The Covid Summer

This summer has been unlike any before. Like most families though, we have tried to make the best of it. We had to cancel two vacations, have not seen many of our friends and have pretty much stayed home except a few day trips here and there. This is certainly not how we typically spend our summers, but we know that it is necessary at this point. Because of my job change, I have been home with the kids all summer which has been fantastic. I have recently begun working at Chester Academy's summer school, which has been a great way to get my feet wet before the crazy school year really begins. Avery will be starting Pre-K in September as well and she is super excited to see her friends and teachers again. She is at a weird age where she notices how different things have been and that we aren't doing things we normally do and going places that we normally go; but not quite old enough to understand why (at least not the severity of the situation). She does understand wearing a mask in pubic and knows that it keeps people safe. When I was still working at the nursing home and things were ramping up, it was a scary time for everyone. Avery was having a hard time understanding why I was wearing a mask in the house and showering right when I got home, unable to hug her. She was not allowed back at school and stopped going to gymnastics. We stopped seeing friends and family. It was a really scary and confusing time for her. Then I was exposed to Covid at work. That is when we no longer could ask anyone outside of the house to watch the kids. I had to self isolate. It was Oliver's first birthday. I couldn't give him a kiss and it was just not worth it to me. We made the decision to keep me home and I stopped working. I am forever thankful that we were able to do that, because I know not many families had that option. I got to spend the summer with my kids and got a new job, which I have been wanting for awhile. If there was any silver lining in this whole Covid disaster for our family, that was it. That and Chris being able to work from home. He has been loving it and the kids have certainly loved having him home with them too. Avery has been missing her gymnastics dearly and unfortunately will not be doing that for a little while still, but she started back up with her horse riding lessons this summer which she LOVES and it has been a great outlet for her. Avery has been living in our pool and loving the lake this summer. We are thankful for having these opportunities and it has kept us feeling somewhat normal this summer. Oliver has grown so much lately. He is 99th percentile for weight and head circumference and off the charts 100th percentile for height. He has been mistaken for a 3 year old this summer already. He will definitely be the kid that a stranger will ask me why my 5 year old is talking like a baby and I will respond with "Because he is a baby, ma'am, he just turned 2." He loves to find trouble. He could have all of the toys and books in the world at his feet and he will still try to climb on top of his Cozy Coupe truck, raid the pantry for food, or play in the dog's water dish. Oliver is the sweetest little man ever. He loves to give hugs and blow kisses. He will snuggle anything soft. He has been obsessed with books. He will run and get a book, hand it to me, sign "please" and turn around, wiggle his butt and plop down on my lap. It is the best! He has the energy of the Energizer Bunny and runs through the house like Tasmanian Devil. He is the reason I am starting to get gray hairs. With this kid, head on a swivel. ALWAYS. 

 

Avery's First Haircut

So I have been totally dreading this day pretty much since the day Avery was born. I have always loved her hair. The color, the texture, and especially the length. It just grew so fast and so beautifully. She is not a huge fan of people messing with her hair but thankfully I convinced her enough to let me do an "Elsa braid" in her hair from time to time, which lets me play with it. It has been increasingly more difficult to tame her wild hair, however, now that it has grown super long and thick. The child is constantly in the dirt, in the sand, in the pool, with sun screen and sweat. Needless to say, its torture to brush the girl's hair. As much as I love love love her hair I knew it had to go. 

I certainly did not have to chop off all of her hair like I did. I could have cut a few inches off to make it more manageable for the summer and been more conservative. But to me, if I am going to cut hair, I like to make it worth my while. Ever since I was in high school I have grown my hair long and then chopped it off to donate. I'll never forget at the end of my junior year of high school I went and got my senior photos taken then headed right for my hair dresser and cut off 14" of my hair to donate (I almost cried from shock). But hair is hair and it grows back. And since then I have done the same thing. My hair grows fast and I would not call myself a frequent hair salon customer. So I usually go once every year - year and a half and chop it and donate it. 

So I've been pondering what to do about Avery's hair for awhile. Totally avoiding cutting it because like I said I love it so much. But it really was getting super long and something needed to be done. I feel very strongly, personally, about donating hair. More recently this subject has hit close to home. Last September a close friend of mine from high school passed away from breast cancer at the young age of 32 who had gone through numerous chemo treatments and in January my niece Maura started chemo therapy due to a tumor in her brain. I want Avery to make her own choices about her body so if she continues to want to donate her hair then fantastic but if not that is okay too. So it was very important to me to make sure Avery understood what she was doing and that she was okay with it. We have been talking about it for awhile. I explained to her what would happen to her hair and how some other little boys and girls are unable to grow their own hair for various reasons and they need other people's hair to make them feel better. We had many different conversations so that she could understand and also be excited and proud of herself for what she was going to do. I did some research on what organization I wanted to use. I had been using Pantene for myself, but they are no longer accepting donations. I wanted to make sure the organization did not require their applicants to pay for a wig, as some do. Children With Hair Loss is the organization I chose. They are non profit and give their wigs to children for free. I wanted Avery to understand that other children her age are not always able to grow their own hair and that her hair would go to a child like herself. She was very happy to know that she was going to help another little girl or boy.

I was going to have it professionally done until covid 19 happened. I knew it still needed to be cut because I could not last all summer with her hair the way it was with all of the summer activities that cause daily snarls (and for Avery's hair it does not take much!) So I said "screw it" and I bought some good hair cutting scissors and did it myself. First time ever cutting hair and I decided to chop my kid's hair. Yes, I am insane. I asked Avery if she was ready. She took a deep breath and said "Yes. I am going to be brave." Haha me too, kid, me too!! It certainly was not a perfect cut, but it will do! She loves her new hair and was so happy to share it. I hope her passion for this cause continues to be important to her like it is to me. Such a simple and easy, but important, gift to give. I am very proud of Avery and she is proud of herself too!