Christmas Letter 2020

Merry Christmas!

Since our contact with many of the people in our lives has been relatively limited this calendar year, here is a snapshot of what the Mischnicks have been doing in 2020.

Matt began working at Trek just prior to Christmas 2019 and has found it to be a good fit for him.  His first three months of work included a trip to Florida (in February!) to help with the installation of new parts for the BCycle set-up there.  The rest of us confined to Wisconsin were jealous of the beautifully warm weather he was experiencing.

Since March, Matt has worked in quite a variety of locations, including but not limited to:

Ethan's bedroom (which was the first make-shift "office space"),

the garage (we had a number of BCycle e-bikes stored there over the summer months),

the driveway (sometimes with co-workers and sometimes taking a meeting while riding around on an e-bike),

the parking lot of the Town of Dunn town hall (that time when the internet/phones went out on our side of the street and Matt had to lead a meeting ... the hotspot by the town hall was a blessing that day),

his office in Waterloo (rarely),

the parking lot at Trek (for testing new parts), and, most recently,

the reconfigured basement "office" set-up.

We are all thankful that his engineering skills are being used and appreciated after his first year in a new job.

Matt has also spent much of his time this year on his various bikes.  He trained for and participated in his first Trek 100 (at the 64 mile level) in honor of Anna this year, learning a lot about the country roads around us in the process.  His chosen route ended with a pass through McDaniel Park where the kids and I were waiting for him on Anna's memorial bench.

With Ethan becoming more and more interested in mountain biking this year, the two boys have found enjoyment in jumping their bikes on ramps in the driveway whenever the weather permits.  I am a little embarrassed about the sheer number of bikes that we own these days ...

I thoroughly enjoyed the rhythm of my life during the first three months of the year.  My weeks included substitute teaching a few times a week, volunteering in Ethan's classroom, weekly Bible Study, leading the 5th/6th grade Sunday School class at our church, and the rest of the organization of our family life.  Since March, the need for substitute teachers, classroom volunteers, in-person Sunday School, and in-person Bible studies has dropped precipitously.

My time has thus been spent doing different things, much of them outside tending growing things in the yard, but also initiating some window painting projects with our family.  (The last three images here are for the kids' respective birthdays, with Kate and Ethan's including message from friends, family, and adults in their lives.)

It took awhile, but I have also found new and different ways to help and encourage those around me, even if I can't do them in the same way as I did a year ago.  Somewhat notably, I have had a few writing pieces published in a quarterly Christian women's magazine, The Holy Hen House.  In addition, I have been invited to present information about childhood cancer to a handful of different audiences, everything since March virtually.  I have also stepped up as the organizational leader of our 4H club, doing my best to keep our members connected and engaged even though we are unable to see one another in person ... yet.

Kate turned 11 in May and started middle school (in virtual mode) in September.  At parent-teacher conferences in early March, she was doing very well as she rounded out her time in elementary school and she has done amazingly well with all of the transitions and differences that 2020 has brought.

Thankfully, the weekend just prior to quarantine, a few of Kate's close friends joined our family on a trip to my parents' place for "Maple Syrup Season".  This group of girls had a nice stash of memories to keep their spirits up during the early weeks of quarantine.  They were able to stay connected safely throughout the summer and fall, much to their well-being and their parents' delight.

Kate's favorite activities are still reading, writing, and sometimes playing (depending on who is involved).  She has continued to take viola lessons and needed a new instrument this fall since she outgrew her initial viola size.  Speaking of growth, when Kate finally emerges into the world of people again, I think many will be surprised at just how much this middle schooler has grown ... and she hasn't shown any sign of slowing down yet.

Kate expressed interest in joining cross-country in 6th grade, but since school sports were very limited this fall, the school cross-country team was not an option.  Instead, Kate and I began running together in early September and have kept up our routine with good consistency since that time.  Fortunately, this is an activity that gets her out of the house at least a few times a week ;)

Ethan is an energetic, inquisitive 8 year old who thinks big thoughts and feels big feelings.  He was doing very well with 1st grade life prior to COVID and had a more difficult adjustment to quarantined life than his sister, perhaps because he is a more social kid and perhaps because the age/gender gap between a 7 year old boy and an 11 year old girl is a noticeable one.

Quarantine brought out Ethan's passion for reading, which occupies his time when he is not interacting with music, tinkering with technology, building something, riding his bike, or playing with his neighborhood buddy.  These two boys learned quickly in the summer how much fun it can be to spend hours outdoors doing whatever it is 7 year old boys like to do (which often includes a lot of noise and dirt).

Ethan took a break from piano lessons (which turned virtual in March) over the summer, but opted to take some guitar lessons instead.  Some of the guitar lessons were even able to take place outside on our patio instead of virtually!  Once September hit, Ethan switched back to piano, but he will still sometimes pick up his guitar to make music.  Ethan's musical interests include (in no particular order): Slugs and Bugs; Jack Hartman (well, not so much anymore); Leo Moracchioli; For King and Country; Brothers of Metal; the soundtracks from Sing, Trolls World Tour, and Hamilton (thanks to Kate for introducing him to this); Power Classics; and a few songs from the following various artists from an old mp3 player of mine that he discovered this year ... Garth Brooks, Allison Krauss, and John Denver.  At least we can say that he has been exposed to a wide variety of music genres in his younger years.

When Ethan's school entered a hybrid model in mid-September, he and I decided to ride our bikes in to school a couple of days a week.  Ethan would only ride IN to school since the 4 mile ride is mostly downhill from our house to McFarland.  He's not quite up for a 4 mile ride uphill after a morning of school ... yet.  We were able to keep up that routine into November, thanks to some warmish mornings and proper layers.

The number of animals/pets in our family doubled since last year at this time.  Last Christmas we welcomed a new kitten, Dusty, into our home (thanks in part to a persuasive essay Kate wrote one morning before school titled, "Why Rusty Needs a Friend").  Dusty has indeed proved to be an excellent friend to his older brother and a much loved addition to our family.  His extremely loud purr, his propensity to play with bouncy balls, and his desire to chew on everything has added a fun dimension to our lives.

We also added to our chicken flock in 2020, doubling the number of hens from 4 to 8.  For the first time since we began this chicken experiment, we did NOT end up with any roosters.  The new chickens took over the responsibility of providing us with fresh eggs this fall and have been very consistent at their job thus far.  The "summer project" this year was to build an upgraded coop inside the pen that would be a better fit for 8 birds.

In spite of the restricted traveling protocols, our family was able to get out of the county a few times to make some "change of scenery" memories together this year.  In addition to the trip up north for maple sugaring, the kids and I visited my parents in the summer for a few days.  Our family also did a couple of camping trips over the summer months and even stayed in the Ark Village at Camp Luther for a modified family camp weekend.

Those moments away from home added to the many memories we made over the course of the year in our home and around our neighborhood.

All in all, we have navigated this different kind of year with our best efforts to be patient and flexible  We have striven to remain connected to each other as well as to God’s message and presence in our lives.

 And, just for the fun of it, here are a few of our Christmas photo out-takes ...