Thursday night as I was reading in bed, my husband says to me, “Michigan schools are closing until April.” Even though I work at a school, it didn’t really register. We were about to go on Spring Break and my mind was already there.

Friday morning, I woke up to text messages and voicemails that we would not have school that day, and we would not be returning until April 6. At the earliest. Right. Husband’s mumbling about a news article now makes sense.

I posted more messages to social media and the school website (as part of my job), made a quick coffee and headed to school early, anticipating I’d need to help craft an all-school email. When I got there, the sun was still rising. My office faces East and connects to what was once I believe a dining area. Golden sunlight shone on the peach walls. The world was waking up, ready for a brand new day.

It’s one thing to walk through empty school halls on a holiday or a weekend. I’ve done it tons of times before. My mom was a school teacher and I often went with her after hours and hung out while she got work done. And of course for this job, when I’m on a deadline or during the summer. I can tell you that it’s a completely different thing to come to school when school is not in session vs. coming to school when kids are supposed to be there, but they’re not.

I’m not panicking quite yet, but I know we as a country and as a world, have a long way to go with this crazy virus. I’m not really sure how I feel about it, I’m riding the waves right now. But here are the photos I took that morning in the few minutes that I wandered the halls alone.

Be well, my friends!

Completely forgot about the List until last night as I was taking a moment to do nothing and relax. And then I wasn’t relaxed. So here goes.

1) Over Presidents’ Day weekend, we went with another family to Crystal Mountain, a 4-hour drive north from Grosse Pointe. It was the second time the girls have been skiing and they picked it up again pretty quickly, even though it’s been two years since that first time.

2) I skipped skiing (I really don’t ski. I tried a couple times when we visited my Dad in Europe when I was in middle school and I ended up breaking my leg on the Swiss Alps. There are worse ways and places to break one’s leg, I know) and tried snow shoeing for the first time instead.

The weather and conditions were perfect and I really enjoyed just being out there by myself with nature. I hate being cold, so I don’t take many walks during winter, but snow shoeing takes a lot more effort than walking and the sun was out, so I didn’t feel cold at all.

3) I took some photos for a new local business, The Corner Studio, a new exercise/wellness space on Mack Avenue. They offer a variety of classes for a wide range of levels and ages (there are kids and teen classes also). I did portraits of their instructors and took some shots of their grand opening event.

4) Rarely am I in photos, since I’m usually behind the camera, which is not that big of a deal, except I would like my kids to have more visual memories of me. Plus it’s nice to have photos of oneself, I think. So I snapped this one of me doing me.

5) I finished our latest book group pick, “Something in the Water” by Catherine Steadman. It was a fast-paced thriller that I quite enjoyed. It’s not going to win any literary prizes, but I can see it being a great movie.

6) I started this book by Brad Meltzer. I wanted another book that was engaging, but not too deep. My college girlfriend loves this author and I’d never read anything by him, so I thought I would give it a try. When I chose it, I didn’t realize there was a co-author, so I’m not sure if what I’m reading is a true Brad Meltzer-style book, but I like it so far.

7) I finished the podcast “Catch and Release” by award-winning journalist Ronan Farrow about his investigation of Harry Weinstein. The podcast was completed before Weinstein’s recent conviction.

8) It’s not summer yet, but I still love a good spicy watermelon margarita. Can’t wait til I can sip these outside in my backyard vs. inside by the fire.

9) Started a new 1000-piece puzzle because I’m basically an old person.

Books, podcasts, margaritas and puzzles. If this were my whole life, I’d be all set.

10) Our oldest turned 11 at the end of the month. She requested coconut cupcakes per usual, which I am more than happy to make because they are my favorite as well. She is definitely a tween. Sometimes sweet, sometimes sassy, with no heads up as to which one she’s gonna be at any given time.

11) My mother-in-law’s cat is staying with us for a month. We have a love-hate relationship. Mostly she says give me water, no not that water, different water and pet me now and I wanted to sit where you are sitting can you move and I just ate and have cat food on my mouth can I rub it on your shirt. In the end, I almost always give in, though.

12) Another photoshoot I did this month was for a group of moms whose kids are friends and they are all pregnant again with their second kid. They wanted snowy winter pics and we weren’t sure it was going to happen, but a couple days before the shoot, we got a beautiful dusting of snow. Looking at these photos makes me happy.

I’m counting on no more snow in our near future, but it’s still a possibility, knowing Michigan. I’m ready for warmer days. Writing this as the coronavirus is a growing issue and wondering what the March list will look like and hoping for the best scenario. Be well and have a great month!