The Year Everything and Nothing Changed + Blog Update

In January, David’s work territory? region? beat? changed. We knew we would have to move sooner rather than later. After adding Baby Peter to our mix in December 2019, we were already adjusting to some big changes, but nonetheless started seriously looking for new houses.

My dad received his t-cell transplant in February, which felt like another wave of uncertainty. We were grateful he was approved and hopeful his cancer would get gobbled up. (Note from the future: He is doing well now and will have scans to assess progress in February. Thank you for your prayers!)

Then March happened. March. Does March even need an explanation? David had juuuuuust started commuting to meet clients in his new area (anywhere from an hour-and-a-half to two hours away), and BOOM. Lockdown.

Aside from the additional wave of uncertainty in being a commission-based single-income family during a lockdown, it was pretty good for us. David was home…like…all the time. It was sad not to see our homeschool friends or go to church. But our kids kept doing school pretty seamlessly.

David started making dinner regularly. For the past seven years, his evenings have had to be open to meeting with clients, and starting in March David not only was home more to eat with us, but since he enjoys cooking he became our chef-in-residence.

To be juggling several plates and have one POOF! disappear was awesome for me. (The only downside is that my cooking style is Easy-Quick, and David’s cooking style is Meticulous-Fancy, and I’m self-conscious of the difference between my breakfast burritos and David’s coq au vin.)

We started going for walks as a family whenever it was possible. While we relished our increased family time, there was always this undercurrent of worry. What did the future look like for us as an immuno-compromised family? As a single-income family? As a relocating family?

We sold our house without having a house to move into. Sort of a dum-dum move, but with higher housing costs in the new location (property taxes, utilities, electricity…everything costs more in Minnesota) we wanted to know exactly how much equity we’d have to work with. Plus with the housing market moving surprisingly quickly, we needed to be able to jump in right away without making our offer contingent on the sale of our house.

Thus we became homeless during a global pandemic. Except, we had places to go. We stayed with my parents, David’s parents, and my college roommate, rotating places every few days to a week to make sure no one got too sick of us. That’s right. We packed up everything every few days and moved to a new place.

I had aggressively decreased our possessions so that it all fit into a storage unit, with a few random items being housed by various family members. I’m equally proud and embarrassed at how much we were able to donate or ditch and still function as a family. It only fueled my minimalist tendencies to know that we could get by as a family with a few suitcases and tubs.

We looked at a million houses. In June, we found the best one so far for us. We had just arrived at David’s parent’s family cabin when our realtor called. David and I grabbed Pio, left the other kids with grandparents, and drove the four hours to do a walk-through. It wasn’t handicap accessible, but at least it was a ranch with three bedrooms on the main floor. It was within our price range, so THE END. We drove four hours back to our kids that same day and started negotiations from a distance.

We closed the end of August and began our island life (without the beaches). The isolation we had managed to stave off by staying with other households all summer whooshed in, tempered only by the relief to have room to spread out and make noise.

In September we spent a lot of time outside, exploring the area and going for more walks. David was able to meet with clients outdoors or virtually. We did a couple homeschool meetups at outside, but there doesn’t seem to be the quantity of homeschool families that we were used to.

David has a home office, and we homeschool, so the framework of our life is the same. But everything is different. Not just the view out our window, but the regulations we need to follow to homeschool, our parish, where to go if the kids get sick, where to vote– everything.

When the first real snowfall hit in October, I worried about how the lack of family walks, outdoor fieldtrips, and contact with other humans would play out. But then the snow melted and we’ve had a few more chances for being outside.

So we continue to lean in to our family life this winter. Game nights. Movie nights. Reading aloud. We had our first family dance party. Our first star-viewing party. Several tea parties. I hope that the memories we’re creating as a little family stick with the kids, and all the bickering gets forgotten. (There’s a lot of bickering.) It’s all so small, but there is peace in the small.

I intended to send out a Christmas letter with our new address, but it didn’t happen. So here’s what I would have sent out:

Friends!

It’s hard to believe 2020 is finally coming to a close.  On top of the uncertainty and turmoil of 2020 in general, we moved to a different state for David’s job.  He’s still with CUF, just north-er.

After spending just over two months couch-surfing (quite the feat for a family of eight!), we finally found a home that checked most of our boxes. 

Cee continues to enjoy reading, extreme-dot-to-dots, and sticker-by-numbers.  She is the best at cuddling Peter while he naps and at helping around the house.

Elle discovered a love for sewing.  She dabbled in bookmarks, figures, and other items out of felt.  She still has to master the art of cleaning up the billion little scraps her hobby generates, however.

Moe has started reading!  He’s also earned the title of Biggest Star Wars Fan Who Hasn’t Actually Seen the Movies.  His smile continues to get him out of more trouble than is fair.

Bea spends her spare time taking care of her twin baby dolls, Mary and Joseph. She enjoys playing with the felt figures Elle makes for her. With her keen ability to debate, Bea may be destined for a career in law.

Mateo is speaking more!  He loves everything that belongs to David, especially accessories and shoes.  He plays pretend all the time and lets us know if we’re supposed to call him Ralphie (from The Magic School Bus), Mister Rogers, Daddy, or Woody.

Pio spends his time either jumping off furniture or being held.  He loves to run as fast as his chubby little legs can carry him toward any action in the house. He’s still a good cuddler and much happier than our family picture would suggest.

Moving during a global pandemic isn’t ideal, but we’re comforted by the thought that someday people will be able to visit us.  Before winter, we were able to visit the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum just a few miles away.  If you decide to check it out this summer, you’re welcome to stop by!

Love,
David & Alicia & the kids

It didn’t make the letter, but moving meant the end of my (brief!) stint as DRE for our old parish. I also decided not to reapply for the Homeschool Review Crew. It was a fun hobby for me, but the kids got tired of me saying, “Let’s try this!” which equated to “Here’s some extra work!” for them.

I miss blogging but am exhausted by the internet. It’s gotten so ugly . I was glad when Rosie shared her idea of blogging Just Because. I miss reading blogs with funny kid moments and what’s working in the lives of other families. I hope to read through all the blogs that link up!

In a world where influencers amass followers in the hundreds of thousands or even millions, I am squarely in the double digits (ha!), with my only stream of income being as an Amazon affiliate, which gets us a free book every once and awhile but doesn’t cover the cost of having a blog. (Thanks for anyone who clicks through one of our links!) Although no companies are sending me free things, I gladly received several Christmas cards from sweet friends I only know only through the blogworld.

That feels more “me” anyway– to have a small group of people (that’s you!) who I care about and who accept me’n’my quirks rather than gobs of followers who only count for their clicks. Thanks for being part of the Sweeping Club.

I like the idea of hiding away from the real internet and sharing recipes, book lists, and simple living with my little Club. If you’re a member, what sorts of posts do you like to see? How homeschool works for us? Our best recipes? Library hauls? Big family frugal tips? Stories such as “Life On the Streets (For 40 Minutes)” or “In Which Mateo Cracks 3 Dozen Eggs on Carpet?”

Link up with Rosie or comment below if you want to travel back to simpler times when no one used photo filters and blogging was a thing. <3