January 2021

2021. It finally arrived. There was so much hope wrapped up in 2020 coming to a close and while there does seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel now, January was filled with mixed emotions returning home to a locked-down Netherlands. 

The kids and I arrived home in the afternoon of December 31st. I thought with jetlag they might make it to midnight, but crashed around 11. The Netherlands instituted a fireworks ban, which I was thrilled about, but lo and behold, tons of neighbors still set them off (though thankfully for a shorter period of time and it was a clear night so we could actually enjoy the shows from our bedroom windows). 

New Year's Eve Celebrations

So much togetherness in 2020. Love this crew!

Woodworkers at work

I felt survivor's guilt for getting to be with our families at Christmas time. So many expat friends followed the government advice and stayed home. To assuage my guilt, I made some American holiday classics and delivered them to friends. With Pete's COVID in mid-November and then our early December departure for the states, it had been 2 months since I'd seen most of my friends. Though the interactions were brief, it was so good to reconnect.

Nothing was open in the NL when we returned except essential shops, you were allowed 2 visitors in your home per day, and it was the dead of winter so there wasn't much to do. I enjoyed a lot of long walks listening to audiobooks. 

We were beyond fortunate in January that while schools were closed, ISA remained open for teacher's and other essential worker's kids. Pete was back teaching Seniors in person right away as they were exempt from the lockdown, so it was a Godsend. We had to wait 10 days after we returned home so the kids did distance learning with their classmates the first week and then went into school with a few other kids from their grades for the remainder of the lockdown. I took advantage of my free time and worked as much as I could.  

We sat in shock and anger when the Capitol Riots took place. How those deranged men and women accomplished that and how Trump was not impeached over it still makes me feel ill. Please let the worst of it be over now that the monster is out of office. 

I had my first lockdown birthday, something that I never thought would happen. It started with receiving the best card in bed. 

I took the day off of work, enjoyed a walk with a friend, an in-home massage, and a take-away lunch before the family returned home to celebrate with me. 

Pete bought me a fondue pot and we had a lekker dinner! But the best birthday present of all was that my parents received their first dose of the Pfizer COVID vaccine on my birthday! Sweet relief and gratitude for SCIENTISTS! 

Despite the national lockdown, COVID cases were not going down so the government took further action in mid-January, extending the school closures to February 8th, allowing only 1 visitor per day, and implementing a national curfew (9pm-4:30am) for the first time since WWII. To be fair, with nothing open we had nowhere to be at night anyway so the curfew hasn't really affected us. It was a depressing announcement though and it was starting to be apparent that 2021 was going to be a lot like 2020. 

One last hurrah the night the curfew took effect. I joined some friends who booked themselves into a hotel for the night. We ordered takeaway from the hotel restaurant and I set a timer on my phone so that I would leave in time to get home before 9. So many bikers with me furiously racing home that evening. It was very surreal. (Curfew fine is 95 euros). 

Had to find any excuse to celebrate and keep things light this month. National Tulip Day!

And then the magic happened! We got our first "snowfall" in 2 years. Yes, it was only a dusting and gone by the next day, but it was wonderful. Friends bought a house around the corner from us and moved in over the holidays so we all got to play together outside. We realized just how much we miss snow. 

Pete did a grocery run with the sled

And if the snow wasn't exciting enough, later that week, Biden was inaugurated. Oh happy, happy day! The joy I felt watching these two leave on Air Force One was and is indescribable. 

I finally got to meet the new baby of a Frederick County friend and enjoy a walk through her neighborhood where daffodils were already in bloom!

Maeve was so spoiled in the 4 weeks she was in school with just 3 other children and two assistants. They did a lot of fun things together and she was one happy girl. Jude had mixed feelings about being in school as he was still doing his learning through the ipad and the kids who were with him were not his good friends. 

The kids' favorite thing to do after bathtime- family snuggles and hiding in our bed :) 

One month down, how many COVID-affected months to go??!

Final days in Florida and our COVID-tested flight home

There was so much up in the air that it was very difficult to figure out our return plans. While we were in Florida, The Netherlands announced a countrywide lockdown beginning on December 15th. Restaurants and bars had already been closed, but now schools and all non-essential stores were closed as well.  Schools were scheduled to be closed until January 18th so we considered staying longer, not thrilled to return to a lockdown. Then Pete found out that seniors were exempt from the lockdown so he would need to return to teach in person on the 5th (boo), but that ISA was going to stay open for emergency care for teacher's kids (YAY!). I still wasn't mentally prepared to leave Florida yet. The ultimate deciding factor was the ability to transfer my flight with the kids to a new pilot "COVID tested" flight with Delta/KLM. We would get tested 5 days before departure, do a rapid test in Atlanta before boarding, and a final PCR test at Schiphol. If all tests came back negative, we would be exempt from the 10-day quarantine when we returned home. I was not looking forward to being stuck indoors in the dead of winter for 10 days with the kids so I made the decision to come home on the 30th, giving the kids and me 4 more days with my parents. I was already scheduled to work that week, thinking we'd be back home, but it worked out well to work normal US hours while my parents watched the kids. I wasn't looking forward to doing the long travel again on my own, especially with a red-eye, but figured if Pete returned home before us, he could get over jetlag to help me when we got back. 

