Lisa

That’s 50 days of quarantine/isolation/social distancing. This post actually takes us to Day 51, the day before my birthday and the start of my celebrations. I’m running a bit behind in posting these because of said birthday. Nevertheless, enjoy!

Day 46: It’s afternoon already as I sit down to put some reflections in the journal. I don’t know how many “digests” I’ve published now since this started, and I’m not hating the daily practice of thinking through the day. But I’m also tired of isolation and quarantine and being so careful about everything. I don’t want to cause anyone harm by actions, and I know things will be different going forward. Part of me is afraid that I won’t know how to go out in the world again when it’s time. I’ve been nowhere that I couldn’t walk or run to and not inside any building except my house. Going somewhere feels foreign.

I started the morning as usual with socials and Pray As You Go. I didn’t know what time it was when I woke up. I don’t remember Phil leaving, which means I was probably sleeping hard. I had a kind of restless nights o maybe the last few hours of my sleep were deeper than the earlier hours. I made coffee and figured out breakfast. Then I took my blood pressure so I could report in to my doctor. She replied later in the morning that my numbers looked okay overall and that I should keep monitoring it, exercising, and limiting salt. I’m to check back in with her if it consistently rises above 140/90. I can probably do better on the salt intake. I don’t really pay much attention to that.

The kids and I met for school check-in, but almost immediately my daughter had a meltdown about something she’d been working on that was appearing on the screen differently than yesterday. I took a brief walk to the mailbox to put some letters in. Then I came back to deal with the rough start to the day. In these instances, I have to consciously calm my exterior and do the opposite of what I want to do (which is run screaming in the other direction). We sat together and talked through it and the solution was simple. Then I met with my son and looked at what he had on the agenda for the day. He got started right away on more coding. I washed dishes and started some laundry. And cleaned out a junk drawer. Then my son needed some help with a writing assignment, so we took a look at that and got started before his meeting.

During his meeting, I read for contest judging and got a puzzle ready for exchange. Our friends were going to drop one off at our house, so I set it out on the porch. Every exchange like this feels semi-clandestine, or like we’re all celebrating May Day early. (Did anyone do this? We would fill May baskets and drop them at our neighbors’ houses. I’m not terribly sneaky. I’m pretty sure I was caught more than once.)

Lunch time. I researched my workouts for the day while arguing with my son about his screen time for lunch. We turned the TV on, which is a gray area some days. His next meeting started at noon, and I read for a little longer and helped him finish the writing assignment afterwards. Then I changed into workout clothes and did the prescribed exercises. It’s beautifully sunny out, and cool, springlike. I’m grateful we’re still getting a few days like this interspersed with all the rain.

The kids worked on projects while I worked out. I made a smoothie. Daughter is tuning in for her band lesson now. I’ll start thinking about dinner prep soonish, but I might try to sit out on the porch for a bit. It’s cooler in the shade, but I can’t resist the lure of spring.

I read a little and started laundry. It’s Taco Tuesday, and we had ours over roasted potatoes. Just before dinner, Phil learned that Jim Gaffigan has been releasing content on YouTube, including livestreams of their dinners. We watched a couple of short episodes of Jim cooking (toast and hamburgers). The kids cracked up. After dinner, they went outside to play for a while, and we’re now watching Dinner with the Gaffigans. They’re raising money with their livestreams, so it’s not just an attention grab.

After the kids went to bed, and we had denied their request (demand) for ice cream, Phil and I watched an episode of The Wall (a game show) featuring a grandmother-granddaughter pair from Lancaster County. It was an interesting show that I could easily get attached to.

Day 47: My intention was to wake up early and go for a run. But I had a hard time sleeping last night. Dreams and restlessness. I saw an article about this that I should go read so I understand why it’s happening. Anyway, I slept in till almost 7 and then dragged myself out of bed to get ready to run. The weather was just so nice and doing the run in the early part of the day frees up time this afternoon for me to write. It took me about 30 minutes to get ready to go. I headed out on a new route that was challenging but fun. I’m needing to see new areas of the world without driving to them. So, the longer I run, the more I’ll see.

I did another 3 miles, in a little bit less time than last run. And I felt good. I’m tired now, both from running and the strength training. Tomorrow is a rest day, and I welcome it.

