Fireside Chat 2020: A Special Pandemic Edition

A PANDEMIC SPECIAL EDITION

Fireside Chat

20 20

WE’RE ALL FUCKED | Dogs Win |

It seems appropriate that 2020, a total shit show of a year, has gone to the dogs. They seem to be the only ones truly living their best life this year.

So in honor of our furry friends, we bring you this year’s annual Fireside Chat, with a very special pandemic edition.

And while this past year has been full of some serious ups and downs, we reflect on it with our usual sarcasm and sense of humor. Wishing all our friends and family a healthy and happy uneventful 2021. May we see you soon.

Love Susan, David and Elli Fireside featuring Katan, Sheldon and Groot

Dogs win in 2020

From weekends camping, endless walks, swimming, plus lots of nights spent on the couch, these dogs are living their best life.

Groot’s ongoing training to keep him off the couch is clearly going well. He has trained us to not care when we find him hunkered in.

Put off home repairs finally get done With lots of time at home, Susan realized all the things she wanted to change about the house. This included changing the color of the dinning room, painting the garage (black of course) installing barn doors in the office and coming up this winter: painting the bathroom and alcove. Much to David’s horror, she has an entire Pinterest board of ideas.

While reconfiguring our kitchen cabinets, it left a big hole in the hardwood floors that needs to be replaced. Using Groot does not seem like a good long term fix, so this is also on the list.

Taking a stand As lifelong advocates for social justice, we participated in one of the many marches going on this year. Our talks at the dinning room table (on those nights we were civilized and we ate at the table) were filled with lots of discussions about race, politics, and thinking about what side of history we would be on.

Camping is the new European Vacation.

Said no one ever. But in the spirit of feeling completely trapped in our house and no-where to go, unless of course you believe that the pandemic is all “fake news” and you take your family to Disneyland, our version of vacation this year meant packing up the dogs and heading a whole 45 minutes away to the beautiful Illinois State Beach for a few days because if we crossed the border to Wisconsin, we’d have to quarantine for 14 days.

Believe it or not, she actually likes camping with us.

If you haven’t yet, we highly recommend camping. It’s one of the few times it is completely acceptable to sit in a chair, day drink, and sit by a fire reading and making art. Until covid hit.

Now you can do those things in your home whenver you want and no one would shame you.

Elli turns sixteen and hits the road.

Unfortunately, she has nowhere to go. But if she did, she can drive herself as she now has her permit. Her parents look forward to next year when she can drive herself to activities.

Despite the Pandemic, Elli hasn’t missed a beat. She’s managed to go to State and Nationals in archery, adopted a little to well to remote high school, and still manages a decent social life with a great group of friends, which we now refer to as “her pod”.

We somehow were fortunate enough to celebrate her sweet sixteen downtown. Masked and socially distant.

While neither of her parents understand Tik Tok, because, as Elli likes to say, “you’re middle aged and you don’t get how social media works”, our daughter has had millions of views on her account that we have been blocked from. If we can someone turn her into an “influencer” we might be able to skip college altogether for a career as a you-tube star.

Susan discovers soft pants and realizes she never has to wear heels again.

Work has been 100 percent remote since March, and during that time Susan has given up on any kind of footwear that doesn’t feel good. David only wishes she had discovered this earlier in their marriage.

What else she’s up to: Susan accepted a position on the board at The Society of Typographic Arts. It sounds like something out of Harry Potter, but it’s for people who love design and typography.

She’s cleaned out and organized her closet about 5 times since March because everyone knows that an organized closet means you have control in your life.

She completed the yearly global creative challenge #100DaysofGroot, documenting, well, it’s in the name.

She’s still making mandalas, but now she calls them botanical art because, marketing.

Yoga has been a constant during this time.

David finally found the time for all of those put off home repairs.

It should come as no surprise that doing massage therapy didn’t catch on with zoom. Without the option to work from home, after 9 years as the director of massage therapy, he was released after two weeks of lock-down. With no severance or any out-boarding, and despite Ivanka’s recommendation to “find something new” he quickly pivoted to taking private clients as soon as he was able.

With the best attitude in the house, he has taken care of more home repairs, cooks, and has somehow lost the COVID 25. He looks forward to 2021 and this pandemic ending so he can spend summers at festivals and won’t have to hear his wife wining.

While most of the world has embraced lounge wear as day wear, for the first time in 20 years, David doesn’t have to wear srubs and decided now is the time to wear 501s. It baffles Susan’s mind how anyone can be comfortable in their own house in jeans.

notable: This year Susan learned that you should make sure that no one is actually home when you trespass to take photos of the barn next door. Especially if you’re in Indiana.

“Humor can make a serious difference. In the workplace, at home, in all areas of life – looking for a reason to laugh is necessary. A sense of humor helps us to get through the dull times, cope with the difficult times, enjoy the good times and manage the scary times.”

— Steve Goodier

From our couch to yours.

Happy and healthy New Year.