It’s tough having a birthday during a pandemic – especially when you’re a kid. Avery wasn’t super excited about celebrating her big day, but I think we managed to make it a special one for her regardless. She woke up to presents and a video made by a bunch of family and friends (thank you to those who contributed!), and in the afternoon we surprised her by sending her on a neighborhood scavenger hunt where several friends (in masks) were waiting for her. After a frozen yogurt stop, the girls came back and played games in our backyward.

Avery’s assessment of the activities? “I want a surprise party every year!” she said.

-M

Avery’s been talking about her birthday for weeks, and it’s finally here. She shared some thoughts on turning 11 with me yesterday afternoon…

-M

The school year – certainly one of the strangest ever – has come to a close. Last week, the girls participated in a series of (virtual) end-of-year and good-bye activities, including the very moving candlelight ceremony for 7th and 8th graders. In normal years the 8th graders extinguish their candles and hand off their head-of-school status to the younger grade; this year, Zoe and her classmates held up candles while their older peer provided some words of wisdom over Zoom.

Among the gems: “Enjoy the time you have left at Brandeis – it goes so fast.” “Don’t take seeing your friends or being back at school for granted.” “Really treasure your moments at school and with friends – live in the moment.” “If you wind up going to Israel, have an extra amazing time in our honor.” (The annual 8th grade trip was, obviously, cancelled.)

There were a lot more comments like the above, and quite a few tears, and I was moved by the maturity and insight of these 13- and 14-year-olds. It’s a huge deal that Zoe is about to enter her last year (!) of Brandeis, and I hope she takes their words to heart…

-M

We haven’t posted much lately, but we’re all just plugging along – working and doing school online. While many days feel like Groundhog Day (i.e. the same thing over and over again), the girls have had some stand-out moments.

A few weeks back Zoe was named the MVP of her cross country team during the virtual athletics banquet. (Proud mama fact: This is her second year of winning the award.) And Avery, shown below rehearsing, was asked to represent her class in the “step up” ceremony – a longstanding Brandeis end-of-year tradition. “You were chosen to be an ambassador for 5th grade by consistently demonstrating kindness, empathy and integrity with classmates, other students and your teachers,” she was told. Awwww….

-M

“I’m not in the mood…” Avery moaned the other morning as she put her toast in the toaster. “I’m not in the mood for a Monday!”

(Even while sheltering in place, no one’s a fan of Mondays.)

-M

Not much has changed since the last time I reported on our status. We still do a lot of reading, lounging in our backyard, and just general hanging out; we’ve also been doing some gardening as a family (Avery bought a little lemon tree for the backyard). And with the shelter in place lifting slightly, we’ve been getting out of the house a bit more: One weekend we headed down to Half Moon Bay to do some plant shopping and outside dining, and we also visited the San Francisco Botanical Garden (which recently opened to visitors) last weekend. Maddie remains thrilled that we’re all together 24/7!

-M