Ups and Downs

It's hard to believe that we have been quarantined for an entire year and so much has happened - good and bad. 

Alex and I are still working from home; neither of us has been to our office in over a year. Daycare has remained open for Claire through the pandemic with one shutdown when a teacher tested positive for Covid. Fingers crossed that will be the last Covid related closing. We haven't seen our family members in or friends in person in months and it feels weird.

Our UES rental apartment has been giving us some headaches. We had a mouse issue for a few months, something I haven't had to deal with (thankfully) since we lived with many roommates in Hell's Kitchen back in 2013. It wasn't pleasant but it was resolved. 

Each person in the Levi household had some health issues. I had another biopsied mole that turned out to be suspect and had to be surgically removed. Alex is scheduled to have his wisdom teeth out. Claire had her first urinary tract infection and it lasted over a month. Each of us has some minor pain and suffering but we all survive.

I got a promotion at the Jewish Museum. My new title is Associate Director of Major Gifts and Special Projects. The big change in my job is that I'm now managing capital government projects and working on additional projects as they come up. It's not how I saw my career going and the title change came with no increase in compensation. But I'm grateful to have a job, a flexible work schedule to accommodate an infant, and a team that I know well. 

My mom has had some promising scans recently. The road has been rocky and she's not out of the woods yet, but I'm grateful for where her health is now.

Alex and I have both received both shots of the Pfizer vaccination. While the city/state/country isn't yet close to herd immunity, it feels good to be on the right side of science and to have some protection against the virus.

Hibernation for the Winter

 Despite keeping cheery appearances, things have been hard. Winter feels long. We have barely gone anywhere aside from the Upper East Side. It feels very fortunate and at the same time stifling. We barely leave our apartment aside from quick errands and daily walks around the neighborhood circling the same blocks. I'm incredibly grateful for all that we have but that doesn't stop things from feeling a bit stale.

Alex and I haven't had a night off from our sweet little baby since she was born. We were both getting a little bit weary, so we began designating Saturday night as date night at the start of the year. We order in and make an extra effort to plan out something fun - a movie, game night, special cocktail, etc. - all within the safety and comfort of our apartment after Claire goes to sleep. It's a fun thing to look forward to, especially on grey winter days.

My mom is almost done with her treatments. Her hair might be gone but her fight is still fully there. She's tired most of the time, nauseous and dizzy a lot of the time, in pain some of the time, and fighting cancer all of the time. I'm learning so much about all of the side effects of cancer and chemo that I had no idea about like the mouth sores and the itchy skin. There are so many tests, tons of blood work, appointments with a plethora of doctors. It's overwhelming and emotionally draining to even think about. We're keeping a positive attitude and hoping that this first round of treatment is also her last!

Claire is growing and learning. I take solace in the fact that she has no other reality than the one she was born into - with face masks and no family other than my mom on a screen. We've had a few tough weeks here and there - Claire getting an ear infection, one of her teachers testing positive for COVID causing her daycare room to close. But overall, Claire is a happy, silly, eager-to-please little bundle of energy. I love her more than I can convey.

With the weather finally warming, the snow finally melting. It feels like we're reentering the world with new, more appreciative eyes. Rates of the virus are going down. Vaccinations should be more readily available soon. Things are looking brighter ahead.

Keeping Spirits Bright

Every single holiday was turned on its head this year. The pandemic was still in full force - working from home, lots of restrictions, mask wearing, social distancing...time begins to lose its meaning as days all look the same. So this year, with all the turmoil going on in the world, it was especially important to keep the spirits bright. 

I've never been a huge Halloween person. In the past I would watch a few scary movies and call it a day. But with a little baby in the house, it was basically mandatory we participate this year. We dressed Claire up like a pineapple and decided to make the holiday as fun for her as we could. She had a Zoom Halloween party in her daycare room and we took her to a drive-thru spooktacular. While I doubt she knew what was going on, she looked adorable and her smiley face was enough to brighten the spirits. 

Typically, Alex and I alternate spending Thanksgiving with his family or my mom's best friend's family out east on Long Island. Obviously that didn't happen this year for many reasons. My mom's best friend Suzanne passed away this past May suddenly (I'm still processing the grief of this loss as we've not been able to gather together to properly mourn. Plus the pandemic prevents us from being inside for any period of time without a mask on. So that meant Thanksgiving would be just me, Alex, and Claire. I used to take part in cooking the entire meal and in recent years I have baked pies for dessert. This year, I did zero cooking or baking for the first time in my life. Instead we spent Thanksgiving watching a ton of TV - the parade followed by the dog show, ate a delicious meal catered by Beach Point, and took a nice long walk around the Upper East Side. Claire tried turkey for the first time and was unimpressed but all around the day was relaxing and I was especially grateful to have my family together and healthy.

This Hanukkah was by far the most exciting one of our lives this year - our first with Claire! We lit the candles, said the prayers, and watched the menorah. We have 2 menorah's - one that's particularly meaningful to me because it was my father's and another gifted to us by the rabbi who officiated our wedding (she's also Alex's cousin!). We alternated lighting each of them this year and it was a very lovely way to honor traditions past and future. I enjoyed showering Claire with presents - winter gear, board books, toys, clothes. She was mesmerized by the candles and truly watched them until they burned out completely each night. We even managed to light the candles for 6 out of the 8 nights which, with an infant in the house, I take as a huge win. It was an overall joy.

We're not Christian but we definitely have a tradition around Christmas! Christmas Eve is usually spent at my mom's house with a delicious seafood dinner followed by a gift exchange. With COVID still in full swing, and since my mom has cancer, and with an infant, we were very hesitant to spend a significant amount of time indoors with the whole family. Instead, my brother played the role of Santa dropping off gifts at our home and picking up gifts to bring back to Long Island.  

In recent past, Alex and I have rung in the New Year while on vacation but this year, we obviously were not traveling. Instead, we drank some champagne cocktails, watched Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve, and hung out in the living room with our baby asleep in her bedroom. We made it to 10:30PM which was an A+ in my book!

As we begin 2021, I am not setting any New Years Resolutions. I've been big on them in the past, setting ambitious goals or fun projects to work on. But this year, I just aim to be flexible. And to bend and sway with the changing winds that keep getting blown our way.