December 19, 2020

Dear all, what a tremendously weird year this has been. I have been long overdue to write something since my lastcommunication in mid-February but have hesitated as I have not had the usual activities to fuel my note. In many ways, thisyear has been challenging (I’m sure that nobody would disagree), but there have also been a lot of good things that havehappened. As 2020 comes to a close, and I reflect upon the past nine months, the positives definitely outweigh thenegatives and I’m ready to reconnect.

I gave a talk in Illinois at the end of February, but after that my world became smaller,and overall much more virtual. Plans to go to Los Angeles, Santa Cruz, Toronto, Greeceand Japan all vaporized, but in turn, this opened up some opportunities to do morecloser to home. We spent a few days at Lake Hope State Park, which is a gorgeousregion of eastern Ohio called Hocking Hills, in mid-March (an alternative and surrealSpring Break), and again in mid-June, and we spent our 10th Wedding Anniversary at anisolated and restful farmhouse just outside of the Great Smoky Mountains National Parkin Tennessee. We have been able to see family, albeit sparingly, and have also hadsome very meaningful interactions with friends. This included spending the 4th of July with my mother in Michigan, and Halloween in Maryland with Matt’s brother, his wife,and their new baby. We also drove to Colorado to see my Dad, bringing nearly all of the food we’d need for the two-day trip in order to avoid stopping on the road. We’rehoping to be able to do that again this coming Spring. If you want to see photos ofthese domestic expeditions, they’re available on my Shutterfly share site(https://brookecrowley.shutterfly.com). 

Fall semester was all virtual, and that’s what we have to look forward to again in the Spring. It was rather exhaustingputting everything together and preparing, but in the end, I felt really good about how things went with my classes. I had agood dynamic with my students, and I was honestly sad to say goodbye when the semester ended. I hope that I can buildthat kind of bond with my students in the spring as well. I do not like all of the computer time associated with workingvirtually, but now that everything is virtual, there is much more connecting (and reconnecting) with people who aregeographically distant. For example, I was able to attend a virtual alumni event for UC Santa Cruz Earth Sciences thatnormally takes place in San Francisco, and there was a virtual reunion with people who were part of my study abroadsemester in Australia back in 2000. This was particularly special given that I haven’t seen most of them in 20 years. I stillfeel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Matt and I have developed a routine where we find separate nooks in the house to work,and we gather for mealtimes. We have been cooking up a storm and produce what areessentially gourmet feasts on a regular basis. I feel very grateful that we are able to cook,that we have a well-supplied kitchen, and that we have had access to wonderful localproduce this year. I’m also grateful that we live in a highly walkable neighborhood full offriendly and responsible people, beautiful houses, trees, and holiday decorations. Wehave spent quite a bit of time exploring, and re-exploring, various walking routs within afour-mile radius of our house. And we’ve spent a lot of time with our buns, Hannah and Benjamin.

Our actual big news is that we have been diligently working on constructing a house onMackinac Island in Michigan, and... it finally exists!  I have put together a photo album of theprocess and progress to date if you would like to peruse it on Shutterfly(https://brookecrowley.shutterfly.com). I’ll continue adding to this as things happen overthe next few months. This has been quite the project, and I honestly do not know how wewould have juggled this into our schedules if essentially all our travel plans hadn’t beencurtailed this year. We’re really excited that we will be able to spend time there startingnext summer. It is way more hospitable than Cincinnati during the warm months.

And that’s all I have for now. I am thinking of you and hoping that you are (or have already been) able to have a relaxingand safe holiday. Let us wish 2020 adieu and look forward to the promise of 2021.