Signs of Life : The Brownie Chronicles

Before this week, I had drafted a blog post titled "Among Us - 2020 Memories."  I had planned to reflect back on the neighborhood walks, hikes and baking we did early in the pandemic, then how the routines became so mundane after 8 weeks or so. Then this storm blew in and I couldn't even focus. But before I move to February 2021, let me start with a few ways we've stayed distracted and busy during the past 11 months.  The upsides to the hellish year of pandemic. For years, Ken had been looking at electric bikes, so he decided to take the dive and order a couple of Rad Power Bikes . That was something fun for the people over age 16 in the family.  Eventually, we got a child seat for the bike so our grandkid could also enjoy getting out.  We also found other family fun distractions like: playing Among Us having video chats on the Facebook Portal jumping on the trampoline that was handed down to us the week we moved to Austin. (Thanks, Suzie!) chalk art on the driveway ...

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!  No matter how long it's been since we last connected, reach out! And if you're ever in the Austin area, let us know and hopefully we can plan a driveway gathering! We only mailed out a handful of cards after years and years of not even creating a Christmas card. If you'd like a hard copy, let me know and I'll send one along in snail mail! Photo Highlights of 2020:   http://bit.ly/BrownXmas2020 2020 Christmas Letter Flowers drawn by Sarah 2020 started out like many other years as we went to work, visited friends, Sarah traveled to LA for work, Tian and Travis started track at Texas School for the Deaf and the whole family went to watch their track meets.  By the end of February, we had bought our first pack of masks and by early March, we were all quarantined at home.  In mid-March, we had a family meeting to discuss safety protocols and the rest of our 2020 has been under the cloud of the COVID pandemic. Ken and Sarah have been fo...

I've seen the phrase "the new normal" passed around here and there and believe it's a good fit for what we are going through as March 2020 comes to a close.  The Brown Family is ready to begin week 4 of social distancing, as we started a week before most.  I don't believe this will be over in a few more weeks.  I don't even believe it will be over in a few months.  I think we will see a new normal emerging and will never be the same as we were pre-COVID-19. I'm not a scientist nor statistician.  I have actually avoided reading too much about the virus in order to maintain my own mental health.  I have read, watched, and listened to what I need in order to protect my family and community.  I've traveled down a rabbit hole and read way more than I've wanted to a few times.  Two of the best sources of information for me have been " Science Mike's " streamcast from 11 days ago (So remember when you watch that numbers/data has changed ...