I realized as I was putting this together that I counted day 35 twice, so when the Big 4-0 happened yesterday, I didn’t know it. That’s why there’s nothing in that day’s reflection about us being at day 40. I only realized it this morning, on day 41. It was bound to happen. I’m just glad it didn’t happen way back in the early days of quarantine counting! How are you keeping track of the days?
Day 36: Things I miss, according to my dreams and in no particular order: my students, my co-workers, driving, sharing food with friends. I woke after having a dream that I was driving somewhere mountainous and I got lost and couldn’t find directions, but I wasn’t too panicked. Before that dream, we were visiting one of my co-workers at her house where she’d made dinner for us before we were going out somewhere all together. They lived on a cul-de-sac with a large in-ground pool in front of their house that didn’t belong to them. Weird. Two days ago I dreamed that some students were allowed to come back to school and I walked into a study hall in a science classroom to see some of my students there.
Quarantine dreams, y’all. They wild.
While I was still in bed, scrolling through social media, my daughter came in and asked if they could finish listening to the Weird Al Yankovic cassette on my husband’s new cassette player. I said “yes” because apparently this is the ’90s now. When I wandered out to the living room, they were playing Lego Star Wars and listening to Weird Al sing his parodies. It’s going to be a fun day.
I made breakfast and coffee and took my blood pressure. It’s slowly coming down. I’m hoping that means we have the right dosage since it’s not dramatically dropping. Give it more time.
It’s been a rough morning. Apparently we have energy but no direction. When the video gaming was over, we met to talk about expectations for the day, even though there’s no “school.” I need them to do some things that aren’t strictly lounging. So, the kids kept listening to the music tuning their dad’s new radio into a local station and shopping for things online. I tried to read for my judging job but they kept screaming at things they were seeing online and crawling all over each other. So, I turned the music off and asked them to spend the next 45 minutes doing something else. Anything else.
Before that, though, I washed dishes and listened to Office Ladies while we waited for the fire truck parade to come past our house. At a little after 9:30, I heard the sirens and ran through the house telling the kids to get jackets and shoes on. The parade was in the neighborhood next to our house. We ran to the porch and started waving while I took shoddy video and a few pictures.
It was emotional to wave to our first responders, who are volunteers mostly (if not all; I’m still not sure how it all works out here) as they wore masks and drove through the entire district.
After I turned the music off, my daughter started reading the first book for her book club that starts next week while her brother rolled around in his bed complaining that he had nothing to do. This is my current “work” environment. Heaven, help me.
By 11, it was time for lunch. They made mac and cheese and I made a salad. I’ll go back to reading while they watch YouTube and then I probably should work out. And double check the shopping list for Phil so that it’s complete or nearly so when he goes to the store later.
Phil went to three stores and stocked us up again for what I hope will be closer to three weeks now. It’s not that we’re trying to hoard, just trying to limit our exposure to the outside world. The kids and I ate dinner while he was gone. He ate when he got home and had showered. Getting the kids showered and off screens was a little bit rough. But we managed.
Phil and I watched Brooklyn-99 and then tuned in to the Global Citizen At Home Together event. It was moving. And I’m obsessed with background bookshelves, so if we’re on a video call and you have a bookshelf in the background, I’m staring at it trying to figure out your reading tastes.
Day 37: The kids were awake early but I didn’t hear them. Our daughter was finishing a book for her book club that starts Saturday. Our son was playing a game on the tablet. I got up and made myself some pancakes, then we settled in to watch the sermon for this week and listen to the songs picked to go with it. This took us a little longer than it has in the past, or maybe we got a later start, but it was 9:30 by the time we finished, and I still planned to go for a run before our live sermon discussion at 10:45.
I got ready in a hurry and headed out into a beautiful spring day. Sun shining. Cool temps. Gorgeous. My plan was to run 2.5 miles no matter how long it took. I’m technically finished with the C25K program but haven’t actually run the 5k part of it yet. I’m working up to longer distances. Last time I was out, I ran 2.35 miles in 30 minutes. I picked a route and did the work and ended up running 2.54 miles in a little over 32 minutes.