The kids got a late start on their academics because I was back late from my run. We accomplished a few things in the morning, though. And I took a shower. Sometime in that time, my new wireless earbuds arrived, a birthday present from my parents. I can’t wait to try them out on a run. No more wrestling with the cord when I try to put my Buff over my face! It’s the little things. I struggled through some poetry work with my son and then he had his class meeting. I don’t feel like the morning was super productive from a housework standpoint because it takes so long to prep for, do and recover from a run.

The mail arrived, and with it a Target order and a card from a friend, so that was exciting. Phil had to run to the post office to send a piece of paperwork because the mail came to our house so early today. I did some reading for the contest. And then it was lunch time. The kids are eating and watching the Minecraft channel on our TV, which is only slightly better than staring at a screen. We’re trying to institute a new screens policy, and the TV is different because you can walk away from it. I guess. We’ll see how it goes.

I washed dishes. And helped my son with his school work. Then I did some more reading and took a couple of hours to write. Phil worked on dinner. He baked shortbread for dessert and made cornbread muffins, sweet potato fries and spinach salad. He cooked brats on the grill. It was all delicious. We watched Dinner with Gaffigans again. Family dinner is pretty universal, no matter where you live or how many kids you have. 

The kids are going outside now to play.

We ate shortbread when they came back in. I wanted tea with mine, and the kids also wanted hot drinks. We decided they could split a cup of tea. Too much sugar/caffeine potential with hot chocolate. The shortbread was delicious. We sat around doing not much before bed. Our son showered. I colored some pictures to send to friends. The kids went to bed. Phil and I watched The Office while I finished coloring.

Day 48: Whew. I don’t like where this daily count is going. And at the same time, it’s another day we’ve made it. That’s what the radio DJ said yesterday. Every day is another day we’ve gotten through. We can do this.

Sleep was better last night. Dreams still vivid. In one, I dreamt that the school district turned our classroom into a teacher’s lounge. Except it didn’t look anything like any room in our school currently. Weird.

I made breakfast and got my letters ready to send. I created another post for my birthday challenge. Put the letters in the mailbox and met with the kids about school stuff. When I went out to the mailbox, the lilacs were so fragrant that I had to bring some inside. So I did.

Son plowed through his schoolwork, and we celebrated the positive comments on the paragraph he wrote yesterday. Because writing is a struggle for him. But he did it and did it well. He worked on a secret project for his student teacher. I went outside to read for a bit because it’s supposed to rain hard later. It’s windy outside and a little bit cool but still pleasant.

Phil worked out and is now watching an old F1 race that our son has joined in watching. It would seem that we’re in for a sort of calm day. Or at least, we are for the moment.

It’s 7:30 p.m. now, and I would say the day has been mostly that. It rained all afternoon which kept us indoors more than usual, although I’m not sure anything is “usual” anymore. Academic time was logged. Dishes were washed. Laundry was folded. As I was folding laundry, I decided to start matching the mis-matched sock pile. Last week Phil did a major cleaning of his part of the bedroom, and it looks amazing. I wanted mine to match, so I started sorting through all the stuff that just piles up on the floor. Why it does, I don’t know. Sometimes making decisions is hard. I threw a bunch of stuff away and salvaged a bunch of stuff to make more masks. There’s a towering pile of potential materials on my sewing box sitting right at the dining room table, so I can’t ignore it.

I managed to create order out of my own personal chaos in the bedroom and I feel so much better about walking in there and living in there. I did some reading for the contest judging. I made a second pot of coffee and realized the coffee pot needed to be cleaned. It’s always good to discover this in an afternoon or evening instead of morning, so I ran vinegar and water through once and then two pots of water. I’m hoping tomorrow’s coffee will come out better than today’s. 

Confession: sometimes I make an afternoon pot of coffee so I can eat something sweet. Remember the shortbread Phil made yesterday? Yeah, I’ve been snacking on it today, and it tastes really good with coffee or tea.

We struggled a little with active time and chore time, but overall things went pretty well today. Dinner came together well–butter chicken thighs with rice and roasted vegetables. We watched Good Mythical Morning’s Ice Cream Tournament of Champions. A family member recommended Good Mythical Morning and it looks like it will not disappoint. We’re doing okay with family shows to watch. I’m about to be in a show hole myself, so I’m auditioning new evening companions via Netflix and Prime. If you’ve got a rec, I’d love to hear it. (It’s not that there’s nothing to choose from; it’s that there’s too much to choose from and I want it to be good.)

