Searls Stuff: Together Again - Finally! The best Mother's Day gift ever.

Our country still continues to struggle to comply with the restrictions set in place by health and government officials because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbot started easing restrictions on gatherings and travel at the beginning of May. Some city parks reopened their walking paths, restaurants and businesses started admitting 25% of their normal capacity, and the number of people suggested for group gatherings increased to 25 or less. Those guidelines made our family feel a little easier about getting together again. We haven't been able to be together since Christmas and we were all missing one another tremendously.
We decided to brave the virus and gather at Scott's house on Saturday, May 9th, to celebrate Mother's Day. The Gutierrez gang came down on Thursday and stayed until Sunday. The rest of the family came down early on Saturday and stayed until well after dark. We kept our distance and continued using our air hugs, air high fives, and lots of hand sanitizer, Lysol spray, and Clorox wipes; just to be on the safe side. It seems so strange to not hug and smooch the grandkids! But, I know, this time of social and physical restriction will pass... eventually.
Our day was filled with lots of catching up with one another's lives, playing on the trampoline, climbing in the tree fort, playing with the archery set, and swimming in the pool. We had wonderful food; grilled fajitas and all the trimmings. Welcomed new members to the tribe; Molly's mother and father, Marian and Mark. Watched the dogs romp with long lost fur friends. And laughed. Oh, how I have missed the sound of my loud family, talking over one another and laughing... a lot!
Lots of pictures were taken by several family members. But, at the time of posting this, I only have access to the ones I took. Maybe I'll add others at some point. Until then, I think these paint a wonderful picture of how much we all enjoyed the day.

POOL TIME!!

It was pretty cool on Saturday; but, kids just don't seem to mind swimming in cold water during cold weather. They went through a bazillion beach towels so we have GOT to figure out a system to control that craziness! They played with giant inflatables and really appreciated Scott's salt filter. No red chlorine eyes!!!

Samantha and Maggie

Sophie

Maggie, Sophia, Samantha

Wonderful Conversation!!

(how business, state services, health services, and education are adjusting)

Becca and Seth drove in from Gatesville and stayed for a while after we ate. We are so thankful that both are still working full time on site. So far, neither of their places of employment have had any positive cases. From what Becca has told us, safety measures are extensive and strictly enforced while making sure their residents feel safe and cared for. The community constantly sends in treats for the health care workers. It is heart warming how supportive they have been.

Seth works for a company that coats various types of machinery and solar panels. Luckily, construction seems to be one area that has continued to be productive and his company supports the construction industry. He expects to continue working full time.

Molly updated us on what it is like to be working for the state from here at Scott's house. He has set up an office for her in the guest room. Unfortunately, she still needs to drive to Austin from time to time to drop off or pick up paperwork. There has been no discussion about when state offices will resume normal business hours on site either.

Jamie is working full time from home as well. It was interesting to hear her talk about how this has opened up a whole discussion on privacy issues regarding client information; and, issues with financial security and confidentiality that were never before imagined! They have one advisor on site most days, so she fills in when they need her. Otherwise, she is busy taking care of her family and her mother. I worry she will overdo it and make herself sick; but, she seems to thrive of serving her family.

Leslie, Seth, Rebecca, and Jamie

Jamie and Rebecca

Seth

Ryan and Leslie

Molly's parents came up from Round Rock to have dinner with us. Ron and I had met Mark and Marian before; but, the rest of the family had not. They take care of Molly's dog, Dash, and they brought him along. He is just the sweetest dog! But, he is pretty old, blind, and only has one tooth. He seemed perfectly happy sitting on someone's lap and didn't seem at all bothered by the number of dog scents around him. Marian is a retired Texas Parks employee and Mark is a retired educator. They are lovely people and seem to be able to tolerate our loud, crazy family. I'm sure we will see more of them. Usually, Jamie's mother joins us; but, she felt it was a bit safer to not leave her home just yet.

Mark and Ron

Marian

We were updated on what the three school districts our family members are associated with are currently doing to meet the academic needs of the students. So many families are in survival mode; and, just getting bills paid and food on the table consumes most of their waking hours. It may appear that what districts are providing, seems to not be taken advantage of by many parents. The percentage of students that have not participated in one single online lesson may even seem shocking. However, from experience I know that many parents are trying to get by on minimum wage jobs. Many, do not even have a high school education themselves and simply cannot understand the work students are expected to complete. And even as hard as it may see to most people, many families do not have internet access. I am so thankful I have retired! It would all be so heartbreaking for me. Not to mention technologically challenging! But, Ryan continues to put his lesson packets together, meet online with the 3-5 students that are able to sign in, holds online meetings to explain the work to the parents that need that type of support. an And, he continues to attend his staff meetings and try to stay up to day on guidelines and expectations. Jamie is supplementing what the twins receive for instruction by coming up with creative theme nights and assigning different learning tasks for them, all while working from home herself. Leslie is working with her girls to get their work complete while trying to do speech therapy with her own patients on the computer. Federal guidelines and ARD requirements have lead to many, many amendments and additional paper work for her. I don't think I have ever seen her so stressed out. It is such a challenging time and so much of what everyone has to do is decided upon as they work their way through this unfamiliar territory. I cannot help but hope that educational experts will figure out ways to deal with pandemics and other unexpected emergencies that disrupt the educational system. It might just be time for a complete overhaul.

Sophia, Scott, Ron, Molly, Jamie, Leslie, Rebecca, Samantha

Maggie, Sophia, Sophie, Scott, Molly, Ron

Ryan and his unruly fur children: Cocoa and Jack

Game Time!!

We usually play games when we get together; but, today we spent most of our time just catching up. We did end up spending some time playing Bingo. Probably because Jamie brought chocolate prizes!

Gwen

Maggie, Ron, Jamie

Searls Family Field Day!!

Sophie had received a packet from her PE teacher with all descriptions of all the events she had planned for the school field day. Sophie was told to play some of the games with her family; but, we decided to plan a Searls Field Day. It was the perfect time for her to get that assignment. We had an assortment of physical activities: ladder ball, clothes relay, penguin race, fastest folder (towels), basket trap, spoon relay, and we ended up the competition by playing Look for the Good. We had to find things in nature that started with L, F, T, and G. We pulled scraps of fabric to divided ourselves into 3 teams:

yellow (Molly, Samantha, Ryan, and Poppy)

green (Sophia, Maggie, and Leslie)

brown (Sophie, Jamie, Scott, and I)

Luckily, we had an even mix of young and older people on each team. The brown team members were crowned champions.