There's This and There's That

(That's from 2013 ... when Alexis was 7 years old.)

(2021, obviously, a week before Mila's 7th birthday.)

#TeamPfizer

Apparently I have turned into one of those people who goes into the office when they don't have to. There's no other explanation for why I went into the office today for a meeting that could have been done virtually. But, like, it's a short drive and there were people there who I had never met in person so ... whatever. I went into the office.

By the way, I super recommend finding yourself some co-workers who believe in science. It's so nice being surrounded by fully vaccinated people and knowing for a fact that they're all fully vaccinated people. That giant pile of privilege is exactly how I found myself LITERALLY standing in front of a water cooler talking to a few of my favorite people long after most everyone else had left for the day.

It was so damn normal. And fantastic.

As we were chatting, the man who does an impressive job of keeping the building clean came into the room to empty some trash cans. As he walked by, he glanced up at us and did a double-take. None of us were wearing masks because FULLY VACCINATED HUZZAH! and apparently that caught him a little off guard. He himself was wearing a mask. As we paused in our conversation to say, "Hi" to him, he returned the pleasantry and then cautiously asked, "Do we not have to wear masks anymore?"

I replied on behalf of the small group, "As long as you are fully vaccinated, you don't have to anymore."

Even with the mask still covering the lower half of his face, I could see a smile stretch across his mouth and extend up into his eyes. He slowly and deliberately removed his mask, carefully folded it, and stuck it in a pocket. The look on his face ... it was so good. It showed was over a year of stress and precaution and worry melting into a tiny pile and goodness do I hope that every single one of us gets to have that moment when we get to turn the page to the next chapter.

As the man began to walk away, he turned back over his shoulder to deliver some parting words. "Isn't science great?" he said.

Indeed. Science really is pretty great.

Wild Jackals Can Dance

Could it be? Is it yet another dance recital post? YES.

Sorry, not sorry. The good news is that it saves you from hearing about the 14 reasons Mila threw temper tantrums today, none of which were good reasons. Apparently both of my children have to be complete jerkwads the week before their birthdays.

ANYWAY.

Miss Mila. Oh, Miss Mila. The joy chasing ray of sunshine is consistently on brand in how she deals with ... everything. I mean, she is exactly who she is, which is to say she totally doesn't pay attention during her dance classes. It's hilarious. Mostly she loves going to dance because she considers it to be a social hour with a decent-sized audience. She flits about from friend-to-friend, chattering away and generally being a distraction.

Have I mentioned that Alexis student teaches Mila's classes? She's super enthusiastic about the fact that her baby sister is the worst listener ever. It is also hilarious.

So Mila has spent the entire year barely cognizant of the fact that there are actual dance moves being taught when she's at dance class. She fully admits it. Alexis has tried to make sure her sister was ready for her recital by making her practice outside of class, but hahahahahahalolololz. Not even Cesar Millan could train a wild Jackal to play fetch.

I expected to be muchly entertained at Mila's recital.

I WAS SO DISAPPOINTED. I have absolutely no clue how she pulled it off, but the wild one knew every step. She stood up on that stage and acted like the best student ever. Mila legit slayed her performances. Which, yay? I think? I mean, I thought I was about to see a comedy sketch, but I suppose it's pretty fantastic that she did learn something this year. One the way home from the recital, she begged me to sign her up for summer classes and picked her schedule for next year, so I guess she's sticking with it for now.

We shall see if she can manage to learn her dance again next year. In the meantime, she's hella cute in her ballet costume.