After dinner, I did some Just Dance songs with my daughter because she wants companionship when she does things. I won’t say I killed it, but I killed it on a couple of dances. I may also have uttered the phrase, “You know TikTok didn’t invent dancing, right?” (She’s not on TikTok but watches YouTubers who are.)

This brings us close to bedtime, and I haven’t yet decided what my evening will look like. I may try to make another mask. Or get closer to finishing the cross-stitch. There might also be ice cream. The possibilities are endless! (Okay, not really, but there are at least possibilities.)

I made masks and watched two episodes of The West Wing. I think the straps are too small on one of the masks, but maybe they’ll fit around one of my children’s large heads? Dunno.

Day 49: Here we are again. It’s Friday. I didn’t sleep soundly. This is becoming the norm. In one dream last night, I left my son at a movie theater with older adult friends. (He’s 10.) And for some reason, I couldn’t get back to him. Maybe it was the influence of The West Wing episode I watched where three staffers are left behind by the motorcade and have a heck of a time getting back to D.C. I don’t know. It doesn’t make for good sleep.

I used my new wireless headphones to listen to Pray As You Go. And scroll through social media. I woke before my alarm went off, so now the coffee is brewing and I’m ready for breakfast. The kids are on screens. Fridays can be as hard as Mondays to get motivated, sometimes.

So I planned to do my workout this morning instead of this afternoon, just to get myself moving. I put on my workout clothes then checked in with the kids about their schoolwork. Son had a virtual field trip as his assignment today, which was really cool. He learned about Yellowstone. I did my workout while they did schoolwork. Then I transitioned to housework–the ever-present dishes and laundry. The mail came. I got a birthday card from a writer friend. And a package for the whole family that we’re waiting to open till Phil gets home.

Later, I got a birthday present from my grandmother. It’s a scale because ours is broken, and it’s not that we’re obsessed with our weight numbers; we just like to have the information. It’s sleek and fancy-looking. No weighing myself till tomorrow, though.

We had lunch. Son’s class meeting went long, which was no problem, but now the kids are lingering a little over lunch, the boy especially. Daughter is doing more schoolwork. A pile of laundry sits in the living room for them to fold. I took a shower then went out to the porch to read. I’m feeling sleepy, but I think I just need to drink more water. I’ll probably go back outside. It’s just too nice not to be out there.

This was pretty much my afternoon, bouncing back and forth between the porch and inside. At one point, I had to call my doctor’s office so they could complete some paperwork that I hope will lower the cost of my next injection. It was a five-minute phone call but I’m so grateful for the nurse who is working on this for me.

I made soup for dinner and Phil got home from work. I talked to my mom on the phone for a bit. We opened a package for the family during dinner. There was a little something for everyone in it. We watched another episode of Jim Gaffigan’s “Let’s Get Cookin” because it makes the kids chuckle hilariously. After dinner, the kids went outside to play. I worked on a shopping list for Phil, who is going to the grocery store tomorrow. And I made a hummus for my meal plan snacks in the coming weeks.

I started listening to The Outlander Podcast earlier in the day. It’s definitely not like Office Ladies, but it’s an interesting look behind the scenes. I don’t know what it says about me that one of my leisure activities is listening to podcasts about shows I love. After the kids went to bed, I finished listening to episode 2 while coloring a picture to send to friends.

Then, on the recommendation of a friend, I started watching When Calls the Heart. I know there’s a big fandom out there for this show, and I enjoyed the first episode, although I was a little bit distracted. It was kind of hodge-podge day so I think my attention span was limited. That doesn’t mean I’m giving up on it.

Day 50: So that’s a fun number. And by “fun” I mean “not at all fun.” I know we’re getting restless. I read it on social media, and there just seems to be something in the air. Phil and I have both noticed more cars on the road. My fear is that our restlessness will make us reckless and we’ll be in a worse position than we are now. Sigh. One day at a time.

I weighed myself this morning, not because I consider it torture but because I like concrete information. I’ve gained about 3 pounds in the last two months, which in all honesty, could have been a much higher number considering how much dessert I’m eating. I don’t berate myself for numbers on the scale, just use it to make adjustments as necessary.

Now, we’re all awake and sliding into Saturday with what I’m sure will be low motivation to do anything except veg out. I feel it, too. But it’s going to be almost 70 outside today. Outside time is a MUST.

