The end of 2020... was it all bad??

 As 2020 comes to a close I keep thinking it was such a “crap” year, but truly was it??

In many ways it was a year that challenged us all, challenged our family unit, took opportunities away that made us sad, angry, depressed, but when I really sit and reflect on it all, 2020 also gave me a lot..  time with my family we normally would not get and as the girls get older I realize every second counts.. but truly.. the year was pretty good..  

January...  an amazing trip to Sri Lanka as a celebration of my finishing my Bachelors degree after 20 years !  I was able to take days with my girls, flying to see friends in Doha along with way, meeting new friends, eating all of the curry and the highlight was bathing an elephant.  I mean that was the start to my 2020..   

January part 2.. take a family trip to Mexico City.  Eating the most delicious foods, seeing the prettiest of cities and well learning that I have some medical issues I have to take care of.  I am always in awe of the care and kindness I received in Mexico City from amazing doctors.  Kindness knows no race, color, language barrier, if we allow ourselves to see each other in the good.  Mexico City is on my bucket list of places to return and enjoy..  (and see my girls Nely and Schonell)

February....  Carnival in Gualeguaychú Argentina on a bus with 55 people to celebrate turning 46.. YES PLEASE..  what a memory.  I am forever grateful to my friends for planning this event for me.  This year the event is cancelled and how happy I am to say that I was there in 2020 loving ever second of being there with people I truly love and some have moved on from Argentina and for me it is now like an extra good memory!  The memory of approaching the bus and hearing all of these amazing peeps sing happy birthday to me..  priceless..  

February..  a family weekend away in Salta. Man nothing beats the empanadas from that area of Argentina.  Our last little trip before Covid..  

March..  well everyone’s world came crashing didn’t it?  On March 14th the girls left school for what we had hoped would be just a few weeks, Scott left the office and life was on hold.   Rappi food delivery was our new friend.  Home was where we stayed..

April..  continued quarantine... 2 weeks at a time..  

May..  I think I started a puzzle..  I also tried making my own bread.. I may have started other thing, who knows.  

June.. I officially donate a puzzle, with over 1500 pieces that were just white, to someone else who maybe likes that type of torture.  I also let my bread starter die.  I feel no remorse over either.

July..  packing for the move to Recoleta..  the heart of the city as Scott job shifts from Campana to Caba.  so different than our closed barrio life in the suburbs had been.  I am pretty sure no one else but me is super excited by it.  

August..   hey..  want to know what you should do during a global pandemic and over 150 days of quarantine??? You should definitely  move from a house in the country to an apartment in the heart of the city!!!  (Insert sarcasm) August 4th school with distance learning starts in a whole new way and place..  I may have severely underestimated how much the change would impact us all.  

September..   I am not going to lie here.. I spent this month being mad at the world and I may have taken it out on people I later had to say I am sorry to.  For everyone who showed me grace and kindness, thank you.  I am fairly certain I was not worthy

October... spring break plans are dashed.. any chance of going home to see grandmas is gone, but we explore slowly our new “hood” and find things are pretty neat.  The organic market knows us by name.. same with the local Starbucks.. 

November..  We give thanks for school allowing the kids on campus 2x for 90 minutes to reconnect with friends...  Saturday activities start..  slowly we are starting back..  I give thanks to all of my kids teachers doing their best..  giving so much of themselves.  I give thanks to friends near and far, missing the ones who have left this year..  give thanks that I know we will see each other again one day..  

December..  we escape for Playa Del Carmen, Mexico for Christmas and spend time disconnected from reality.   I realize how thankful I am for the extra time with my girls I have been gifted this year.  Only 18 more months I am reminded until Nola heads to university...  The trip is amazing, just what we needed and I head home happy.

What does January 2021 hold.. who the heck knows..  I can say I have plans, but what 2020 has taught me is that it is best to have no plans, to go with the flow and relax and remember life is good.  I struggle with this but am trying to remember the best parts of the year as a reminder.  

I am going to post some favorites photos as a reminder.. mostly to me..  2020 was a decent year Stacey..  try and remember that..   these are in no order.. because well why would they be

Happy 2021.  

