Sheltering in place during the COVID-19 pandemic has been...
... working all the time because it's so convenient and because there's plenty to do.
... Supergirl - the four of us can't get enough of it; and with four seasons, a fifth on its way and 23 episodes per season, there's plenty to be seen.
... discovering the comfort of yoga pants and buying more.
... not wearing a bra that doesn't have the adjective "sports" in front of it.
... mentally surviving an April snowstorm and now a May flash flood, thinking, "really?"
... encouraging Ella to learn how to play a song other than "Hot Cross Buns" on her recorder, being proud of her for learning "Happy Birthday" but wondering if you're the only one who recognizes the high note on the third round of Happy Birthday lyrics isn't quite high enough... every... single... time.
... hanging up the towel in the widely-used half bath outside of my "office" almost every time I go in to use it because the kids just can't seem to remember to do so.
... finding new outlets in virtual yoga and 30-work fitness classes with Ron, our company fitness center manager and, I've learned, life coach.
... occasional check-ins with the kids about their eLearning progress each week, feeling guilty for not checking in more but being grateful I don't have to... except for that one time early on when we learned Cal wasn't doing his work. He did after that.
... being grateful for having two kids who play and just be together really well, who are both independent and who each make up for the other's shortcomings - Ella lets us know when they've done something they know they shouldn't have while Cal lies through his teeth, and Cal is patient and speaks calmly as Ella screams her head off about some supposed injustice laid upon her.
... telling my kids "no" more than I ever have and feeling sad about it.
... being grateful for the internet and screen time and feeling no guilt about letting the kids have it.
... playing basketball with Cal.
... doing crafts with Ella.
... wearing my "plantar fasciitis shoes" all day, every day, unless I need my running shoes for a workout or my bike shoes for a ride, and finding they work!
... staying connected by playing Trickster cards and having Zoom meetings with friends and families.
... feeling sorry for my kids, even as they smile.
... worrying that my kids are becoming too comfortable at home and that they'll have to re-learn some social skills as they re-enter society.
... not shaving my legs for days and wearing my "bad" underwear because why not get some more life out of it?
... finding out how gray my hair really is.
... responding to my kids' shock at our two across-the-street neighbors who have regularly spent time playing closely together with, "well some people are just practicing distancing differently," but wondering what are they thinking?! myself.
... being concerned using the right judgment during re-entry as restrictions are lifted - it's just so much easier to have black-and-white rules and follow those strictly.
... finding that the utter insensitivity of people about recent events -- racism, deaths, suffering -- and that our federal government is doing the wrong things to help are really getting to me... I'm just so sad.
... watching Dan work in the living room tirelessly for hours on puzzles that took him days to complete -- it turns out that having hundreds of the same-color pieces isn't exactly conducive to finding two that fit together.
... being interrupted during work meetings when I'm actually talking with, "Can I go on the iPad?" or "I love you, Mom" or "Can we make a smoothie?"
... being the one who shops for necessities, making trips to Costco, Trader Joe's, Walgreens and Jewel without my trusty sidekick, Ella, wearing one of my "In the Buff" headbands as a mask and feeling the pressures of getting it right so that I minimize the trips and exposure as a result.
... finding the 6am to 8am window on weekdays to be the most relaxing and productive times of my days.
... drinking wine.
... not emptying the dishwasher because Dan actually has the kids being responsible for it.
... letting the kids fend for themselves for breakfast and lunch but fixing dinners... when I get to it, which is, oddly enough, oftentimes later than when I was going into the office.
... getting back out on my bike.
... watching or hearing a bird fly into our office window repeatedly almost every morning and wondering how he's surviving it.
... hearing the kids fight over time with Zoe, our family cat -- Ella wants to read to her, and Cal just wants to be with her.
... being the B-Dubs picker-upper
... celebrating my birthday and Mother's Day while holed up and finding each to be pretty much what I would have wanted anyway.
... being really proud of my kids for the way they've handled all of this -- aside from the occasional rift and complaint about having been wronged, they've both stepped up and accepted the reality of all of this better than I could have imagined, not that I knew what to imagine, but neither could they have.
It's endless, really, the things I've experienced, observed and thought. These are a start and reflective of mine and my family's time these past couple of months. It's all becoming more and more routine and normal every day, and some of that worries me. We settled into this quite well - I think we're going to have a difficult time adjusting as we come out of it, however that looks and whenever that is. Perhaps that summer is almost here will help to facilitate re-entry - it'll be a natural invitation to get out of the house and do things and enjoy our lives.
You have some great images and details in this piece. it says a lot about you and your kids and about the things that really matter in our lives.
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