this giant rock today. My dad has never been more proud of me.
Day 1938 | Learning to be Antiracist
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I’m new to the process of opening my eyes to white privilege and being antiracist. That’s embarrassing to say, but it’s the truth. I’ve thought “we’re all equal” for so long that it rang true to me. And that’s what I’ve taught the boys. Now I realize that’s not enough. In reality, our country doesn’t treat everyone equally, so why would just thinking “we’re all equal” be enough? It isn’t enough. People of color have had (and continue to have) a much harder set of obstacles to overcome and it’s not ok to pretend that years of oppression can be erased by just repeating an equality mantra. Chris and I have been trying to have more conversations with the boys about race and what it means to be white. I’ve been reading more articles about the topic and I just finished a book on the history of racism that I highly recommend:
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
The book does an impressive job of explaining a lengthy and heavy subject matter without feeling inaccessible or terribly confusing. I won’t go into all the takeaways (I hope you’ll read it yourself!), but this paragraph from the last chapter stood out to me:
Tell a certain story a certain way…Get enough people on your side to tell you you’re right, and you’re right. Even if you’re wrong. And once you’ve been told you’re right long enough, and once your being right has led you to a profitable and privileged life, you’d do anything to not be proved wrong.
We’ve just got to do better, you know? I’m going to keep reading, keep talking to the boys, and keep trying to acknowledge my racist thoughts when they unearth themselves…ugh. It’s hard work. And very humbling. But also very necessary.
I’ll leave you with another excerpt (it’s a long one) from the book. Let this simmer for awhile.
A letter to the youth from one of the authors (in the Acknowledgments section of the book):
You’re far more open and empathetic than the generations before you. So much so, that your sensitivity is used as an insult, a slight against you. Your desire for a fair world is seen as a weakness. What I’ve learned is that your anger is global, because the world now sits in the palm of your hand. You have the ability to teleport, to scroll upon a war zone or a murder. To witness protest and revolution from cultures not your own but who share your frustration. Your refusal. Your fear.
But I have to warn you:
Scrolling will never be enough.
Reposting will never be enough.
Hashtagging will never be enough.
Because hatred has a way of convincing us that half love is whole. What I mean by that is we–all of us–have to fight against performance and lean into participation. We have to be participants. Active. We have to be more than audience members sitting comfortably in the stands of morality, shouting, “WRONG!” That’s too easy. Instead, we must be players on the field, on the court, in our classrooms and communities, trying to do right. Because it takes a whole hand–both hands–to grab hold of hatred. Not just a texting thumb and a scrolling index finger.
But I have to warn you, again:
We can’t attack a thing we don’t know.
That’s dangerous. And…foolish. It would be like trying to chop down a tree from the top of it. If we understand how the tree works, how the trunks and roots are where the power lies, and how gravity is on our side, we can attack it, each of us with small axes, and change the face of the forest.
And if you’ve made it this far in my post I’ll reward you with a lighter note regarding this blog post: you’ll notice in the photo that the copy of the book I’m reading has a “Lucky Day” emblem on it. This means that this is a popular book at our library and that I only had one week to read it. I’ve never successfully finished a Lucky Day book in the allotted time before. This time I did! Thanks, I’m proud of myself, too.
Day 1937 | Painted Rocks
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I’m not sure if every city does this, but I love that Eau Claire does. There are some very sweet (and super talented) folks who paint rocks and then hide them (in plain sight) around town for kids to find. This ladybug is probably the third or fourth that Robbe has found and it brings him so much joy. Which brings me so much joy. Win, win!
If anyone out there wants to start painting rocks, we’ll distribute them for you!
Day 1936 | Beating the Heat
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The last week or so has been real hot around here. It’s summer, I guess. I’m trying really hard not to complain as I spend most of the year freezing. One way to beat the heat? Frolic in public fountains (while social distancing, of course).
