The 2020 year has (passed/flown by/consumed us in unspeakable horror). I want to (write/rage/weep uncontrollably) about the news of how we are surviving the apocalyptic Covid pandemic. I am giving you some options to complete my sentences, because all of them could be true at any point! Circle the ones you like. Who would have suspected that in 2020 we would be living in a Covid world?
About the things we usually highlight in end of year Christmas letters, we gained no new family members this year, nor did we lose any, a good thing. We took no amazing trips to anywhere, so at least we aren’t flat busted broke. And we completed some long delayed home projects. Nobody came to see us, but we did have a great day visit this summer with long time Army friends, Grant and Janice Smith, in the Smoky Mountains.
Like Any Other Year
The year began normally enough. It was a typical January in Tennessee. The Sandhill Cranes wintered at Hiwassee Island as always. The birds slammed our feeders in the back yard as usual, especially on the few snowy days. The 2020 elections were rapidly heading to a fever pitch, totally dominating the television. But the news coming out of China was all about a strange new disease that would change our way of living.
Springtime (and Covid) Comes to Tennessee
March bloomed spectacularly, however things ominously began to tighten down. Susie and I resolved to duck and cover so to speak. The news was reminiscent of the grainy old 1950s television warnings that taught children to duck under their school desks for protection from nuclear attack. In retrospect, we find this seems almost amusing ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_and_cover)! News anchors and analysts sternly warned of Covid-19 effects, especially for older people with existing medical issues, messages we took to heart. So we stayed at home with Sophie and Jeb. No workouts at the gym, shopping, granddaughters stopping in, or Trivia Night at Aubreys. Home. Quiet. No one ever thought about living in a Covid world, but we were learning to persevere.
Instead of travel, we stained the deck and added a fire table plus a retractable awning with two matching umbrellas. We built a fire pit on the landing, and we added a Sea Doo to our water toy fleet for next summer.
Graduation Time
Our granddaughters walked the halls of Soddy Daisy High School for the last time. Actually, most of last semester was virtual, the new normal living in a Covid world. Now they are spreading their wings at UT-Chattanooga [Samantha] and U of Memphis [Kathleen (and Michael too)]. We planned a graduation trip to Hawaii as we did with Michael last year. Aborted. Twice. We now have a trip penciled on the 2021 calendar.
What’s Up With the Family?
Our eldest son and his wife are building a beautiful new forever home on Possum Creek. In the meantime, with their two Golden Retrievers they are expanding their world view (USA view, actually) while touring in their Airstream trailer home. They revel in the RV lifestyle, a form of expensive homelessness.
In Lexington, our son, his wife and his daughter are in the COVID line of fire at school and Fedex, but they are valiantly coping with living in a Covid world. Lydia Bea is actually doing quite well with virtual school. She is the family’s newest water skier. She’s also a new scout in the Huber family tradition of Boy Scouts. We dream that she will be our fourth Eagle Scout. Her father is reclaiming his scouting heritage, this time as a scout dad.
Daily Living in a Covid-19 World
Sophie and Jeb, nearing their 11th birthday, are so pleased that we are home nearly full time. They have seen our reading and genealogy hobbies really mature. They have endured Zoom club meetings, book clubs and Sunday School. With their help, Joe even started this blog featuring travel, photography, and whatever comes to mind.
We escaped the solitary confinement of home with walks, biking, and hiking, even reaching out to some great day adventures. Our getaways to the Smoky Mountains were marvelous breaks. In light of masking and social distancing, we avoided Gatlinburg of course. We discovered a marvelous hideaway at Hippensteal Mountain View Inn B&B (https://hippensteal.net).
Possum Creek Living in a Covid World
We relish our summertime with our newest old friends on Possum Creek. We spend our days on the water usually with a wakeboard, surfboard, or slalom ski beneath our feet. For a change we may have a SeaDoo or a Waverunner beneath us. And when we need to chill, we lounge on the dock and laze in the water. Fourth of July is a huge big deal with fireworks that draw boatloads of onlookers from everywhere. A big crowd showed up to cheer me on for my 71st birthday slalom run! Thank you, Trudy, for getting my old bones out of the water and on plane! It is all about the boat driver, folks.
