Two Best Friends

 Ok, so the last time I chimed in, the COVID-19 pandemic was only a month old and the novelty of being cooped up in my house with my mom, dad and Jenny still had not worn off! Well, check the date, it has been six months since my last entry, and while everything has changed...nothing has changed. I'm still going to school through the computer screen, my dad still cooks the same 5 meals every week, and I still feel like I am living in a TV show where my house is the set and I never get to leave. However, I now have two new best friends.

The first is Grace. We were already like best friends, but for the last six months, we have had a Google Meet every other night. We talk, we laugh, sometimes we frustrate each other, other times we encourage each other, and I think that is the mark of a real best friend. Through thick and thin, and even a pandemic, my best friend and I have each other's backs. We have prepped for each holiday over the past 6 months together via Google Meet.

For mother's day, our mom's had decorated homes, with construction paper red carpets, confetti cannons, home made board games with home made dice. At father's day, the dad's got the same treatment, with crafted gifts that Grace and I literally spent hour and hours crafting together through our screens. We'd find a craft on youtube or pintrest and then we'd run around our homes gathering materials. Each event took several hours a night for over a week leading up to it. For the fourth of July we made our own fireworks, American Flags and decorations that were fit for a presidential palace. Yeah, we like to craft. 

Last night was Halloween. We went to Grace's house. Both our families are all about social distancing, so they have decided that if we all keep people out of our bubble, then we can kind of be in each other's bubbles. We do back yard hangouts a couple times a month and the parents social distance while Grace, her sister Quinn and I all play. Last night was EPIC! I dressed as a witch and we built a spooktacular haunted house for our parents. It had a poisoned lollypop pull, blood red punch in a bowl, treats and games. We love this time to plan, party and play together. 

The pandemic is not awesome, but having a best friend really is. 

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, I got another best friend this summer: his name is Rex. He is 5 months old today and is already 52 pounds! He is going to be a big dog, and I love him!

Alexa, Connect me to my Family

You can see the date I am writing this. It is April, 2020. March was a weird month at my house. To be honest, while the whole family really should have been focusing their time and energy considering how best to celebrate my half birthday on March 16, both my mom and my dad were glued to their screens shifting our entire school into this thing called, "Distance Learning." It really doesn't seem so complicated, so I don't know what has them working so hard, in reality, aren't the teachers doing all the work? Honestly, I don't see my parents reading Charlotte's Web in my Google Classroom!

Anyway, the point is, we are all staying home. We are stuck in the house, bla bla bla, and it is driving me a little bonkers. Yes, I have been doing my distance learning, but that is easy. The hard part is not really knowing how long this is going to go on for. The truth is, I love my mom and my dad, but I miss so many people so much. I miss my friends from school, and my teacher, Mrs. A, and my brothers! Oh, my brothers! Those boys! When we are home together they more or less ignore me because I am their "little sister" but I know they love me. Now, it is like some gigantic metal door was closing, like in a movie and they were running toward the door, but it closed and they were trapped on the other side. I wish they were trapped on my side. They are at their mom's house, and I am here at home.

Its funny though, you know, how something can seem kind of awful, but then when you start to explain it out loud, you start to remember how many good things are happening too. Like, now that we are doing school at home it has a new name, "Distance Learning," and that kind of makes it better because we aren't comparing it to school, its this whole "new" thing. I wonder if we should do the same with the rest of our life. I mean, we can't compare how life is today to how life was a month ago, that just wouldn't be fair, but maybe if we call this, "Distance Living," we can see how many good parts there really are.

I have one to three virtual playdates everyday with some of my best friends thanks to Google Hangout video chats. I usually only see my Nana at big events, she comes up for Easter and some big occasions, but since we started distance living, we have talked on FaceTime every week. It is funny to watch grandparents use FaceTime. I have never walked my dog so many times in any week I can remember! Last night, my brothers agreed to play with me, without even putting up a fight: we played Headbandz over a Zoom Video chat; it was so funny because my brothers and I kept changing our virtual backgrounds to dogs and stuff. Last week we had a whole family video chat with my grandma and papa, my aunties and my cousin Holly's family, I was a bit too shy to talk, but it made me happy to see everyone. I think I have seen more family in one week than maybe anytime I can remember. I think we need this technology to make us feel connected, and feeling connected makes everything less scary.

Two nights ago I walked into my dad's office, its this extra room in the back of our house. He had music playing on the little Alexa plugged into the wall by the door. I don't even know why I did this, but I walked straight over to the device and I said, "Alexa, play 'Did you Know My Friend,' by Peff Eick," and my dad's eyes just about popped out of his head. I don't think he knew that his Uncle Peff's song was on Alexa. I walked straight over to my dad and stood toe to toe, looking straight up at him. There was something so comforting about this song, about this moment, that we were surrounded by family even though we were Distant Living, I took his hand and put them on my shoulders, and I put mine on his and we danced. My dad, he is such a softy. I swear I think I saw a tear in his eye. Even though we are all distance living, the fact that we have people to stay connected with and the technology to keep us connected, it makes everything just a little better.

I don't think we can compare how life is today to how life used to be, but I can say this, using whatever tools we have to stay connected, whether the whole world is on quarantine or not seems like a pretty good way to spend our time.

If I could...

We went to get a haircut, well, I didn't get a haircut, my dad did. He doesn't even have that much hair so I don't know how it takes as long as it does. He let's me watch kids youtube while he sits in the chair and talks to the barber about all sorts of stuff, so I go along with him - don't tell mommy.