August 31st.. day 171 of quarantine... also.. Cora's Birthday.. so whats up??

So tomorrow my baby Cora turns 15 years old.. how this has happened??  well I blinked..  on day 171 of quarantine.. one of the longest in the world, August 31st brings me happiness anyway..  a day to celebrate Cora... she is funny, bright, sassy, stubborn, determined, caring and wicked smart... 

Tomorrow is also 171 day of quaratine here in Argentina..  and sadly the numbers of cases continue to increase dispite the best of intentions by everyone trying to stay safe with social distancing, masks, many shops still closed.. It is so hard to see the country I love suffer so..   

Two of the hardest parts of quarnatine for me have been not seeing friends, who I adore, off properly as they leave this country for their next journey and not see my mom this past school break.. I am anxiously waiting for borders to open and to fly to NYC and grab the biggest hug from my mom!  of course after that happens I am lucky to say I have so many new countries to visit!!  for proper hugs of those who left!!  

Tomorrow is also just about 1 month of us living in our new apartment in the city... yes.. we traded our suburb life for city life!  We moved down to the heart of the city.. just two blocks from one of my all time favorite spots in the city, the Recoleta Cemetary!!  I can't wait to spend time wandering in their once it is again open to visitors!!     I have enjoyed exploring the area.. getting to know where thing are and the 972 resturants on Rappi.

While we knew the change was coming, it is really so much harder than I anticipated..  I guess I didn't realized how deeply settled we were in our home..  6 years.. it was a blink of any eye for me, but for the girls it was where they grew up.. where they expected to continue to live while we were here.. change..   it is not always easy..  

so in typical fashion.. let me show you what we have been up to the past 80 days since I last blogged.. 

I am just going to start with this gem from YEARS ago... My mommy and my baby.... just cause.. Cora was almost 5 here.. right before Kindergarten..                    

so I just want to admit.. my puzzle of quarantine.. it broke me.. I made it this far into this puzzle and then gave up..  the sky of all white did me in..  I offically hate puzzles.. not really.. but I passed this one on.  

6 years ago, July 5th, 2014... we were so blessed with this home...

July 31, 2020..  thank you for the memories... 

so sometimes you have an amazing friend who makes you a shirt that pretty much makes you feel like the queen of quarantine.. even when you are not.. just as my family

I made them take the traditional first day of school photo.. though they are starting with Distance Learning.. they are happily in 10th and 11th grades.  Nola is taking full IB and Cora is happily on Student Council and continuing her time at Model United Nations!!  happy and busy girls

Again.. I have the most amazing friends.. friends who have gotten me through 171 days of quarantine.. with laughter, listening to my tears, celebrating the highs and the lows of it all..  I am blessed and if quarantine taught me anything is to value those people in my life!  

This one.. living her best qurantine life in the city!

I love alllll of these people pictured.. and the one not pictured...  these calls, these connections keep my soul filled up... and can we seriously talk about how damn cute that baby is!!

Rocking her Pop Pop's sunnies on the first day of 11th grade.. 

Another hard part of quarantine is missing my time with my Texas family...  goodness I love them.. and I miss them.. 

Thankful that after 171 days we are all still standing.. all still smiling and only about 10% of the time we want to run away!!

my new view from my kitchen sink.. where the dishes never stop coming.. 

friends.. I can't even explain the hole in my heart I will experience when Sept. 6th when this friend flies to India to begin their next journey.  Some friendships are so precious and I am so blessed to feel such sadness...  it is hard because I have felt this before.. I just need to remember I am blessed..  through the tears I am blessed.  

Well lets end with this one.. 15 tomorrow.. be still my heart..  

HOW THE HELL IS IT DAY 92 QUARANTINE

So when we last spoke it was day 33.. and now like 59 days later we are STILL HERE

Argentina is staying the course with staying in full quarantine at least here in the Buenos Aires and surrounding areas.  Other states in the country are slowly opening and life is resuming.  In our neighborhood we can't even walk the neighborhood yet.. we are still only allowed to run essential outings, groceries, pharmacy.. everything is still closed, etc.. 