Possum Creek, a tributary to the Tennessee River twenty miles north of Chattanooga, is the center of our universe. It was only natural that Susie and I made the the creek and Chickamauga Lake our getaway from our Covid world. A quiet place of solitude, we were often the only ones on the water in the late afternoon. Ten miles upstream lies the confluence of the Hiwassee River and the Tennessee River with Hiwassee Island prominently anchoring the spot. The island is at a crossroad for indigenous peoples over the centuries. The history of this island is fascinating (https://tennesseearchaeologycouncil.wordpress.com/tag/hiwassee-island/). It is a wildlife refuge and a bird sanctuary now and a place of peace where you can spot soaring eagles overhead and the Smoky Mountains in the distance.
We are blessed to have so many places on the lake and into the forest to get away without masks, without the constraints of social distancing, places to find solitude and respite. Every day brings a new experience. For instance, recently I encountered the fellow below returning from my morning walk through the neighborhood. November is rutting season, and he ain’t backing down. He is pawing the ground, and I am imagining 8 antler tines piercing my behind.
Fortunately, he decided that I was not a worthy competitor and posed no risk to his herd of lady deer. After all, I am nearly 72!
The Biker Gang
Several of us enjoy getting together on bicycles for fresh air and exercise. We put lots of miles on our bikes. Numerous trips to the Chattanooga Riverwalk Trail (https://www.visitchattanooga.com/blog/post/a-guide-to-chattanoogas-riverwalk/), a 12-mile across town path from Chickamauga Dam to St. Elmo in the shadow of Lookout Mountain. A 33-miler on the Silver Bullet Trail near Smyrna, GA. A 36-miler on the Virginia Creeper Trail in Abingdon, VA. A 25-mile out and back along the River Road in Tellico, TN. We covered 22 miles on two loops of Cades Cove in the Smokies. You would think we would be more fit. However, we know where all the beer taps are along the Riverwalk; hydration is so important!
We had a wonderful autumn weekend in the Smoky Mountains with our Kentucky son and his family. We were fortunate there were rooms available at the last minute to get back to Hippensteal. Hiking in the mountains, visiting Dollywood and just relaxing were the orders of the day. Look at the Hippensteal pancake offering in front of Lydia Bea!
Party Time in Tennessee!
In addition to the socially distanced summer fun, we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving, a holiday similar to ours, but on the 1st Monday of October. (https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/07/world/canadian-thanksgiving-2019-trnd/index.html). We do this to honor our daughter-in-law’s Canadian heritage. Since she is “homeless” in afore-mentioned trailer this year, friends seized the moment to continue the tradition.
Later we celebrated Oktoberfest on our deck complete with Jäegerschnitzel, spaetzle, red cabbage, and German beer. Dessert was the crowning glory with Black Forest Cherry Cake, a Screen Door Kitchen offering [(https://screendoorkitchen.com) Thank you, Eva. You rock!] and Susie’s Apfelstrudel that was so authentic and delicious. We further sought to create the Bavarian vibe with oompah music and even a chicken dance. Prost, y’all.
It was clear that Thanksgiving would be an altogether different experience this year with Covid-19 raging across the country making traditional family gathering difficult. So, we scaled back things radically with a promise that, when conditions change, we will make up for our lost time and experiences. But that still didn’t stop traditional food preparations and decorations.
Creative Coping with Covid
Without warning, a yard turkey competition raged across Possum Creek. Plywood turkeys began to appear in prominent places. Not to be left behind, my turkey was born in the carport but truly fledged its wings under the tutelage of master artist, Mary Tomas. I am very proud of Sir Thomas who spent Thanksgiving week in the planter by the front door. He even went to drive-in church and posed quietly in front of the pulpit during Thanksgiving week services.
We are lake people, no doubt. But when the season turns, the lake chills, and the leaves wither, it is time to pull on the hiking boots and pound the Cumberland Trail (https://www.cumberlandtrail.org/trail-segments/north-chickamauga-creek-segment/). Here is our group on the pathway from the North Chickamauga trail head to the Barton Creek overlook. We are burning yesterday’s Thanksgiving feasting.
The Thanksgiving decoration experience has the creative juices flowing. As you can see, when Christmas time comes, you really must swing for the fences, so to speak!
We are so looking forward to the coming year. As I write this piece, shipments of vaccine are moving across the loading docks. Not soon enough! But what matters are all the fundamentals of a happy life, loving and taking care of family and friends, taking care of yourself, and keeping your eyes off the ground and on the horizon. Better days are coming
We wish you God’s blessing in the coming Christmas season. We fervently pray for better days with exciting new lives and adventures in the coming year!
