Oh My Awesomeness: January 2021

These last few weeks were a blur. Adele changed her flight to NY to a week earlier once she found out she had to quarantine upon arrival. She went through every item in her room creating piles to give away, sell, and take with her. She had one bin to fill with stuff to keep at home, so this was a full-on life move for her. It takes a lot of emotional work to let so many things representing childhood and home go, and she courageously pulled it off in less than a week (with her faithful friend Ceci by her side, who would not miss a moment of Adele's presence).

We found a video of Adele at about age 6 talking about New York, and we found this t-shirt in her old clothes. She has always had her eyes on this moment in her life!

Saying goodbye was really hard. Adele is a bright light and so lovable, so we knew she would be missed. She left us this little note (with a little French thrown in).

We sent her off in the new Salt Lake airport:

But we all made it through those first days. Adele was by herself in a dorm room with very little food or belongings, and it made for a hard transition!

I was going to go with Adele, but canceled my ticket once we understood the Covid guidelines for New York. It didn't make sense for me to spend money on a New York hotel to just sit there. But when Adele arrived she was told by the dorm to get tested immediately so she could get in her permanent dorm room. Assuming this was accurate, she got tested the day after arrival, and I booked a ticket to arrive right about the time she would finish up - 5-7 days after her test. Oh! There is so much back and forth and conflicting information to this move and the quarantining restrictions, it would take a long time to tell all the drama. I'll simply say it was a hot mess. When I arrived Adele was given the go-ahead to move in. She came to my hotel to meet me and while there, just a couple hours after being told she was free to leave quarantine, she was told she didn't wait three days upon arrival and her test was considered invalid by the dorm. She had to be retested and quarantine while waiting for the results. Lots of frustration and anxiety later, she got her results a couple days later than she thought and we were able to get everything done we wanted to to get her settled in.

I'll tell you what, getting settled in New York is a whole different ball game! We walked a bazillion miles, lugged heavy bags of STUFF, froze when not lugging, burned up when lugging, all while wearing a mask inside and out. Every store was out of something we needed which required more searching. It was a lot of work, but in there we squeezed in some trips to good bagel shops, restaurants, and quaint book and record stores. She is right in the heart of New York's action with endless neighborhoods to explore. She is going to have an amazing time!

We celebrated her 19th birthday exploring at our own pace. We ended up in a fun, college-age hangout neighborhood near her dorm eating pho soup. As with all dining in New York, the dining is outside, either open air, in homemade shelters with heaters, or one time we ate in a green house! And yeah, it was cold! (But could have been much worse!)

We met up with one of Geoff's old Washington D.C. roommates, Blake, who we were both friends with before we got married. Crazy enough, he is the single's ward bishop! We met his cute wife Estee for the first time. They treated us to delicious Thai food! I also snuck away the night Adele went out with her new roommates and had dinner with more old D.C. friends, Jason and Nichole. It was so fun to see their lives there. (Below is Blake and Estee)

Adele was assigned a dorm and was praying she would get good windows and light. Due to Covid, what is normally a shared room is her own private room. Turns out she was assigned the 16th floor and the end room, which naturally gave her her own bathroom. And the views of the Hudson River are closer than they appear in pictures, and the windows are large and bright! She couldn't have asked for a better space.

I got to meet her two roommates who seem like they are ready to explore and discover the city just like she is. I only got a picture of one when we were out shopping. Her name is Sera, and she is from Turkey.

It was hard to leave a piece of my heart behind when I flew home, but her wings were already stretching and she is ready to fly.

Christmas for our family is now associated with McCall. Geoff's sister Ingrid invited us to stay at her home, so we all got tested for Covid before loading up our cars, and we met up in that winter wonderland that never fails to be perfect.

It was just us, Geoff's sister Ingrid and her family, and Britt and Hunter, with their adorable little babies, who stayed nearby in Trent's mom's tiny condo right on the lake. It was very low key all around. We ate, played games, played in the snow, skied, played with babies, celebrated my FIFTIETH birthday(!!!) and enjoyed a peaceful Christmas.