Season's Greetings from us to you

Eleven!

This year, I finally learned the lesson that Ruby has been trying to teach me her whole life. 

It's ok for her to feel all her feelings.

I think it took me 11 years to learn this lesson because the intensity of Ruby's feelings is quite powerful. It goes against all instinct to allow her fire to burn without trying to put it out.

Once I stopped looking at the fire and instead, into the source, I see that the fire hasn't consumed her. In fact, it's refining her into an amazing young woman.

This has been a big year for her, for us all. COVID, a big move, new everything. I'm humbled by her maturity and ability to be uncomfortable. Granted, she's not always quiet about the discomfort, but she doesn't run away from it.

Happy 11th birthday, my darling. 

I love getting to know you better and better each year.

Twelve!

One year ago we planned a birthday party for Maia, including an escape room at the public library. It was the first birthday party we'd hosted for several years and everyone was excited. And then, in the middle of March, the nation closed down and we scrambled to make her celebration special in a new way.

True to character, Maia was disappointed, but rebounded quickly. Her sunny disposition has been extraordinary during this trying year. When the kids' school went remote, I never had to worry about her making it to virtual class and staying on top of her work.

This year, when Aleks and I went to work full time, Maia handled her first year of middle school during this pandemic with astonishing maturity and responsibility. Every other day she was home alone, logging into each of her classes on zoom, managing the different digital platforms, and navigating the elevated expectations that come with middle school.

She has made a new, sweet friends and we're so grateful she has found her people. Middle school is such a crazy, intense time.

As Maia enters this next year of life, we are constantly delighted by her curiosity, strong feminine ideals, quirky personality, and willingness to help our family in any way she can.

Maia is as strong as she is soft. Serious and silly. Loves parties and friends, yet is an introvert.

Happy 12th birthday Maia! 

Those challenging first 9 months of your life were totally worth it. 

This world is a better place because you are in it. 

We love you.

Pandemic Check-in; Day ???

This week in Wichita, temps are stuck below freezing and it's not projected to warm up anytime soon.

I feel like I'm living in a loop. Wake up in the dark, work in a room without windows, come home to chores and dinner as it gets dark before we eat. Then fall asleep in front of the tv and do it all again 8 hours later.

This Groundhog Day effect is something I've come to expect this time of year, but add 10 months of a pandemic prior to the winter doldrums, and it just hits differently.

Our whole family got COVID the week after Thanksgiving (no idea where it was contracted: we've all fully recovered, and didn't expose anyone else) and so we've got antibodies to protect us through March. While chances are we're immune from the virus for 90 days, we may still be able to carry trace amounts and infect other people and so our pandemic lifestyle remains largely unchanged.

One of the only things keeping me going this winter is my husband. He just lights up a room, bringing energy back into this wintery void. For whatever reason, the pandemic has made us closer, when it so easily could have gone the other way.

I'm also grateful for our ability to cook good food at home, a large house that gives us all get the space we need, a steady job, and a middle schooler who is responsible enough to handle remote/hybrid learning.

Be it the pandemic, or winter, or something yet to be defined, the Sternfeld-Dunn family is itching for a change. I don't think a remodeled bathroom is going to do it this time. I've been patient before. Dreamed of change. Looked through Zillow. I'm familiar with this feeling. It never gets easier.

However, maybe because of this past year, I know now, more than ever, I can be content anywhere. Especially because of my weird, funny, loving little family.