This past Saturday Otto and I decided we needed some fresh air while Joe was out deer hunting. We bundled up and headed to the Holland Farmers Market to see what was going on at the market. It was sunny and the air was crisp. We walked from stall to stall taking in all of the beautiful root veggies and squashes available. Otto loved yelling out all of the colors he saw but he had one end goal: blueberry donut.
Every Wednesday morning this summer we heading to the Holland Farmers market in the early morning to stock up on all of our veggies and cheese for the week. Every time Otto got to pick out a donut before we headed to the coffee shop to get a coffee and milk. We ended our morning at the Readers World book store seeing what was new. By the end of the summer Otto was ordering his own books for the next week. I’m not even kidding. He walks up to the counter and requests what he’s looking for for next time.
Sometimes I swear he’s an old man trapped in a baby body.
When it was warm, we’d sit in the lawn of Pillar Church or on a park bench and read our book / magazine before heading home.
As restrictions started to lift and work ramped up we started to miss a few of those Wednesday morning dates. That was one thing I said I was going to hold on to.
I was reminded of that when we stopped into the bookstore Saturday and the kind lady behind the counter says “OTTO! Where have you been!?!?”
It’s so important to hold on to these good lessons we’ve learned about ourselves in 2020. There is a lot of anxiety and worry and what if’s and that is still ahead but I still hold fast that I got to spend more time at home with my son and husband than I ever have in my life. Despite the stress, it was still a gift.
Michigan offices have a mandate to work from home so in a way Joe and I and Otto are in a pseudo quarantine again. We can still get take out, go to stores, etc but if we can work from home we have to. This time around it’s not as abrupt. We know how to navigate this a little better than we did when it first locked down completely in March.
Joe knows when I’m feeling anxious because we will randomly get a shipment of butter and toilet paper from Instacart. (I’m not sure why butter is my go to hoarding staple). But it eases my mind a bit knowing that well… I have butter.
We continue to move forward because even though sometimes it feels like it during this pandemic, time stands still for nobody.
We are moving forward finding specials ways to celebrate the holidays this year. We don’t know what things will look like two weeks from now or even what Christmas will be like but we will be together Lord willing, celebrating. In the spirit of the holidays Otto and I bought our first big strand of garland. Otto was very confused why we were purchasing a chopped up Christmas tree. We hung it over the mantle with some beaded garland we bought from one of my favorite downtown shops, Spring Sweet and let the scent of the greens fill up our room.
Home for the holidays is the theme of this year. It will be quiet, calm and peaceful. Otto is so fascinated by all of the holiday traditions, I can’t wait to continue to decorate the house with him.
Each day friends, is a step forward.
