We're eating our way through the softest gingerbread cookies ever.
Carson got his driver's license! Off he went on his own today, on dangerous winter roads, and even though I'm pretty sure he'll be okay because he's a great driver, my annoying mom brain is expecting bad news at any moment.
The Pentatonix concert did not disappoint. They are talented singers and performers.
Colby tested positive with COVID (he felt a little congested two weeks before he came, that's all), so he couldn't come to the concert with us. Concertgoers had to show a negative test or a vaccine card. He quarantined in his room for a few days, I took him meals, we wore masks at home, we sanitized often, I turned up the air purifiers, and we got our booster shots. We played online games with him and watched movies together, him on his computer in his bedroom, us on the basement couch. We connected our Amazon Echoes so he could listen and talk and be part of what we were doing upstairs. When we finally let him out of his room, we still wore masks and he sat across the living room by himself to eat meals for a few more days. We're not scared of COVID, but if Paige tests positive, she can't go back to Europe and we don't want to mess that up. Almost two years later, COVID is still changing our plans and lives and causing fear in everyone. The Omicron variant is rampant right now and Europe is shutting down. Colby had it easy, just a mild congestion that felt like his allergies were acting up. He never lost his taste or smell. I think COVID in all its variants will be with us for years. Stress is high. Fear is high. Mental health is suffering as we all center our lives around COVID and isolate away from others. It's not good.
We opened gifts on Christmas Eve around the basement tree. This was the first day we didn't make Colby wear a mask after isolating long enough.
On Christmas morning we ate a large breakfast and then opened Santa gifts around the upstairs tree. Santa started wrapping gifts last year because there are sleepless teenagers wandering the house long after Santa goes to sleep.
We talked to Leah for a long time and played a game with her (Bye, Felicia). Maybe next year we'll all be together again in person for Christmas.
We worked on this year's Christmas puzzle.
We've gone to the theater to watch Ghostbusters and Spiderman, and to the church gym to play pickleball. Other than that, we've stayed inside watching movies and playing games and eating good food and relaxing together, staying away from the super contagious Omicron variant. I let my ambitious plans go of all the fun things we were going to do outside of this house, and we're enjoying not being too busy. Maybe this is just what we needed.