This is a proud moment for me. It’s taken so long to get back to where I was last summer, but I’m getting closer. I”m not sure what my next goal is–2.75 miles or jump straight to 3. I need to start looking for a 5K I can register for, even if it’s a virtual one at this time.
I got back, downed some water and had a quick snack. I changed out of my sweaty running shirt for a dry one and we logged in to chat with our church friends. We had a fun and interesting discussion. I miss these people and I’m glad we can still see each other’s faces once in a while.
The kids have been on screens all morning, and Phil is getting ready to go for a run. The transition from screens to no screens may not go well. I guess we’ll see what the afternoon brings. Personally, it’s the nicest outside it’s been all week and I want to be there. Outside. With a book, probably. I’m tired of dishes and laundry and cleaning and seeing the inside of my house.
We ate lunch, and then I did sit outside for a while and finish reading Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. But it’s a little too chilly to just be sitting. So, I came in. Phil got back from his run. The kids started working on a secret project in their room. They yelled at us if we came anywhere near them. Phil started cleaning the kitchen counters, which turned into a bit of a project but man, do they look good now. I washed some dishes and did some early prep for dinner and meal planned for the week and mostly just kept Phil company. Some of our best talks happen in the kitchen when both of us are doing other things.
The kids spent some time outside but came back in frustrated by their togetherness. They didn’t separate immediately, though. I took a shower and made dinner. We decided to watch The Sandlot as our evening entertainment and it was not a mistake. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that movie. I did have to tell the kids that pretty much the only thing they’re allowed to repeat from the movie is “You’re killing me, Smalls!”
Now it’s almost bedtime again. Another school week ahead of us. I don’t know if we’re ready. Phil and I watched an episode of Poldark, and that was all, folks!
Day 38: It’s Monday again, and honestly, I can’t figure out if it being April 20th is surprising or disappointing. In some ways, April feels like it’s flying by but in other ways, it’s dragging. Time is so weird right now.
I listened to Pray As You Go this morning and scrolled the socials for a little bit. Monday morning socials are tricky because the new episode of Outlander airs on Sunday nights and sometimes there are spoilers on Twitter and Instagram. Even though I’ve read the books, I like to enjoy the episodes for what they are. So, I do a lot of scanning past those tweets and Insta posts.
The kids were playing Star Wars first thing. Now we’re on to breakfast. We didn’t do much planning out of the week yesterday, so our morning meeting is going to be a little more substantial I hope.
What a day it’s been. I don’t know if we’re all just on an emotional roller coaster or what. Just after our morning meeting, I did sit down with my son to help him with some work from last week. Eventually, his sister finished her work and came to sit with him. Things started to get a little wild but they were still working, so I removed myself to the kitchen to wash dishes and listen to Office Ladies. He finished his presentation and they kids went outside for a little while before his class meeting.
Class meeting happened. I did some work reading. When the class meeting was over, we all started to get lunch-y. And then we found out that it’s Kids Week on The Price is Right, so after Phil went to work, we switched it to that. Kids playing pricing games with parents/caregivers is wholesome entertainment.
My son had another meeting at noon, and I got ready to do my workout. It’s a mild day outside so I was able to run ladder intervals instead of doing burpees like I did last week because it was raining. I spent a glorious amount of time outside doing my intervals. The kids were watching TV and doing some school work. At 2, I asked them to turn the TV off and you would have thought I had asked them to kill a puppy with their bare hands. Daughter stormed off to her room. Son rolled over on the couch. I tired to figure out what had just happened.
I switched out the laundry I had started earlier, got a blanket from my son’s bed, checked on my daughter and took my book outside to the porch to read. When I came back in a little before the time they had a band meeting, things were somewhat better. They briefly tuned in to band. Phil came home and we had another discussion about screens. Son is sorting through a box for chore time while watching YouTube. I’m not sure how much work is getting done. Daughter is doing school work. I’m about to get dinner started.
We are under a stay-at-home order until May 8 which means I am totally going to think up something fun to do for my birthday online. I’m turning 42 this year. What would be fun and encouraging?
