Ups and downs, highs and lows

January 04, 2021

Ups and downs, highs and lows

For the past few years I have created an annual photo book for each of my kids to capture memories and milestones for that particular year. This is my way of ensuring all their childhood photos don't just stay on the Cloud and is a fun way to look back on their growth, interests, friends and adventures over the years. As I started looking through photos of 2020 to fill the pages of their books I felt so many different emotions all at the same time. We have had an eventful year, to say the least. From rain to sun to snow back to sun, the Arctic to the Equator, several time changes, moose and bear to hartebeest and leopards, friends and family to quarantine and a lot of time together... we made it through it all!

Here is our year in a nutshell:

January: I quit my job, organized and purged our belongings, and said a difficult goodbye to our dear friends in Oregon as we prepared to embark on our new adventure in Kampala, Uganda. I was starting my dream job and we were finally returning to the African continent. This had been a goal for my husband and I, to raise our children for at least part of their lives in Africa. Though we were sad to leave, we were excited for this adventure! Our first stop was Washington, D.C. where I attended a week long training for my new job and my family explored museums and monuments. My parents met us there to spend a little time with us and send us off on our journey.

February: We arrived in Uganda, where I started my new job right away and the kids transitioned to their new school, all the while acclimating to the time change and making our way to the other side of jet lag to a full night's sleep (mostly). Of course our belongings were still in transit, so all we had was what we brought in our ten large suitcases and the "Welcome Kit" prepared for us by colleagues.

March: Six weeks after our arrival, COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic and after a crazy and exhausting week at work, we evacuated back to the United States as the airport in Uganda was closing and it was unclear how the situation would unfold. We decided on a Saturday that we were leaving, and left the next day merely hours before the airport closed. During a layover in Chicago, I booked a hotel for our first night in the US, found an Air BnB, rented a car and ordered groceries from Fred Meyer's Clicklist. A few hours later, we arrived in my home state of Alaska and were greeted by a record snowstorm, where we promptly got our car stuck in the driveway until we could dig it out a couple of days later (that story is for another time). We quarantined for two weeks while the kids played in the snow, started school virtually, and we drank too much wine (or just enough for the circumstances) and ate a lot of vegan junk food (Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia and Tater Tots).

April - June: The kids attended school virtually, but were unable to participate in live lessons due to the 11 hour time difference between Alaska and Uganda. I continued to work virtually, balancing time zone differences between Alaska, Washington D.C. and Uganda. In the meantime, I finished the coursework for my Master's Degree and presented my capstone project in June. My husband and I tried not to lose our minds helping the kids with online school, we definitely are not meant to be teachers! We spent a lot of time with family, which was definitely a silver lining to the whole situation. We also got to spend time in nature, hiking while trying not to get carried away by swarms of mosquitos and enjoying the beauty of Alaska. We celebrated birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day and were very happy to be with family for these occasions. We stayed in our original Air BnB until the end of June, and then were faced with having to find another place during what is usually the peak season in Alaska. Again, not knowing how long we needed it for. We ended up finding a great house right on the Chena River, and spent many hours sitting out on the deck watching the water flow by. We were moving onto what would have been our third Air BnB, when we found out we could return to Uganda.

July: We were able to take a charter flight since the airport was still not open to commercial flights at that point. It was a long flight with no entertainment onboard and a really long layover in Ethiopia where our son promptly puked in his facemask upon entering the airport. This is not a good look, especially during a global pandemic. We then quarantined for another two weeks, navigated through jet lag again and settled back into life in Kampala.

August: I continued working virtually, going to the office on occasion. The kids were on summer break and spent time crafting, watching TV, playing outside and generally driving us crazy.

September: My last living grandparent, my paternal grandmother, passed away. Her last few years of life were not ideal and I often thought of her and how lonely she must have been. Though she did not die of COVID related causes, I think the isolation she experienced due to the pandemic was too much for her bear. That same week, our nephew in Senegal died at the age of 14 from heart related issues. He was not high enough on the priority list to be given the care he needed, and he died right in front of his mother at home. During all of this, the kids went back to school virtually and of course I was still working from home. Back to online learning, yay! I scheduled my first virtual therapy session as I felt as though the year and all the changes it brought were finally catching up with me.

October: During the kid's winter break we went on our first adventures in Uganda (Ziwa and Murchison). A week after our return, I had to take a last minute trip to South Africa for medical reasons and spent a week there until I was cleared to return (all is good, thankfully). I happened to be there during one of the most beautiful times of the year and saw the jacarandas in full bloom. Once I was back, I had to quarantine for another two weeks. The kids started school in-person, following all COVID-19 protocols including masks, face shields, daily temperature checks, social distancing, sanitizer, etc... etc...

November: This month was relatively quiet for us personally, but there was a lot of political activity in both the U.S. and Uganda. Biden/Harris won the election and the presidential campaigns in Uganda were just beginning with violence and riots starting right away. We celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary and marveled at how much has happened during those years. We never could have predicted navigating a global pandemic together, but we're making it through (some days better than others)! I think this was literally the only time we "dressed up" all year!

December: Since we're spending so much more time at home these days, when the opportunity came to move into a bigger house with better outdoor space we jumped right on it! This meant that we had to put the Christmas tree up twice. We celebrated a quiet holiday together and tried to keep the kids busy with lots of crafts and projects during their three week (I know, three weeks!) winter break. We are finally feeling settled as we quickly approach the one year mark since all of this began.

2020 was full of ups and downs, highs and lows. It tested our resilience, helped us appreciate the small moments in life and forced us to slow down a bit. There were times it was ugly and there were moments of beauty. It was lonely and full of love. There was so much loss for people around the world, but also valuable lessons gained. Despite all of our personal challenges, we recognize that we hold so much privilege to have access to good health care, online school and work, a strong support network, food on the table, clean water, a roof over our heads (or many roofs this year), a steady source of income and so much more. Don't get me wrong, we definitely experienced stress, chaos, anger, and sadness throughout the year. However, we recognize our privilege and know that so many people don't have access to the same resources, lost their job, home, or worst of all a loved one. My hope for 2021 is that we can live with intention, remember the lessons we learned in 2020, appreciate what is important in life, cherish family and friends, use our privilege to offer love and support to those who need it most, trust science, and hug with abandon!

More photos of scenes from 2020: