Surprise! It's Jeremiah instead of Hannah. Yes, it's time I start pulling my own weight with this blog. The last time I wrote an entry was October of 2019. Needless to say things have changed a lot since those "before times"!
As I write this, I'm watching the Masters tournament. Compared to a typical year, there are far fewer patrons in the crowd, but it's still a reminder of how far we've come in the last 12 months. Players aren't wearing masks, there's plenty of close-up interaction, and the event's actually taking place in April like it's supposed to!
I'd say that semblance of normality is more or less mirrored in our lives, too. We're certainly not there yet, nor may we ever be quite back to our original sense of normal, but we're definitely trending in the right direction. As of Thursday, I'm half-vaccinated, and by the end of April, Hannah and I will both be fully vaccinated! We're starting to see friends more often - still mostly outside - and we're back to in-person church, though with limited numbers. I'm not back in the office full-time yet, but my days at home have been fewer and further between, and my manager held a meeting with our team this week to discuss expectations "after COVID". I know this is just my own little "bubble", and compared to many we haven't been significantly affected by the pandemic, but still: these are encouraging signs!
Meanwhile, since Hannah's last post, she's started her new job at University of Colorado as a "Physical Therapist / Research Coordinator" in the School of Medicine’s Department of Neurology! It's been a slow start given the amount of training she had to get through, but things are picking up and she's really enjoying the role. It's a unique position: she balances her time between neuromuscular research (applying her PT skills to measure outcomes of treatments) and more typical, clinical practice. Neuro was always Hannah's favorite realm of PT, so she's excited to be contributing to research in that area - making a further-reaching impact than just the patients she works directly with - while continuing to provide immediate care for patients that need it. I'm excited to watch her grow in this role!
In other news, I turned 26 in January. To celebrate my birthday, along with our good friend Emily's birthday (the day after mine!), we met Tommy and Emily at Hannah's parents' "mountain home" in Pinetop, AZ. (Apparently "cabin" was the term for their previous Pinetop residence, so we have to call this new one the mountain home!) It was a fantastic weekend, full of games, cooking, baking, and laughter. We narrowly avoided over 2 feet of snow that started to fall right as we left... though secretly some of us were hoping we'd get stuck so we could extend the weekend together!
We certainly got our fair share of snow this season, though! In mid-March, Denver received its 4th-most snowfall from a single storm in recorded history! It ended up totaling 26 inches in Westminster, where we live. We holed up inside all weekend and watched it fall, grateful we had nowhere to be. We both worked from home on Monday, and decided to take a break in the afternoon to build an igloo.
Yes, it's an igloo. We're not snow architects, okay?
We've taken advantage of the snow in the mountains, too: a total of 9 skiing days this season, a new record for us! My skiing has improved a lot as a result - I did my first double-black diamond this season - but I've still got a ways to go before I can tear up moguls. Next season!
I'm also continuing to hone my bread-making skills... still mostly sourdough, but starting to experiment with adding flavors, like garlic & rosemary, truffle & parmesan, and the one you see here: blueberry & dark chocolate!
We hosted my family last weekend for a short but fun couple of days together. We went bowling, had a great dinner at one of our favorite Denver restaurants (D Bar), and went on a nice walk to enjoy the nice weather they brought with them!
And last weekend for Easter, we had a great brunch with our friends Chris and Emily. It reminded me how grateful we are for the friends we have here in Denver, and I hope we can spend even more time with everyone in the coming months!
Wishing the same for all of you, too - once it's safe, of course!
