our new normal: July

Summer has pressed on and many people haven't stayed vigilant about safety. Bars are shut down with recent outbreaks. Bottle return lines are incredibly long. Salvation Army has stopped accepting donations until they can catch up with the massive outpouring from stay-at-homers cleaning their houses. We remain masked at the grocery stores, masked at church, masked anywhere enclosed.

The trampoline is back and the kids are loving it. We've endured a very long heatwave with temperatures in the 90's nearly every day. Scott remains faithful to watering the grass.

Our family reunion was canceled in St. Louis, and instead we celebrated Independence Day in Grand Rapids, a few hours with the Frim's, four days with J&K.

It seems that Scott won't be returning to work anytime soon. He remains productive at his desk in our bedroom.

Home projects continue. We replaced the entire mailbox and post. We continued with the laundry room, hanging cabinets, laying new floor (what a task that turned out to me), and installing trim. The green half-bath project wrapped up with new wallpaper and mirror. Our research has begun for a gas fireplace.

I've grown a bit homesick. The projects are fun transformations and I adore our house, but I long for the days when home was our escape from the outside world. Our reprieve. Now it has become our everything: our work, school, sports, friends, life. It all blends together here in this space that was once sacred. Together has a different meaning now. I sometimes feel like I'm raising toddlers again, unable to use the bathroom without an impatient knock wanting to know something that can obviously wait. It's all so much all the time. The kids could use boundary setting from other adults besides Mom and Dad. Scott could use a getaway to his cubicle. I could use some time filled with purpose other than holding down the fort.