Prepped dinner while listening to Office Ladies. I’m afraid I’m going to run out of episodes. I was a big podcast listener but in the past year or so I couldn’t keep up so I stopped listening. I’m not sure why this is the outlet for me now except that I can listen on my phone while the kids are using the computer for other things.
We watched the new episode of Some Good News. Prom edition. I’m almost jealous that I don’t have a kid old enough to go to prom so we could have danced in our living rooms live when it aired. Still, it was fun to watch the edited episode. I nearly cried at the news that a kennel’s cages were empty because every dog had been adopted.
We talked to the kids about showers after dinner. Son got a little miffed that he wasn’t aware showers were part of the plan today. He had too much energy and no outlet for it so once I had dinner put away, he and I went for a walk. He rode his scooter.
I like the fresh air, but I’m tired today. So are the kids. I don’t know if this is just mental drain catching up to all of us or if it’s our diets or just the trauma of living through a global crisis.
Both kids are bathed and hanging out on the couch. I’m about to join a virtual launch party for a book I’m scheduled to read as soon it arrives at my house. Then the kids are going to fold laundry while we watch Nailed It!
After those two things and the children went to bed, I watched Outlander and worked on a cross-stitch I’m trying to finish.
Day 39: My dreams are weird these days, probably a conglomeration of all the things I’m taking in during the day and all the things I’m missing. They often feature people I haven’t seen in a while and places I haven’t been in a while. This morning I woke from one that didn’t make a lot of sense. It’s a tad disorienting first thing in the morning. So, I listened to Pray As You Go and scrolled through Twitter and Instagram while contemplating the extra unemployment compensation I received today. Our state expanded the benefits and it’s just a wild, unexpected positive of this time. But money from the government always feels uncertain to me and unpredictable. I think it’s a holdover from all the years we we received SNAP benefits. I always felt like at any moment it could be taken away. Or maybe I’m still thinking of the time Phil received unemployment benefits and had to fight to keep them because his employer contested.
Anyway, my first thoughts today are of money. Does that make me a terrible person?
I made breakfast and coffee. The kids are on screens already. I’m reading the book we borrowed from the digital library for my daughter’s book club that starts Saturday. She wants to read it again before then, so I’m trying to finish it. We’re waiting on a shipment of books for her book club and don’t really know when they’re going to arrive.
I miss the sounds of school buses. Every truck that passes our house that sounds like a school bus makes me think we’re living in normal days. And then I remember that we’re not.
It’s after dinner now and I’m back to the computer. I just checked my blood pressure and it’s in the super normal range, which is both comforting and surprising. I hope the numbers remain in the normal range without going too low.
Quarantine life right now: my son is trying to break a plastic egg by throwing it off the wall, on the floor, by banging it on a table. This is the most animated I’ve seen him all day. Meanwhile, my daughter is nursing a bruised bum. I don’t know if it’s actually bruised but she fell while roller skating on the porch this morning. Here’s how things went down: the kids both did some academic time then went outside because I told them it was nice outside. I had gone out to the mailbox to send some more letters. Son wanted to ride his scooter, fast. Ricky Bobby style. Daughter tried to ride her scooter at a leisurely pace but that frustrated her brother. She switched to skates but that only aggravated the situation. At one point, he came up right behind her trying to get her to go faster and that’s when she fell. There were tears. And ice packs.
Son stayed out scootering which was good for him overall. He had his class meeting. I washed dishes and folded laundry while listening to Office Ladies. At lunch time, we watched The Price Is Right because elementary kids were on for kids’ week today. It was fun. Except for the part where the girl almost cried and threw a fit. Son had another meeting at noon. I wanted to work out but it appeared that some thunderstorms were getting ready to roll through. I postponed and when my son was done with the computer, I did some work for the contest judging.
Then I worked out while the kids did some sorting chores. I reached a new high score in jumping rope. Maybe they call that a personal best. My legs feel like jelly. I showered and started working on dinner. Son worked on more academics. Phil came home from work. We watched another Bon Appetit “Every Way” video about chicken breast while we ate dinner.