Having made the decision, the kids and I got enjoy a few more days in the sun. A big highlight was driving to see the manatees, who come into the canals in my parents' neighborhood when it gets cold. I also tracked down rocket popsicles, helped finish a puzzle and made a last minute Amazon Fresh order of my favorite cheese from California, which I brought back to Amsterdam (shh, don't tell the border agents!). Less fun tasks were figuring out how to get everything home on my own (I usually leave the tricky packing up to Pete) and dealing with some drama surrounding my profession certification renewal. 

We had a very memorable travel experience home. First, we checked everything in in Miami after begging the check in man to take my carryons so I wouldn't have too much luggage to deal with. I let the kids run all their crazy out in the very quiet Miami airport. Once in Atlanta, we had to change terminals (fun on the airtrain again) and stopped for dinner in a very busy domestic terminal. The kids were the most civilized of Wendy's dinner consumers. Then we made our way to the deserted international terminal. We had a specific gate to go to for our COVID tested flight program. We were escorted there, a woman checked our negative PCR test results, I filled out a questionaire and then we went in for the rapid antigen testing. Only I needed to do this and the kids loved watching. Then we sat in an empty room that had chairs spaced every 6 feet apart. There were two televisions on the wall. One showing scenes of the Netherlands and the other showing scenes of Italy (their two pilot destinations were Amsterdam and Rome). The kids were given coloring books and we waited the 15 minutes or so for the results. My boarding pass got a special stamp and then we waited in a terminal with the other 10 or so passengers that were on our entire flight home. People had to self select this flight and US citizens are not allowed in Europe without residency.

Hillariously, our seats were right in front of two friends traveling together and caddy corner from another traveler. The rest of the back of the plane was completely empty. Why did they seat us so close together? It was 10pm by that point and I told the kids they could be on their ipads until we were in the air. They didn't protest one bit when I took them away and settled them in for bed. Maeve got the entire 4 seat middle row, I moved Jude to the 3 seats to the right and I took the 3 seats to the left. Dinner, a movie, and a glass of wine and then I was out like the kids. When we arrived in Amsterdam, we were ushered off the plane to a special testing area, where I had a nasal PCR test administered. I would receive my results later that evening. Unfortunely, Pete wasn't allowed into the airport or train terminal. He had to wait behind guards at the entrance to the parking area and we were all very happy to see him! 

It is easy to say in retrospect that we were so glad we made the trip, given that no one got sick. Of course it could have gone another way. It doesn't look like borders are opening up anytime soon and this was the only way we were going to get to see the grandparents. So we are glad that we seized the opportunity and had a safe, memorable trip. Now we wait to see how things look for our hopeful summer trip home... 

A Very Merry Christmas 2020

I got exactly what I wanted this Christmas, and it wasn't anything that was under the tree. Having spent the previous week isolated with Oma and Opa, we felt comfortable inviting them down to spend Christmas together with my parents. The pod squad was complete! The kids were over the moon to have the attention of both sets of grandparents and we were so happy to be with all of our parents. 

First things first, quarantine haircuts

In between present wrapping and final Christmas prep, we enjoyed the great weather, games, and dips in the pool. All of a sudden, it was Christmas eve. We enjoyed a lasagna dinner before the Christmas Eve service at my parent's church. They had arranged a single, outdoor service where the congregants could stay in their cars and listen in through the radio or bring lawn chairs and spread out in the parking lot facing the church. It was a beautiful evening and it was one of the most memorable Christmas Eve services. During Silent Night, while the flame was being passed around, paper lanterns were lit and sent into the sky, framed by palm trees. Really special. 

The kids loved shaking all of the presents that were out under the tree before Santa came and were very excited to open one each before the service. Maeve opened a very cool LED writing pad from Uncle Matt and Aunt Krista and used it to write a letter and draw a picture for Santa. 

We were all disappointed that the children's service with performance couldn't happen this year. Jude was very responsible with his lit candle though. 

Back at home, we tracked Santa online before sending the kids off to bed with visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads. 

Christmas morning was a wonderful blur. Maeve plowed through her presents, Jude savored his a bit more. All the same, we were finished opening in time for a sit-down breakfast. 

Nana read a lot of Magic Treehouse books to Jude in the past year and made him a wall hanging. Maeve got the rolling Frozen suitcase she had been talking about for weeks.  

Oma got the kids fun bathrobes! 

The whole family got gear from my aunt and cousin's new webshop: Travelybug! Check them out for cute t-shirts and mugs!  

There was one very special present for the kids under the tree. Pops created a prototype for the Dutch Canal Dollhouse he created for the kids! The kids got to unwrap it and help put it together. He will make it out of wood next and then we'll figure out how to get it! He and Nana made a dollhouse for my sister and me when I was Jude's age and he's already constructed one for Peyton. A great retirement side hobby! 

Pop's made jambalaya for Christmas dinner, a new yummy tradition! 

Sadly, the party had to come to an end. Pete had to leave the day after Christmas to get home in time to quarantine before school was set to begin January 5th. Oma and Opa planned to leave that day as well to make their way to North Carolina to celebrate Christmas with Matt, Krista, and Addy. Everyone left with very full hearts for the special time we'd had together!