Well, it’s almost 10 o’clock and all of us have been outside for at least a little while. I ate breakfast and read a book, then got ready to do my workout. Switching to mornings the last few days has been helpful for the rest of the day, I think. I don’t know if I can keep to this schedule, but for now, it’s working. The kids went outside and rode their bikes. I washed dishes. The boy is taking a bath because he talked me into skipping shower time yesterday. Hmmm…

The kids told me they’ve made a scavenger hunt for my birthday to find my gift so if I find any clues don’t look at them yet. I can’t wait!

Made a snack. Then I’m going to transition into some work time.

A little writing, a little reading, then lunch. More reading. And then my second workout of the day, live. It was a challenge, but kind of fun to be participating at the same time as thousands of people around the globe. Then it was another snack and a shower.

More reading and responding to Phil’s grocery texts. I cooked bacon and prepared a salad for dinner. When Phil got home, the kids helped put the groceries away, and then wanted to do the scavenger hunt right away. We decided it would be better to let Phil shower and eat dinner before we did that. Our daughter kept trying to tell me the instructions for the hunt, but I kept telling her I wanted to wait until just before the hunt. It was almost an ordeal.

We ate dinner and watched an episode of Absurd! Planet which was less gross and a little funnier than the first episode.

Then it was time for the hunt. I was handed a notebook with my first clue along with a card I could not open until I found the gift. There were eight clues, each hidden in some part of the house. For one clue, my son basically told me where it was because I was taking too long to find it. They both hovered, waiting eagerly for me to find each hidden piece of paper. Finally, I was led to their bedroom and under my daughter’s dresser. I took my gift back to the couch to open it. I read the card, which was full of alphabetical adjectives for me, and admired a hand-painted gift from my daughter. Then I unwrapped the present.

It was Code Names, a board game, and we decided to play it. After a short call to a friend who had been trying to reach us, we paired up and played the game. It was fun and not terribly difficult.

We put the kids to bed, then watched the Parks and Rec special from Thursday night, and the season finale of Brooklyn-99. Both provided some much-needed laughter.

Day 51: I woke up with the intention of going for a run. It took a little time to get out of bed and get going. I did listen to Pray As You Go. I got up and had breakfast and made coffee. I wanted to drink a bunch of water before heading out because I was feeling a little bit dehydrated. By about 7:45 I was ready to go, intending to run 3 miles again this morning. The humidity is starting to increase. I could feel that right away, and wearing a mask made my face hot pretty quickly, but I persisted in wearing it until I was through the park. I’ve encountered enough walkers not wearing masks that I like to have mine ready just in case.

I knew sort of where my stopping point would be and I reached the 3 miles before that point, so I kept going. I did a 5K distance of 3.1 in about 40 minutes. Felt good.

Phil drove to a store to get a few things that were missing from yesterday’s grocery trip, but the line to get in was so long, he came home so he wouldn’t be late for online church, which is going live every Sunday now. I took a quick shower and we got our Communion elements ready. Participated in online church and sermon discussion. The kids spent some time on screens and some time outside. It’s a gorgeous day outside. I can’t wait to be out there more.

I ate lunch after church. Phil got ready to go for a run. I washed dishes after I finished eating. The kids are getting bored with quarantine life, I can tell. Son is reluctantly sorting through his collection of cars to figure out which ones work on his Hot Wheels track or not. Phil is finishing his workout and our daughter is coaching him a little.

I spent most of the afternoon on the porch reading fiction because that’s how I wanted to spend my pre-birthday celebration. Phil and our daughter made a cake. And Phil ordered our food for the evening.

We had a delicious birthday feast. I had three tender lamb chops. Our daughter had pork cutlets. Son ate pork sliders. Phil had shrimp stuffed with crab. We also ordered a bottle of wine that cost the same as my age, and I make zero apologies. We each had a glass with dinner. Then with dessert. Then later when we toasted with friends via Zoom. More on that.

After dinner, we just turned on the TV and watched Little Big Shots followed by The Wall. And ate the chocolate cake. Delish.

Phil arranged for a FaceTime toast with our dear friends who live in Arizona. So, at 9 p.m., after we put the kids to bed, we called our friends and talked and toasted for nearly 2 hours.  It was such a gift. Sunday felt like my birthday even though the actual day is not until tomorrow.

We went to bed late, having split a bottle wine. I feared the morning might be rough.