Before, I hesitated to say anything about this trip, but I am in Nebraska. The Travels with Kev world headquarters hasn’t moved to the Cornhuskers state, but my short visit turned into an extended stay due to safety concerns.
In early February, I booked a trip to my sister Paula, who lives in Papillion, NE, before most of us knew what would come. If I knew the true scope of the pandemic, I would have stayed home. With a lot of conflicting information, I decided to take the trip while taking some precautions.
I did take the train out here, and the trip aboard the California Zephyr went well. My return tickets may get rebooked; it has been a few times. I am trying to keep safe and keep my family’s health in mind as I proceed with this adventure.
It Could Have Been Worse
Paula and Mikey have two kids, Abby, the five-year-old Newfoundland “puppy,” and their twenty-month human daughter, Mackenzie. Both girls adore their Uncle Kevy (a term only a select group of people use). I never knew I could love them as much as I do. I might take a few liberties with this, but it is my blog.
I got stuck in the right place, I think. Paula and her husband are great hosts, and I believe they are thankful I am here because there is one extra adult to help with Mackenzie and someone to help out around the house.
Fortunately, I have a loving and supportive family in Wisconsin and Nebraska. It is a blessing to stay with people I am comfortable with as long as I have.
I enjoy my time with my nieces, playing outside, going for walks, and kicking balls for Abby, activities both girls enjoy. Plus, it keeps me active, and that’s good. The other day I walked over 2.5 miles without leaving the yard! Running after a toddler and kicking a ball for a dog that only chased them but did not bring them back takes a lot of effort.
I am thankful my parents are doing well back home; both take precautions and are healthy. With that said, I worry about them.
Living With A Toddler
I am not known as a “kid person,” but my niece changes things. I slowly like the “little” humans more and more sympathetic to parents and caregivers.
The Adjustment
Mekenzie is a bright little girl but sometimes too smart.
Like most of us, she tries to avoid consequences for activities she knows she shouldn’t, yet she still wants to do them. To ensure no witnesses, she will instruct you to “go” to send you out of the room before trying to do what she shouldn’t. We are on to her little game!
Living with a toddler entails repeatedly watching the same shows or movies. Although we do this as adults, we vary the selection more. Mackenzie’s favorite film, for the time being, is Megamind.
Surprisingly, she enjoys train videos, often sitting on my lap. One day she played on my phone, started one, and then wanted to watch more. Mackenzie starts dancing and yelling ding, ding, or “Ta” for Thomas when a train appears on the screen. Often she wants to use my phone to watch trains or ask for them to play those videos on the TV.
I love dabbling in psychology, and watching her cognitive development is fun. Every week there is a skill set she masters, and her vocabulary grows. The latest stage of her story is pointing, identifying, and saying the names of people and things to the best of her abilities; right now, I am “Ka.”
Mackenzie’s Development
It amazes me how well she understands technology. She loves Facetimeing and discovered how to use emojis, so she looks like a dinosaur when she chats. If she wants to talk with Grandma or Grandpa Monteith, she often points to a phone, roars like a dinosaur, or says, ” Papa for grandpa.
When Facetimeing, she takes the person on the other end on an adventure. The downside is you only see from her eyes up, and her camera work is very shaky. She will show them parts of her world that she finds important.
I never thought an almost two-year-old would teach me something new about my iPhone, but she did with the emoji. I also learned that I could have a smaller keyboard on my iPad, and I think I learned how to regain the old keyboard.
Anytime she can break into anyone’s phone, she enjoys looking at photos of loved ones. Mackenzie knows what app and folder have the pics she wants to see. She does get upset that her movies are not in my movie apps!
Her love of technology extends past phones to the TV as well. She pushes the buttons with “motes,” aka remotes, although she is always happy with the results of her actions. Watching YouTube with her is a sport; if you finish a video, it’s a victory. It is like watching TV with your dad, but worse (I love my dad but am a one-show-at-a-time type of person).
Big And Fluffy – Abby
Abby, what can I say about the big fluffy puppy? A lot. She is loveable and friendly, but she seems needier than usual. She cannot get enough scratches, outside playtime, and water from the outdoor faucet.
This time of the year, this double-coated beauty blows out her undercoat for the summer. You can brush her daily; the results will give you enough fluff for two small dogs.
She enjoys our morning routines; I am the first one down the stairs, so now she can go outside earlier than usual and receive more one-on-one time. Usually, she gives me enough time to grind my coffee beans and press the Aeropress before her requests to go outside.
While she stretches and does what dogs do outside, I give her fresh water and breakfast. After her first time back in, she gets a treat, her dental stick. Often she plays with it by pouncing on it and throwing it in the air, but if she is in the mood, she may eat it alfresco. I don’t get her actions, but we all have things we like to do that others think are odd.
Often she tries to convince me to go out and play, but I want to get work done. Early in the morning is my peak work hours. When Mackenzie awakens, working is not always as productive as I want. She wants to hit buttons on my computer, but often not the right ones.
Abby Prepped Me For Being An Uncle
I knew Abby when she was a puppy, and I am learning similarities between dogs and kids; now, hear me out before getting nasty.
Phrases I first used with Abby and now Mackenzie:
- What is in your mouth?
- Spit that out!
- Where are you going?
- Bring it here!
- Why did you do that?
- No! NO! STOP!
- What is that smell? Oh, come on now. How?
And when things are too quiet, and either girl is of direct eyesight, you know they could be up to something they shouldn’t. Although with Abby, she is usually sleeping.
The Quarantine Blues
Social distancing is a dream for some and a nightmare for others; I am somewhere between.
