Well, we all survived the first round of midterms, also known as week 5 of the trimester. It is always a stressful and challenging time in a typical trimester. I have found that online distant learning due to COVID makes some things easier and some things more challenging. I love some of the flexibility that is offered, such as my ability to do all of my school work from Maryland with my family. 

I would not usually be home this time of year, so I would miss out on a lot of the summer fun that I get to participate in. However, all that summer fun can be a challenging distraction when it comes to balancing and managing my time and work efficiently. Especially considering that my very large family all lives nearby and loves to be active and outside (which we can do while safely social distancing from each other).

We have enjoyed swimming in my parents’ pool (even though we still can’t go into my parents’ house), playing with the slip and slide in the front yard, and even had a massive water balloon fight on the kids last day of school. It has been super fun and was apparently exactly what I needed, because my grades are higher than they have ever been at this point in the trimester.

My dog Lily is apparently loving all the time in the sun. One of her favorite places to sunbathe is in the driveway, which is crazy that she doesn’t prefer the soft grass. She loves the heat and warmth from the driveway. Very strange!