Snowshoe Outing; Pre-Pandemic 2020

 

Snow shoeing turned into a solo event yesterday. 

My friends had other commitments when I suggested rather spontaneously that we get together. 

So, I strapped on my snowshoes and walked the perimeter of our place by myself, except for a few minutes when I spotted living beings moving at the entrance to a barn across the fence. 

I called out a couple of times.  Then, they came. 

These boys are part of a family we see once a year if we're lucky.  

Their dad Wes broke his record and actually came over twice last year.  Plus, I think Bill saw him over the fence. 

I told Nathan (he's the younger, taller brother) that I would not have known him if I met him on the street.  It's been a while since I've seen him. 

Caleb and Nathan are both members of the SHS cross country team.  They seemed pleased when I told them that Bill and I keep track of how they're doing in the paper. 

And, their names do appear. 

Caleb says that in about 18 months, he will have a high school diploma and maybe even an AA degree through NIC (not to be confused with College of North Idaho as Q6 commentator Greg Heister kept saying during last night's ZAGS game).

I've known these brothers since they were little guys who came with their family to Sandpoint about two years after we moved out here to Selle. 

It was fun to visit with them over the fence, and they were nice enough to stand by one of their trees so I could take their picture. 

Wes and Alyssa have some fine sons.  

This year 2020 has definitely been one year with two kinds of tales and a whole lot of side stories. 

Therefore, I decided to begin my photo recap of this unusual year today. 

I told Bill this morning, that after selecting a few photos from my library, there's a distinctively odd and sad feeling looking back at the ordinary normality which used to be.

As I recall, this realization set in quickly too. 

Within weeks of the start of the Pandemic, commercials on TV and sitcoms, which had obviously been filmed before March seemed all too strange. 

Like everyone, I miss the Pre-Pandemic days of 2020 and similar days of all the 70-plus years before. 

As we approach 2021, moments of universal joy or camaraderie within an enclosed space now seem both distant and oh so dear. 

A veil of sadness seems ever-present when we consider what is lost in both human numbers and in the everyday ordinary, oft taken-for-granted aspects of humanity in general.  

Recapturing this morning's moments from Jan. 1 to mid-March brings tears to my eyes.  

I often tell people who follow this blog that I try my darndest to keep my posts uplifting, but that the time spent creating each day's post often involves tears rolling down my cheeks. 

It is SO sad to think of the monumental losses we have all experienced this year and even sadder on a day like today when viewing joyful memories of those times when we still DID NOT KNOW what lay in store for us and for the world.  

May the time come sooner rather than later when those tears turn to tears of joy.  

When that times comes, may we all be wiser about how we treat others and how we treat this Earth.