Day 1935 | New Bike Day
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Robbe was in need of a bigger bike. When you’re the little brother, that means the big brother gets a new bike—don’t worry, though, Robbe got a sweet hand-me-down. We managed to find a used bike for Chase (it has gears to shift!) and everyone is living their best life now. In today’s world of bike shortages, this purchase was no small feat. Good thing Chase wasn’t terribly picky.
Day 1934 | Happy 4th (on the 5th)
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We had such a nice weekend with family. Some crazy back pain slowed me down a little but it’s feeling much better now. Every day I’m so thankful for family that I genuinely enjoy spending time with. It makes weekends of non-stop togetherness an absolute blast.
*I have more photos of the weekend but they’re waiting to be downloaded. This will have to do for now. Thanks for snapping the cute photo, Andi!
Day 1933 | Back to the Library
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The library [kind of] opened today! It was like Christmas in July for the boys. We signed up for an hour-long browsing window in which we were three of seven patrons allowed in the entire library. It was quiet and a bit eerie but also amazing. We’ve missed our frequent visits…and also the influx of new reading material.
Day 1932 | Strawberry Picking
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I was getting worried that we were going to miss strawberry picking this year, but today was the day. I motivated the house to get out before the heat kicked in and it was a perfect picking outing. Big, beautiful berries, no bugs, and so many to chose from that the boys didn’t even get bored. We went for one bucket and left with two because we couldn’t leave after just 15 minutes!
The strawberry shortcake tonight was probably my best yet. I didn’t even get a photo if it because I was so excited about it. I just love strawberries.
Day 1931 | Family Biking
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Nothing better than a bike ride with cousins. It’s been a long long time.
Day 1930 | Fisherman
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Robbe has been itching to cast a line again. Grandpa [and my cousin’s pond] to the rescue! They caught about twenty fish each with the highlight being Robbe’s impressive walleye. It was a lovely way to spend the morning—as long as I wasn’t the one baiting the hook or removing the fish. :)
Day 1929 | A New Fence
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As part of the backyard construction project we’ve been staring at for the past year, we got a new fence! Our old (pretty gross) one blew down once they started messing with the landscaping and slope on their side. The building company was kind enough to replace our junky one with this beauty. It’s nice when things work out, you know?
Day 1928 | A Glimpse at Our Weekend
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As promised, here are some photos from the weekend. As you can see, we spent a lot of time crawfish hunting (or at least that’s what I managed to get photos of). We are so grateful for the invitation to share this special place with dear friends. I can’t imagine a better escape from our house and the reality of the past three months.
To top it off, we even got to visit Eagle River on the way home. Chris used to visit Eagle River every summer with his family. The walk down memory lane was the perfect end to a lovely weekend and a nice way to spend Father’s Day
Day 1927 | A Weekend Away
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We haven’t left the house in months. Months. This weekend we busted out and visited a really lovely lake house with some of our favorite people (just one family…don’t worry!). I can’t even express how much I needed this break. The change of scenery, the sunshine and water, the laughter, the freedom for the kids…is there anything better, really? I’ll post more photos, but this one sums up the weekend pretty well for now.
Day 1926 | Early Father’s Day
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Chris was off work today and we’re traveling this weekend (woohoo!) so the boys and I decided we should celebrate Father’s Day a few days early.
Along with some other sweet gifts, the boys made Chris a graphic novel called “Super Dad vs. Fox Pox”. They worked for days outlining the story, drawing the pictures, writing the text, and then coloring the graphics. It was a team effort through and through and it was so fun to see their excitement for the project grow. They were just so proud. I’ll post photos of the full book at some point but for now, enjoy the cover with these three smiling cuties.
The boys have no idea how lucky they are to call this man their dad. His never-ending energy for their antics, his overwhelming interest in all their favorite things (video games and Harry Potter, mostly), his contagious sense of humor. They’ll understand some day. For now, I’ll just appreciate him enough for all of us.
