Happy Holidays!  And what a year it’s been. I recall New Year’s Eve 2019, our family stood on our balcony at the Atlantis Hotel in the Bahamas, watching fireworks explode over the ocean. For New Year’s Eve 2020, we stood on our front porch with Lysol wipes, waving down our lost DoorDash driver. At least this year he knows where we live, and what we like on our pizza.

In January, after years of thinking about it, and with the encouragement of my family, I finally enrolled in the Delaware School of Real Estate, taking courses 3 nights per week via live Zoom classes, wearing what I call my “Pearls & Pajamas” uniform -business blouse on top, sweats on the bottom. Ana chose to return to in-person school rather than stay virtual, which was really best for all involved.  She needed more time around people who could truly appreciate her mastery of a million different TikTok dances. Collin, however, chose to continue attending school from the comfort of his room, rolling from his bed to his desk and back again between the hours of 8am & 2pm.

In February, Collin presented us with his second speeding ticket of his 8-month long driving career. I had a feeling he’d get another. Every time he walked through the door, I’d not so jokingly ask, “Did you get a speeding ticket today?” Honestly, the anticipation was killing me.  He likes to point out that he may be a fast driver but he’s a good driver, having never caused an accident. And I like to point out that he failed to notice a marked STATE POLICE vehicle clearly parked on the shoulder of Route 1. Twice.

In March, my mother and I flew to Florida to attend my Aunt Charline’s wake. Never one to miss a good party, it came as no surprise that, not only was Aunt C very much alive, she arranged for her funeral to be held at a bar that keeps 12 flavors of daiquiri on tap. In lieu of a body, the casket was filled with donations for the local animal shelter. There were so many cans of Alpo, it took all 6 pallbearers to carry it out.

For Spring Break, Brian and the kids thought it would be a fabulous idea for us to zigzag around Florida during the busiest time of the year with ZERO hotel reservations, leaving us fancy free to visit various beaches with the kind of joyous spontaneity only ever successful in romantic comedies. Not wanting to be a killjoy, I decided to pack up my anxieties and go with the flow. The beaches were beautiful, the weather was gorgeous, the food was fantastic, and the accommodations…well, as the 4 of us lay perpendicular across our shared bed at the Holiday Inn off State Road A1A, I couldn’t help but to think how undervalued killjoys are. What kind of person can’t appreciate a well-planned stay at an oceanfront Marriott?

Ana turned 12 in April. She missed out on a birthday party last year due to the national Covid quarantine, so I fully expected her to embrace party planning this year. We floated some ideas around- roller skating, trampoline park, bowling, etc. She couldn’t make up her mind, so she did nothing. According to Ana, making no decision is better than making a bad decision – a personal motto I hope never goes on her resume. We got her a skateboard, a volleyball, and cash money to ease our underlying feelings of guilt. 

Collin had his Zoom court date for his speeding ticket scheduled for mid-May. The days leading up were spent mounting his defense, practicing cross examination questions, and debating which closing argument to use. But when the moment came, the judge simply asked if he was guilty, “yes, but…” then cut him off with a “That’s a $112.50 fine. You’re dismissed” and logged off. Collin handed me $113 cleverly wrapped in his Distinguished Honor Roll report card.  I kept the change.

In June, we packed our clothes and went to our house in Bethany for the summer. Collin began his 4^th season working at Candy Kitchen on the boardwalk, Ana resumed her “I’m so bored” campaign despite BEING AT THE BEACH, I started studying for my PA Real Estate License exam, and Brian set up his office smack dab in the middle of the family room so we could all experience the joy of live conference calls and supply chain issues.

We made a gradual return home in mid-August. Football practice had shifted to full time for Collin and Ana’s travel soccer began their traveling, and I dug into my new real estate career (now licensed *call me*).  Ana also decided she was going to try out for the middle school volleyball team, and began preparing by watching YouTube videos to come up with her signature serve. Learning the rules of the game was not a priority.

In September, when school was in full swing (Ana in 7^th, Collin in 12^th) it was brought to my attention that while we were building sand castles all summer, everyone else had been touring colleges with their high school senior. Oops. He’s our first kid, things were bound to fall through the cracks. I asked Collin to give us a well-researched list of the colleges he was interested in so we could visit them before submitting his applications. He gave us a list of 8 colleges, 5 of them were solid choices, and the other 3? Unless you have a 5.0 gpa and list “Donating bone marrow when not interning at NASA” as an extra-curricular, forget it.  But his “you never know unless you try” optimism was contagious, and so we submitted all 8 applications and essentially threw away $400 in application fees. Visits are pending upon acceptance.

It was a great month for the kids and their sports. Ana made the volleyball team and was actually pretty fantastic!  She had settled on a cool 3-bounce-fist serve. And Collin was named a Captain for the Varsity Football Team.

Collin turned 18 in October. His first order of business was to find out if he could sign his own early dismissal notes for school. He could not. But he could finally take himself to the dentist. No more waiting rooms for me.

The day after Thanksgiving, the four of us jumped in the car and headed to Boston to visit Collin’s #1 college choice, Emerson College. It was a terrific 4 days- walking around the town, visiting the aquarium, shopping around Quincy Market, and eating, eating, eating. The college was great too, located right on Tremont St.

We returned home from Boston on November 29^th, and on December 1^st Brian didn’t feel so well. Can you guess where this is going? On December 2^nd at 6:40am I received a text notification that he had tested positive for Covid. I jumped out of bed and stared at him, his host body exhaling all over our sheets. I threw a towel over his face and backed up 6 feet before giving him the bad news. He decided to pack up immediately and head to our beach house to isolate until we knew if the kids and I were infected. Although we had just spent an entire weekend sharing a hotel room the size of our bathroom, somehow, we remained negative.

Poor Brian returned 12 days later, 10 pounds lighter and disheveled but on the mend.  Unfortunately, he missed Collin’s football banquet. It was a great event – Collin was awarded All League First Team and received the Sportsmanship Award!

Christmas this year was low-key- just the 4 of us, playing board games, sitting around in our pajamas, and sourcing At-Home Covid tests to have on hand for next month.

Before this year closes, we’d like to send out a big THANK YOU to those who got us through this year – DoorDash, Amazon Prime, Curative Testing…and of course YOU, dear friends and family! Thank you for being a part of our lives. Whether near or far, yesterday or yesteryear, you are always in our hearts. May your 2022 be filled with an abundance of love, laughter, health, and happiness.

Love,

Brian, Kim, Collin, and Ana