March 19, 2021 – 78 of 365 – Once there is a week of warm weather, I don’t care if the next week is frigid and we’re all in winter coats and hats, it’s grilling weather and there is no turning back.

March 20, 2021 – 79 of 365 – It was a good day of planting in the garden with some little helpers. Julia was my shadow, wanting to put the seeds in and pat down the soil. I’m so glad I asked Jason to take this photo of me and my girls after a good day of hard work. Florence wanted to take a swing at being the photographer too and took the photo below of me, Lou, and Julia. Not half bad and I’m very into this development and what it could mean for me appearing in our family photos in the future.

March 21, 2021 – 80 of 365 – Tea parties in the backyard are back! In addition to grilling season, it is outdoor tea party season. I know dresses are the preferred attire, but I feel good about Julia’s sensible outdoor pajamas (outdoor pajamas have to have pants according to Julia–her Minnie nightgown is for indoor use only) and Louisa’s overalls and ponytails are the height of fashion in my personal opinion.

March 22, 2021 – 81 of 365 – The very last thing we did before the world shut down last March, was attend Florence’s live theater productions. Back then, I don’t think you ever could have convinced me that just over a year later, in March 2021, this is how her theater performance would look. I could focus on the negative here. It’s a bummer to have to perform and/or watch a performance over zoom. But I have to say that when I really think about it, the resourcefulness of people over this last year–making things work when everything has been turned upside down and the usual way of doing things are inaccessible–has blown my mind over and over again.

March 23, 2021 – 82 of 365 – You know it’s going to be a great day when it starts off with a work crew sawing into your street, directly in front of your open windows, at 7:30am. GOOD MORNING WORLD!

In case you think zoom dance looks like little girls obediently following their tiny computer teacher from my living room every week, here is another take. Picture below taken immediately after Julia clocked Lou in the head with her water bottle. It’s definitely not all pliés and relevés.

March 24, 2021 – 83 of 365 – School drop off co-pilot. He looks stoic, but when we got to the vet, he tried to jump across the arm rests into my lap. (Don’t worry. It was just a check-up.)

March 25, 2021 – 84 of 365 – When the whole family is together, Louisa will sometimes out of nowhere say, “I love mom. And dad. And Florence. And Julia. And me. I love my family.” It is painfully adorable. So, as Lou herself says, she loves Florence.

But…are you familiar with Elmyra from Tiny Toons? Because Florence’s love for Louisa can sometimes have an intensity that walks the line of being worthy of an Elmyra comparison. Louisa’s face in this photo tells me that story.