2020 Recap

I’m bad at remembering things so it’s helpful to write stuff down. Thus: a recap post for 2020.

2020 was a surprising year! For everybody, of course, and we’ve said around here that so far we have had the best possible pandemic. But let’s recap!

January

• We got a fish!
• F & I went to a KU bbball game
• T played on a rec basketball team
• BNB EOY dinner at BonBon
• BNB Seattle Trip
• Allen Fieldhouse Tour with DNA
• January 30: my first saved screenshot re: coronavirus in China.

February

• I used my ‘rona worry to stock up on emergency supplies. I feel SO smart about this.
• BNB played with clay at Muddy Waters

March

• Kirklands went to AZ. Covid hit the fan during that week, it was weird and I was legit worried about not being able to fly home. Last plane trip of 2020.
• School shut down (for a few weeks, they said)
• BNB went all-remote (for a couple of weeks, we said)
• Church went to zoom (for a couple of weeks, we said)
• Soccer shut down (for a couple of weeks, they said)
• Gym shut down (for a couple of weeks, they said)
• Pandemic shutdown in full swing. We stopped eating out, went for a lot of walks, started sewing masks.

April

• launch of v1 of Neumz, which got a ton of press
• School went ‘remote’, which was extremely half-assed. We tried to supplement with some other requirements
• started regular zoom calls with college friends
• started movie/pizza Friday nights with kids, because what else?
• gym passed out equipment and I got a rowing machine at home!
• F soccer officially end for the season
• E got laid off officially from her job, starts part-time job of just trying to get unemployment

May

• the spring was beautiful, and we spent many, many hours on the porch and going for evening walks.
• TK and I discover geocaching
• Cheesey Day News starts (I think?)
• We taught the kids to play Spades, and really doubled down on our board games.

June

• FK started baking bread, in true pandemic style
• We didn’t got to Maine as planned

July

• gym reopened, with lots of restrictions
• the summer was mild, which was a relief because there was nowhere else to go
• EK didn’t go to Poland as planned

August

• started homeschooling (The Studio Kirkland Center for Ongoing Virally-Induced Development)
• Dad called to tell me about a UFO, which we figured out was a Google Project Loon balloon
• FK soccer restarted. He got to guest play on the next team up, so we had more soccer than usual all fall (and spring 2021)
• I started teaching a lecture course at KU - ADS300. Zoom lectures for that many people were rrrough at first.
• I think we visited STL this month? It felt like we were putting my folks at risk.

September

• Kansas road trip to the Little Jerusalem Badlands, newest state park. I got chased by a tarantula hawk wasp.
• EK started residential carpentry class at local tech school
• FK took an online architecture class
• I took my first COVID test (randomly selected for KU, despite teaching all-remote course)

October

• an early snow!
• low key Halloween, sort of. We made some costumes but didn’t go trick or treating. I walked Kuel around his neighborhood and we saw many covid ‘candy chutes’

November

• BNB went to visit an alpaca farm
• crazy Presidential election, I took a week of screenshots showing electoral maps
• Zoom pie night, which was sad but I enjoyed our pies.
• lovely at-home Thanksgiving. EK made a beautiful meal, and we had a whole ham all to ourselves.
• No chicago trip.
• I started growing a pandemic mustache, finally
• BNB finally gave up the lease to our (empty) office

December

• EK demo’d TK’s room down to the cinderblock, and the interior walls to studs. Rebuild commenced in 2021, I think.
• I stepped down as Trustee at church
• Nice quiet Christmas at home, then drove to STL on xmas morning to see fam. Still felt weird to be in person!

All in All

I feel like the highlights here are negative, but it was actually a beautiful, positive year for us. E and I say it feels like we stole and extra year with the kids, and we loved spending so much time together, free from our obligations and activities. We ate every meal at home for a better part of a year. It felt like we moved out to the countryside. And nobody got the ‘rona. Yet.