We are on quarantine until June 28th and it will most likely be extended as just now cases in Buenos Aires and surrounding areas are rising, but surprisingly the country is still doing quite well compared to all it's South American neighbors. 

As of today, June 12th we have 28,764 cases and 785 deaths.  Not bad for a country that has a reputation of being overly social, kisses and hugs to everyone you meet, sharing the mate and taking pleasure in being out and about exercising, taking coffees and enjoying leisurely meals.  

I am impressed and thankful for feeling safe..  

I mean I am dying for a walk around the neighborhood, but thankful for the short bike rides to pick up my million mercado libre packages from the guard house.. 

So some photos from our last 59 days...  

So Cora took the plunge and shaved her head.. it is the BEST look on her.. amazing she can pull it off so well... it is now growing out and yes.. she is brushing it daily!

Finally we can ride to the guards to pick up packages.. this was a DAMN GOOD DAY!

We take alot of selfies.. but that is ok.. we be cute!

So thankful for my "grandma group"...  our weekly (or as much as we try weekly) calls make my heart happy.. (even if one is missing from this photo)...   

Matching masks for our bank and grocery store run..  

Family Zoom.. NOTHING is better than this during quarantine!!

our local shopping center's toy store is open for delivering toys.. their mascot is showing his support for everyone wearing their mask and doing their part to keep each other safe.

Mr. Ho's Korean food.. what a guilty pleasure!!! So much sodium, which I need to limit but this Bulgogi is insanely good..  

Middle School and High School movie themed Bingo Night.  So much fun and WE WON 2 kilos of ice cream.... such a fun night!

We sneak to the commercial center to walk to all of the stores we need... veggies, dietetica, grocery, pharmacy, bank.. anything to get out and about.. 

Black Lives Matter..  and in this house we are determined to learn more, listen more and do better!

Our new favorite.. frozen medialunas.. defrost, heat and eat!!  such a great treat!  and didn't exist before quarantine.. I find the mother of invention is total necessity!  

Basically we get alot of food delivered to our house.. sadly.. we get no condiments.. just the street in front of our house does.. sad.. I could have used that mayo to make tuna salad..   

Bank Lines..  nuff said.. they suck...  but flip side it is time outside in the sun.. 

Well as the days goes on, we have good ones, we have down ones.. but we are so thankful to be healthy.. family is healthy and school is almost done.. 

As school winds down we are left with friends leaving on repatriation flights (commercial flights banned for now)...  This year there is no closure saying goodbye to those who have become our families here in BA.. it is so hard..  but I am thankful both girls have again finished strong academically.  Doing distance learning online for 13 weeks had not been easy, they have had some amazing and supportive teachers and come this June 19th Scott and I will have an 11th grader and a 10th grader who will start school in August...   most likely online...  

and now I will conclude this uplifting blog..

I am grateful today for the following 5 things:  

1.  zoom group gym sessions  

2.  3 day holiday weekends  

3.  21 days of stretching and yoga on Sunday with friends.. 

4.  trying new recipes.. some are good.. some are tuna on toast..    

5.  long whatsapp messages that make me smile.. 

 

Quarantine Life..

So we are 33 days into our self quarantine.. we started government issued lock down 31 days ago... at least according to my counting of days.. done manually so forgive me if I am off a day or two.. and we are scheduled for more quarantine time if I believe the news today...

I have to say I am thankful we are here in Argentina.  Being away from family is so very hard because the reality is that I won't make it home if someone I love gets ill.. but I am thankful the country is taking the measures needed to make sure our infection numbers are low and we flatten our curve.

School for the girls is completely done online and I am beyond impressed with the dedication of the staff and coaches to make sure the kids feel connected.  Zoom calls are a new normal and I think we all are anxious for the day when zooms turns into real coffee dates, but for now, this is all working and thankfully it is working just fine..