Just a side thought: the place smells funny. Great clips doesn't really smell like anything. I think that is because it is for boys and girls, but my dad's barber smells like men going on a date. You know, kind of fancy but not like perfume.

Anyway, we walked out of the barber shop, same one every time, and across the street is a little coffee shop and next door is a little antique shop. We went in there one time and they had all these old record players and typewriters. That place smelled kinda funny too now that I think about it...like old shoe boxes and yellowing newspapers. So, this time we walk by the antique shop and we peek through the window, and it is empty. Not empty like nobody in there; empty like, empty, empty. Nothing, just hard wood floors and dust. There is something about empty that gets my dad every-time. He is always asking, what would you do if you could build something in that open lot? What would you do in this space if this were your bedroom? What if we had a HUGE backyard.

"What kind of store would you put here if you could? A dance studio?"

"If I could," I said, "I would open a music shop, with guitars and all kinds of instruments."

Sometimes I say things and I am not sure why they affect my dad the way that they do. He is usually quick with a joke, a comeback, or an add-on to the conversation, but sometimes, it is like I just stop him in his tracks. I saw him look at me out of the corner of his eye, with that little sideways smirky grin. He just nodded and said, "Yeah, that would be awesome, I would come and visit you everyday." My dad, I think he loves that I love music, maybe that is partly why I love it, because he loves me and I love him.

The Modern Princess

When I was little, I loved me some princesses. No joke. When we went to Disneyland, I told the world, "you can keep your roller coasters and funnel cakes for your self, as for me, I want to hang with some princesses." I don't think it was that unusual for a little girl like me to see that magic and want to get close to it. Movie after movie made it out to look just so. Big sparkly dresses, abundance, large ballrooms and all eyes on the most beautiful girl in the room as she swayed and spun to the rhythms of a grand orchestra. Yea, being a princess looked like a good gig.

Now I wear ripped jeans and black vans. I'm what you might call a modern princess. I still love music, but instead of the delightful notes of Bipity Boppity Boo, I am more in to girl-anthems and something with a bit more of a kick. Hey, I'm eight, growing up in 2020, this world is on the move and so am I. I like making music too. That's something I never saw a princess do, they were always moved by the music, but in my world I think it is ok for a princess to make music that moves others. I have been playing guitar and writing songs. I know several chords on the guitar and can pluck out a few melodies off some tab sheets my dad and I get at our guitar lesson.

My dad. Ha! That guy! I think he must feel like he has won the lottery. His daughter has grown out of the Cinderella phase and into this modern princess wearing skate shoes and strumming guitar - I see him with that sparkle in his eye every time he smiles that crooked smile and says, "that's my girl." I know he loves me know matter what, so don't tell him, but I wear the vans in part to get his attention. He wears them too. They are his favorite shoe for skating and that is something he loves to do. So, I knew getting a slick pair of treads would catch his eye.

My dad and I, we go on a lot of adventures. We are always off goofing around finding trouble to get into. In the last couple weeks, we have been to the park, the ice rink, DOCO, Old Sac, and we even drove past Funderland - but it was closed. But, the truth is, he works a lot too. He goes to Sac State on weekends and works late at Westlake at least a few nights a week. The thing is, when we are together, we adventure, but when he is not around, I miss him.

Every year since I was 3 my dad and I have dressed to the nines and have had a date night that keeps me walking on clouds for the whole year. At Westlake Charter School they put this night together for every dad and daughter just like us, it is called the My Princess and Me Dance. On this night, hundreds of princesses and their chaperones come to the school where the gym is curtained and decorated with covered tables, balloon arches and the DJ plays anthems that make me want to spin the night away.  I admit that I may have outgrown the princess fixation of my younger years, but this night is a blend between the glitter and gowns of the ballroom with the musical styling of my new found idols - it is perfection.

For the past two years my dad has had 8AM to 5:30PM class at CSUS on the day of the dance. I overheard him whispering to mommy that he convinced his whole class to take a short lunch so that they could all get out early. He changed into his best suit next to his car on the second story of the university parking garage and sped to Bel Air to buy a bouquet of flowers bigger than my entire torso. He knows I love flowers. When he rang the doorbell, I flung the door open to find him standing on the porch, flowers in hand and a crooked daddy smile as his eyes lit up at my outfit.

I love getting dressed for this night. This event is an opportunity to spend time with my dad, but it starts months earlier with shopping for a dress and shoes with my mommy...one of my favorite pastimes. On the day of the dance, my mommy helped me paint my nails, and dust my face with bronzer, gloss my lips and curl my hair. I love to dress to the nines.

Walking into the restaurant on my dad's arm, every table we passed stopped to drink us in. We were a sight to see. Several women commented on my dress. All eyes were on us as we sat down for dinner, both of us on the same side of the table, backs to the window, looking out across the entire scene.

At the entrance to the dance, they had laid a red carpet. It was perfection. Some of the middle school girls and volunteering moms, armed with Nikons, popped flashbulbs as we made our entrance as the paparazzi that our glorious entrance deserved. We stopped at the photo booth, waved to friends, and then we danced! We danced every dance like it was the last dance of our lives. I bought a dress that was made to spin and twirl, and oh man did I twirl. It was our best night of dancing yet. At previous events, I used to run off with my friends, hold hands and spin in circles on the dance floor, but his year, I wanted time with my daddy, and we spent that time dancing!

As the night wound down, we decided to end the evening with a little fro-yo and enjoy the company of my best friend Grace and her daddy. We laughed and talked, and promised to do it again. When I finally walked through the door, mommy was there with a hug and a, "how was it?" Truth is, it is hard to put into words, but I guess the answer is, it was what it must have been like to be a princess.