Christmas 2021 - the next normal... whatever that is

I took my 2020 Christmas/Holiday cards off the kitchen wall last week. They made me happy all year long, but when the next round came through, it was time. Even though 2021 was better than 2020, the next normal still feels a long way off. 

 We spent most of 2021 outside – backpacking in Trinity Alps, hiking in the Olympic National Forest, the Smoky Mountains, Rocky Mountains, Tahoe, and hanging out in backyards, local parks, and around our own firepit. 

 

This was a year of milestones. Hadley, (and bonus daughters) Toco and Chiko graduated from high school, San Jose State, and Holt College of International Business. 

Tracy and I marked our 25^th anniversary by going to tennis camp at the USTA National Campus in Florida. And when I turned 50 in September, Tracy threw me an epic 80s party. I can’t find my keys, but I still know all the words to every Erasure song. Mad life skills. 

I hate the term “empty nest.” It’s saccharin, glossy, and patronizing. That said, if you’re sending all your kids off to college, don’t send two at once. The life in the house evaporates overnight. Tracy and I have compensated by showing up in CO multiple times (lucky Skyler and Hadley), getting bees (that abandoned the hive, but left five gallons of honey), and drinking midday margaritas at Indian Wells. Clearly, we need more practice. Any suggestions? 

 

Skyler is a pre-med super senior at UCCS majoring in psychology, philosophy, and a minor in biochem. He’ll graduate in May, but if the MCAT goes well, he won’t be off our payroll for long. He’s added working in a local ER and volunteering at a food pantry to singing in his a cappella group and rock climbing. Apparently, that’s all too normal, so he took a side trip to Vegas to learn how to eat fire. Seriously. If you want to debate “isms” late into the night, come visit over the holiday break. He’s also gifted in acquiring free t-shirts, and is closing in on not buying a single article of clothing for his entire college career. Goals.   

When Liam found out Foothill College would be primarily online for a second year in a row, he 

applied to a handful of colleges with rolling admission. Oregon State was the winner and he moved to Corvallis in September to study electrical engineering (probably). It’s tough making new friends as a transfer (during a pandemic), but in person classes and an easy flight home for visits mitigates the transition. He’s taken up cycling and doesn’t seem to mind the cold rain… yet. 

Hadley is a freshman at CSU in Fort Collins studying evolutionary biology and genetics with a concentration in botany. She says everything in CO is better than CA, and sends us links to horse properties for sale. Um, no. It was tough doing her entire senior year of high school online, but at least field hockey restarted, so she got her final season as captain. In February, we visited the Word Equestrian Center in Ocala, FL where we found a four-year-old dark bay thoroughbred called Ollie. She spent the rest of the year training him and working for Nordstrom – nice discount! Ollie joined her at CSU in October. The eventing center is close to campus, and she can ride every day. 

 

After nearly two years as proximal colleagues, Tracy and I still like each other. His office is more open than mine, but hopefully 2022 will bring some equilibrium to our work and our world. We hope to see you soon and wish you all the best this holiday season.  

 

Love, the Colwells

 

 

Groundhog's Day 2021 - in lieu of a Christmas letter

 

February 2021 

Happy Groundhog’s Day! It seems like the most appropriate holiday to commemorate 2020, since the days just replicate each other. Thank you to everyone who sent Christmas/Holiday cards. I didn’t expect many this year, but there’s enough to cover the kitchen wall, and it makes me smile every day. 

I volunteered for Second Harvest early in the shutdown, and we ran out of food with at least 50 people in line. The abrupt, exponentially rising poverty combined with tepid online education and the brutal effects of isolation prompted my open objection to California’s handling of the crisis. What our leaders are doing to my home state is heartbreaking. 

So, I went through 200lbs of flour therapy-baking and sent cakes and cookies to teachers, and small business owners and employees. And kept volunteering. And inviting people to my backyard. Drops in a big bucket. 

For the most part, we’re all doing what you’re doing… life Covid style. 

Skyler’s now a senior at UCCS. He worked at an adolescent psychiatric hospital at the beginning of the shutdown, which gave him a place to go when all his classes went online. It inspired him to switch to pre-med, which means he’ll be a super senior next year. CO is more open than CA, so he’s been able to continue rock climbing and practicing with his a cappella group. We see less and less of him, so we try to plan appealing adventures to tempt him to visit or join us. It might help if we remodeled his room instead of using it for extra office space and storage. 

Liam was a freshman at St. John’s in Queens last March. Two days after he returned from spring break, the campus shut down and stayed that way. It was July before the school packed up his dorm and shipped his things to us. The reset was good for him, and he took a job as a Starbucks barista, signed up for classes at Foothill College, and built a home gym with some friends. He’s hoping to transfer to a university on the west coast when they open back up in person. It’s convenient having an onsite coffee expert, and he’s also polishing his skills as a short order cook. Too bad his dishwashing skills are not on a similar trajectory. 

Horseback riding was never canceled since it’s “taking care of a pet,” so, Hadley has basically lived at Webb Ranch. It mitigates the loneliness of online school. Unfortunately, Sunny was diagnosed with an incurable hoof condition early summer, so she can only compete on borrowed horses. It’s odd applying for colleges when you can’t visit them, but she’s got a handful of acceptances already and is hoping for more. Ideally outside of CA in a smaller town, with an equestrian facility nearby. 

Tracy and Lockheed are still getting along, and he had his Technical Fellow designation renewed which means he gets lots of “Tracy, can you fix this?” calls. It’s not that different from being at home, except he gets paid. With fencing centers shutdown, he’s focused on cycling, tennis, and house projects, most notably a monarch nursery and turning our backyard firepit into a social distance hangout complete with party lights and a rotating disco ball. 

Workday sent us home in March, and I haven’t been back onsite since. Even working remotely, my team is great and so is the work. I miss the salad bar, but I’ll trade it for spending my 90 minute commute on the tennis court or in the kitchen. We took advantage of empty roads and national parks (notched eight of them), and took a dozen little road, camping, and backpacking trips to places in CA we always wanted to visit - Lassen, Death Valley, Trinity Alps, etc. To escape the CA lockdowns, we defected to CO several times, spent Thanksgiving in Maui and the last week of December in Florida. We revived our scuba skills, and learned that diving in five-foot swells is as tough as the guide who tried to talk us out of it actually said it would be. 

I’m not introverted enough to cope well with a shutdown. I can’t wait to sing at a concert, go to lunch at a crowded restaurant, and high five my tennis partner. It feels like we’re all a little edgy, raw, and feral right now, but hopefully 2021 will be better. If you’re in the area, my firepit is your firepit. Pop-ins always welcome. Again, thank you for being part of our village. I can’t wait to see you again. 

Much love, Julie, Tracy, Skyler, Liam, and Hadley

Sunny the horse

Panda, Brocklean, and Tatertot the cats

Yukie the bunny (who is 9 years old and we suspect he is a zombie)