A New Normal.

Things are starting to resemble being normal again. At least a new normal. I am back working at the ASC in surgery. And it is wonderful to be back. I really do enjoy being where I am supposed to be. But, things are a little different. We have to wear our surgical masks and eye protection all day, We can only take our mask off when we are eating or drinking something. We also have to wear N95 masks during airway procedures and any patient who didn't get tested for Covid, their test is pending, or their test was negative but they are symptomatic. The N95 is pretty terrible and uncomfortable, but at least I don't have to wear it for 12 hours straight like some of the floor nurses. Work is different, but it is really nice to be around my coworkers again as well. I missed everyone!

Other things are starting to look more normal as well. Businesses have opened back up again. Restaurants have their dining rooms open, so you can actually eat inside a restaurant again. The gyms are open again, and they are talking about opening the libraries and the Midco pool. They are not opening the outdoor city pools this summer, and people are pretty bummed about that. However, the virus is still here, and we are still wearing masks, washing hands, social distancing and just being careful overall.

The kids are still enjoying playing with the neighbor kids. They play hard all day at daycare and summer care, and then they play hard with the neighborhood kids. We don't get them to bed until after 9, and they are super tired. Then, they wake up and do it all over again. There are been some outbursts and mood swings, so we are trying to get them into a better routine which involves going to bed a little sooner. But they are loving summer. We spend pretty much our entire evening outside, and everyone is loving it.

John and I broke down and bought a pergola this past weekend. We were so tired of the sun baking us on our west patio, so we bought a very simple pergola from Menards. We really like it. It adds a lot to our patio, and we are pretty proud of it. We sat out there until 10pm the other night, and it was glorious. Now, we just need some finishing touches. We already hung up some patio lights, and we want to buy an outdoor rug to add a nice homey touch. I'm sure we will find some other pieces to add along the way as well. We also have quite a variety of potted flowers. Our yard is looking mighty spiffy this summer. And since we can't go out and do a whole lot this summer, it's going to be nice to have a comfy place to hang out. We also got our garden planted this last week, and it's looking nice!

We recently went through the work of emptying out the sandbox and filling it with potting soil. The kids weren't playing with it anymore, so we decided to make a second garden out of it for this summer. We are going to plant squash and cucumbers there. It will be interesting to see how that grows.

My mom got a new job at a nursing home in Sleepy Eye. She is going to be working the 3-11pm shift, and she seems excited about it. She started this past Tuesday, I haven't been able to talk to her yet, but hopefully she is liking it. I'm sure it's weird to not be home every evening anymore.

We are also busy planning Emma's birthday party right now. We are going to Yogi Bear again in a couple weeks, and she is super excited. We are only inviting 3 friends this time to spend the night in the camper, so it should be a little more enjoyable for mom. Emma keeps a countdown going to let us know how close we are getting to her birthday! I can't believe she will be 8 soon!

That's pretty much everything that is new around here. Thankfully, things are starting to resemble a new normal. I still can't wait to be back to completely normal, but I think that is a ways away yet. But, I am very grateful that summer is here. I can't wait to get some camping in this year.

The parks are also open again!!

Building the pergola