Rainy remembrances and the happy bean

Kiddo and Beer are fun to watch, they just flow with each other and it’s cute.  Beer gets Kiddo and has a sense of wonder and childlike fun, but she’s also got a teacher’s mindset, so she does things to help enrich Kiddo.  Helping her plant a garden is part of that.  J got some more seeds for us to plant and Kiddo was excited, so her and Beer added to our garden.  Plus, Beer brought us some sticks from her house for the bean plants to climb.  I wish we had a lot more space, but with what we have, I like it.  I hope we get some type of yield from this, even if it’s just a single bean.  I think Kiddo will lose her mind.

As you can see, the bean plant that we did get to sprout is happy as all get out right now.  With us opening the house and the plant having the ability to get some fresh air and some actual sun (thru the screen, but still) since on night when it rains it knocks the humidity out of the air and we can spend the night letting the fresh air in.

J and I did that last night.  We were on the roof before bedtime to dip our toes into the pool and have a popsicle and read a book.  We knew the rain was coming.  I thought it would be some rain, but J was leaning towards the full 12 course menu of rain.

A few hours later, we had finished watching a show and we were hanging out and just chatting about the day.  We put on some music.  Opened the house.  And watched the rain.  

Suddenly, the playlist we had on (pop and stuff like that) gave us Jump Around by House of Pain.  J and I had a moment.

See, when we were in Quarantine (Almost a year ago now) we had three days left.  Maybe it was two days.  It was near the end.  We were all ready to get out of that place.  To be able to actually walk around.  To just even have a window to open.  But, we were trying to get thru.  We needed to be a team.  And for some reason (maybe it was watching a Brewers game) the topic got around to Jump Around and the start of the 4th quarter at Badgers games where it is played and the student section and stadium just goes nuts as the song is played.  I found a vid online (here it is if you’ve never seen it) and Kiddo wanted to do it.  So, we put the song on and J, Kiddo, and even Dada jumped on the big ass quarantine bed.  Just jumped around.

J and I talked about that last night while we watched the rain and listened to the song.  The grit it took to make it thru that time.  The endurance.  3 people, 2 adults and a child, in a quarantine situation with only luggage, in less than 70 sq meters for 15 days.  The bond that was created between us because of that time.  The brand of Orange Juice that we got for breakfasts (and which we started requesting more of daily) is still Quarantine Juice.  J and I mixed it with some vodka and sprite and called it Quarantinis.  I can’t drink either without minor amounts of PTSD.  Kiddo was loving a Disney show at that time, Jake and the Neverland Pirates and they sing a song in one episode and it was Kiddo’s favorite.  J and I can still sing the damned song.  We did friend parades, using beads and other connecting toys to make gems and outfits for the friends.  We still play like that.  

It kind of set some of our family bonds and language and inside stuff.  A year later and we can still look back and smile and reflect on those things.  It’s still a bond with us.  Kiddo wanted to jump on her bed and watch the lightening last night, “just like quarantine”.  Sorry Kiddo, but the rain isn’t here yet and it’s bedtime for you.  But, even her asking like that.  Can I watch, just like quarantine.  She will always remember that.  That is something she might tell her own children (assuming she wants any) about one day.  Or her partner.  

That’s what we mean by experiences for her.  She’s changed by all of this, even if it’s little things like jumping on her bed and watching the rain.  And we are changed.  Quarantinis will always be a thing.  Or…. Remember the first place we lived and the rain and how the street would flood.  The odd bond that created for us will always be there.  That wouldn’t have happened without this experience and our decision to go Expat.

After the most recent slate of SCOTUS rulings, that Expat will stay for a while.  Religious schools get funding.  Gun laws are NOT state rights, but abortion is?  Miranda suddenly doesn’t mean much…. So, the second amendment is blanket coverage federally, but the fourth… Nah.  JFC!!!!!  

Let’s go, Kiddo… there’s so much better in the world than MuriKKKa and Y’All Quida.  After 50 years of lying to everyone, they are finally making the end game moves.  MuriKKKa can burn and good riddance.