Coffee + Conversation

Happy Monday, friends.

It has been such a nice last couple weeks here in Charlotte and is finally feeling like fall. Something about fall always feel so refreshing to me and I am very glad it is here.

Over the last weeks, we have begun adjusting to a new “normal” in our household. That spring break that lasted a full six months finally came to an end and my children started school.

It is so nice to have some semblance of a schedule again, although I have to say I enjoyed having nothing to do far more than I ever thought I would. While quarantine has certainly made it hard to balance my work with family responsibilities and also maintain some hobbies for my own sanity, it was also kind of nice to wake up when my kids did every morning, pick up some hobbies we could do as a family like baking and growing a vegetable garden, and just being home together.

At the same time, I am also very glad that we are all back to “normal.” Well, this school year is anything but normal but luckily kids are so adaptable that mine don’t even seem to notice that it is weird for everyone to be wearing masks, to eat lunch with little plexiglass cubicles separating them from their friends so they can’t breathe on each other, to no longer be able to share supplies, etc.

I have really been looking forward to this school year for so long – the year my babies would be at our preschool that we love so much together. I have prayed for Connor to have as positive an experience there as his big sister did and was so excited to see them walking in holding hands together in their matching back to school outfits. That didn’t come to fruition as planned and they are separated at different schools this year. But, once again, this was far harder on me than on them and they both seem so happy to have a few hours a week with friends.

Another big change for our family has been my husband’s job. After six years of his traveling every week for work, he left his corporate job to start a new firm with some colleagues and now works from home every day. This change happened at the end of February, just a couple weeks before the world closed down, so it seemed kind of anticlimactic to mention it when everybody was working from home. It is so exciting for our family to get to spend more time together. I have enjoyed having a partner in parenting during the week when I am short on patience, my kids love having him home to play in the evenings, and he has really, really loved being there for new milestones. I could just cry typing this paragraph – God is so good.

Over the past few months, we have tackled lots of projects around the house (such as our landscaping and a new front door that actually opens and closes) and reorganized every closet, cabinet, and drawer thanks to a little wine drinking while watching The Home Edit one night. I’ve also worked hard to become a better meal planner and have tried tons of new recipes with everyone home every night. I guess quarantine wasn’t all bad after all.

Now, that life is returning to some semblance of a routine, I am excited to come back to this space and catch up with all of you and share some of the projects we have been working on, recipes our family has been loving, and what we are all up to these days.

Happy Monday!