I normally only blog for travel and for memories, and even though this time together can sometimes seem like pure torture.. the reality is I have only a few more years until my girls are off at University.. should I not look at this maybe as a gift..  the gift of time and being together.. it isn't a girls trip, it isn't all great, it is real and raw and sometimes we cuss, but maybe this is just a gift.. but I feel like the last 33 days have taught me some things and we have taken too many really bad pictures to not share.. and mostly my blogs are just pictures anyway..

so I present you the top 10 pictures.. for now of life in quarantine, in absolutely no actual order because basically the days are a blur anyway...

so sometimes we are like newlyweds and sometimes its like we are married 47.5 years and counting.. I am going to let you all decide how it was going in this picture! but even in times of me being so frustrated or overwhelmed...well at the end of the day there is this boy.. who allows me to boil over, get frustrated and still says at the end of it all "do you need a snack?"  Spoiler:  usually I need a snack.. 

our 'new normal' when we go out.. masks for everyone, 6 ft apart and in quickly and out quickly.. wash hands, don't sneeze on someone and don't you dare cough...  the fogging of the glasses get me, but mostly I am thankful for the masks that arrived in time and keep me safe when I need to go and run for groceries or medicine

4,000 pieces.. not sure what we were thinking when we bought this, but let's just say we are a bit further now than we were when I took this photo.. oh and just so you know the whole sky.. WHITE.. like 1,000 pieces of WHITE... just WHITE!!!

ahhhhhh.. day like 1 of quarantine when we could still go for a walk in the barrio.. but soon that came to an end and yoga classes and the times I feel coordinated enough to hop on OULA are now the exercise of choice.

A brilliant mom, Alice,  in our school came up with this idea to have photos of ourselves with rainbows of hope and then she coordinated them in frames of windows made to look like we were all at our school..  This is what we need more of.. positive light and happiness..  I keep my rainbow as a reminder of better days ahead and of my sweet friend (so glad she likes me enough to be my friend) who so selflessly gives of herself to bring others joy.. 

also.. I want it noted my family said my rainbow did not look happy.. I was perplexed.. it is happy......

yeah.. we have made alot of meals.. Salmon Cakes on a Salad was this winner!!  but thanks for great friends who share new and exciting recipes I have had added some new meals to our rotation..  gnocchi with brussell sprouts, stuffed eggplant, stews and soups... I may even try my hand at sour dough bread.. though it seems challenging...   I made British Flap Jacks.. they weren't a total mess...  and lots of that good ole banana bread.. :)  

The best part of the days for me are lunches.. we eat together.. this was from today day like 97856 of quarantine.. we ate outside and laughed and sipped coffee and while taking this Nola gave me the international sign for "i love you mom, please take more photos"..... 

I miss the school...   these are the guards that take care of us each and every day we are at school.. I had to ask a favor of them and they sent me this photo saying they missed the Gibson Family.. Nola and I sent a photo back.. I cried.. they are so much more than just people who work at school.. they are extended family..   we can't wait to see them again.. 

So even in the suckiness of it all I am trying to journal and find the good in the days, even if they are bad days.. there is always a lesson to be learned, a take away.. something good.... this day and many days during this I have been consistently thankful for the women in my orbit here.. they are funny, sassy, true, loving, caring, kind and I strive to be a better human everyday because they are such examples of the best humans I know.. I am not worthy enough.. I have so many points of love and light.. so many rays of sunshine..  my snap chats with Vanessa to my Marco Polos with Rose & Stacy.. I have book club zooms, grandma dinner zooms and so much more.. I am lucky..  and I am thankful

Even in all of the trying to find joy out of this all, there is this sense of sadness..  someone sent this to me on a day I was particularly angry.. angry about dishes never being done by anyone but me, and so many other trivial things and it hit me.. I am going through grief.. of things that I thought would happen.. of things I can't control.. of people who are leaving and that I cant hug.. I remember this old friend from when my dad died and I think back to the times when I was angry.. and didn't know it was part of the process of letting go, of grieving the loss of things that mean too much.. but I am older and wiser now.... so I am trying to navigate the anger differently.. realizing it is just a part of me saying goodbye to the normal and adjusting to the changes and the "new normal"..   and that is ok...