And this brings us to the plastic egg throwing. I’m not sure what happens in the evening. Three out of four of us tend to wind down by now while the other one tends to ramp up. We have no set plans for this in-between time and on a night when Phil has worked all day, it’s hard to get motivated for a game night.
When the kids were in bed, Phil and I split a Scottish beer and watched the first part of a documentary of a driving tour of Scotland. We ended on the Isle of Skye, which is the only place in Scotland I’ve spent any significant time. I need to dig out my picture memories from 22 years ago so I can relive that trip.
Day 40: Is anyone sleeping well these days? I mean, I sleep, but I’m up a lot and my brain has trouble shutting down. My night is full of dreams of random things from my day and life. I don’t remember last night’s dreams but I don’t feel well rested. It’s chilly this morning. Granted, it’s still April, but I’m ready for consistent spring. Although I’m not sure spring is ever as consistent as I think it should be.
We all woke up in the 6 o’clock hour. Phil, to work out, the rest of us to eat breakfast and ease into our mornings with games or videos or social media. Last night, my blood pressure was in the most normal range it’s been since lowering the dosage. This morning, it’s a little higher. But I’m dehydrated and I take my pill in the morning. I’m just collecting data for my doctor.
Coffee. Breakfast. At least these things are consistent in my life. I finished a book last night, this one the one my daughter’s reading for her book club that starts Saturday. I can’t wait to keep reading the picks for this book club. YA fiction is just the right amount of escape/length for reading right now.
I don’t know if it’s all Wednesdays or just certain days of the week but today I felt like the walls were closing in. At one point, Phil was working out or watching TV and both children were at the table. One was complaining about the work for the day; the other was talking through math problems out loud, and I was trying to read for work. It was too much. I wanted to jump out of my skin, and I’m pretty sure I said some outburst types of things. We got through some academics, and I washed some dishes and started some laundry. Phil did some cleaning in our bedroom.
By lunchtime, we were sort of all gathered together to watch middle-schoolers compete on The Price is Right. It made me miss my students. Then it was another round of academics for my son while Phil and our daughter started deep cleaning the kitchen. I have to confess/admit here that Phil is much better at cleaning our house than I could ever be. He is thorough and meticulous. I am easily bored by the monotony of it. I just want it to be done and not have to be done again. There is no method to my cleaning madness, but Phil takes it in logical steps.
I went for a run, partly because I needed to just get out of the house. It’s sunny today but breezy and a little cool. I suited up and planned a new route because my runs are getting longer and I need the variety. My goal was 2.75 miles but the route I mapped out was 2.8 miles. I did it, and according to my tracking app, I did it in 34 minutes. I’m a little skeptical of that being my actual time, but hey, I did it. I had to walk a teensy bit up a hill I forgot about, but otherwise, I ran the whole thing. Endorphins are a powerful drug because I was practically dancing on my walk home as I listened to the local alternative station.
When I left, my son was working on his final assignment for school. When I got back, he was done. Phil and our daughter were finishing up in the kitchen. Did I mention they also made a chocolate cake for after dinner tonight? Amazing. Both of them.
Now that I’m more recovered from my run, I need to set out and do some writing work for a couple of hours. But first a shower.
I spent almost two hours on a writing project, and I feel good about that. Then I hung out in the kitchen with my husband as he finished dinner. We watched a little bit of TV then bribed our son with the chocolate cake to take a shower and do band practice. He hurried to do both of those things. Phil brought up a couple of bins from the basement because after watching the Scotland documentary, I wanted to revisit my visit to the Isle of Skye. I pulled out the scrapbook, looked at the pictures and read my account of the very short trip to Skye.
Just before the kids were getting ready for bed, the one teacher I work most closely with called and we chatted about how school life is for her. She gave me some updates on our students, which helped me with my feelings of grief and being separated from them. The kids went to bed and Phil and I finished our tour of Scotland. We also discovered that the same couple has a TON of other documentary tours.
Guess who’s going traveling virtually now?