It’s hard not to go a little stir-crazy these days. Like many others, we are binging on Netflix, Hulu, Prime, and other streaming programs. We find ourselves watching The Tiger King a few times instead of cleaning. I find Waco very interesting, and my standard shows of The Office, Parks and Recreation, Super Store, Cheers, Frasier, Shitt’s Creek, King of the Hill, and others.
I am used to working from home, blog-wise, but I can’t do that as an organist. Being a church organist has many challenges; we often do not own instruments like a trumpeter or zitherist; if we did, they are not that portable for traveling. With many churches closed during these times, I hesitate to reach out to find an organ to practice on while I am here.
Playing the organ is a source of income for me, an escape, and my way to meditate.
Working From I Mean On The “Home”
I enjoy fixing things around the house, and there are a few things to repair here, like in any home.
Additionally, I enjoy mowing lawns. Mowing allows me to listen to podcasts, get in a walk, and have some personal time. It’s a way I can enjoyably help out while I stay here. Besides, I don’t think they enjoy mowing.
Months ago, my folks booked a trip to come out here later in April, but their train trip is getting canceled. My dad likes to putz around the house, too, so Paula and Mikey made a list of activities to tackle when he was here. He was looking forward to the list, but I am taking over since they are not coming out. I think we got a bulk of them done.
Safe Quarantine Outings And Activities
Typical Activities
Most of my trips to Nebraska include a few regular activities, but not this trip. Our favorite activities include going to the zoo, going out to eat, library time (for Mackenzie), playing at a few parks, and doing other activities like haircuts at the Papillion Barber Shop. Well, none of those activities are happening. My brother-in-law is now my barber; he is not too bad.
Our big outing for this trip is shopping, although we keep it minimum. Instead of going out to eat, we have mastered online food delivery.
Paula’s Social Distance Birthday
April 5th was my sister’s birthday. This year, her birthday was less exciting than she wanted.
As we age, we forgo big parties, often for eating out with friends and loved ones. This year needed a creative solution. Instead of going out to eat, we picked up cupcakes from Small Cakes cupcakes, one of her favorite treats,
She found a fun social distancing activity to get us out of the home to see animals. So, her birthday outing was getting the family in the Buick and traveling to the Wildlife Safari Park. (Well, Abby stayed at home.) Hundreds of other people had the same idea.
It was fun seeing the native animals of Nebraska in their natural habitat from the safety of our cars. Our only regret with this trip is not planning better because we went on a whim. We should have brought or eaten before we went.
Trying Different Coffee Drinks
People are experimenting while looking for something to do, and we are no different.
Paula is a tea and Mountain Dew drinker, not a coffee drinker like myself. But she discovered a coffee drink she wanted to make online, now known as the Quarantine Whipped Coffee Drink. Now, I like brewed coffee, iced coffee, cold brew, or a delicious hot whole milk latte, and this drink was none of those. But she wanted to make it so bad I thought I would be the great big brother, and I said I would try it; she made it.
The drink comes in two parts; milk over ice and a whipped topping, the consistency of marshmallow fluff. (If you want to make it click here.) The topping ingredients include instant coffee, sugar, and water; all whipped together. After making the topping, you take a photo, post it on social media, and mix it. I drank, I tried, and no need to try it again.
I also tried PBR’s Hard Coffee, another drink I do not need to try again. Now neither was awful per se, but neither is my style. The PBR tasted like a sweet coffee drink in a bottle with a hint of alcohol.
Who knows, you might like them!
Walks
At this house, walking is an activity that transcends generations and species. If you say “walk.” a toddler and a puppy get excited. We take a few routes around Paula’s subdivision, each about a mile, some hillier than others. Eastern Nebraska is not flat like I thought; several reasonably steep hills exist.
One day, we took Abby to the Walnut Lake and Reaction area to change pace. Paula thought the trail was about a mile long, but we found it was not.
The path surrounding Walnut Lake is 3.1 miles, not a bad walk for me, but Abby, by the end, had the look of “are you trying to kill me?” Mackenzie did well but had her fill close to the end. Maybe tasty snacks and entertainment might have saved the day.
Nebraska is not a shelter-in-place state, but we are trying to be respectful of others.
Wrapping Things Up
The past few weeks have been difficult for me, and I am sure they are hard on you. Initially, I didn’t know who to listen to or what I should do, but now, I know who I don’t believe. I have a date to go home, but that could change anytime (editors note: it did change).
While my plans of going to the zoo changed to a ride through a wildlife safari, and my sister didn’t get the birthday she wanted, we are safe and have our health. I wanted to be home by now, but now I get to share in the life of a little girl, well girls, who think the world of me.
My dad and I are still planning on his retirement trip (more to come), pending everything returning to a new normal by August. The November Disney trip is probably changing to Spring 2021, but this is due to a schedule change and not related to current times.
Don’t Give Up! We Are In This Together
Remember, we are not alone. Take care of yourself. Reach out to your friends when you feel lonely; there is a chance they feel isolated and could use a conversation.
We may miss our favorite activities, but soon they will return. But right now, we must take precautions for ourselves and those we love. Science is accurate; we must listen to get through this pandemic as quickly as possible.
Soon we will be traveling again; don’t give up on your travel dreams. If you’re feeling depressed, look at photos of past trips. I discovered some lost images, and scrolling through them brought back memories and filled me with joy and hope.
If you are new to travel and don’t have photos from past trips, don’t worry. Visit blogs, Youtube Channels, Instagram, or podcasts of places you want to travel. Instead of memories, build dreams.
Now is an excellent time to replace or buy travel gear if you have the money. Many places have sales going on now. If you are thinking of travel backpacks, start here.
Don’t give up; I believe in you, and you should believe in yourself too. We will be back on the rails, on the road, or in the air again!
