Noah is 15. We Defeated Trump. I Got Caught Speeding.

Man, had a bit of a rough day yesterday. The family was not feeling great, I strained my calf while playing soccer and require crutches today, and then got a (well deserved) speeding ticket. Bummer.

But I am feeling pretty grateful for things overall, and even laughed off my speeding ticket, as it is always a long time coming :). We defeated Trump in an election that was called on Noah's 15th birthday - just as he had been hoping it would be (he even made a cake to celebrate the Biden-Harris victory!). We drove into downtown Asheville, where there was a spontaneous party happening all throughout the city. It was amazing.

For his birthday, we got him his own record player, and he has started building up his vinyl collection. I hope that it helps him maintain a long lasting positive relationship to music. Though I certainly understand that each of our kids are their own people, my relationship with music remains permanently linked with my personal spirituality and appreciation of life. It is my hope that he can always have a similar experience, especially in hard times.

It felt important to try and give him that gift.

Anyways, we also made a trek to Winston-Salem to celebrate my brother's 50th birthday, and we all got to take in an Avery soccer match while there (he scored his first goal for this season!). It was great to see everyone, and then my Mom came up to stay with us this past weekend - which made all of us happy. She loves hanging on the front porch with Jessica, and perusing the downtown shops. We made time for both. It has all made for a pretty nice few weeks, and with this week's announcement of two corona virus vaccine trials showing 90-95% effectiveness, I feel even more hopeful about the upcoming year.