Currently / 4.13.20

I thought I might blog more in the midst of this pandemic. It seems like something that deserves documentation of some kind. I’ve never lived through a time period like this, and it will hopefully be remembered as a once-in-a-lifetime event rather than the beginning of some strange new world.

But also, the days all kind of blur together and don’t feel very distinct. I had to look at a calendar last night to realize that we are entering week 5 of being at home. And actually if you count the fact that we were on spring break when the coronavirus response really ramped up in the US, we’re entering week 6 of “not the normal routine.”

So let’s see. This is going to be just a stream of consciousness post, I think.

Last week seemed to be the first time both Jose and I kind of hit the wall with this stay-at-home thing. Charlotte has had a cough for a couple weeks now, and last week both Jose and I had it too. Again, the irony of catching viruses when we are not going anywhere is not lost on me. I still don’t think it’s covid, for multiple reasons. I have a cough, but it’s not totally dry; I feel like there is a giant wad of crud stuck in the back of my throat. My head feels like it is stuffed with cotton balls. None of us have had fever. None of us have had stomach issues. None of us have lost our sense of smell, or felt short of breath, or anything.

So yeah. If somehow it actually is covid then hey, fantastic! We have had it and it has been super mild. But if it’s not covid (and it’s really probably not) then well, HOW DO WE KEEP GETTING SICK WHEN WE ARE JUST STAYING HOME ALL THE FREAKING TIME?!

On top of that not-feeling-100%, I’m feeling annoyed, frustrated, challenged, angry (pick your negative emotion) about working from home. It’s just hard. Really hard. I am really struggling with staying engaged and informed about work right now. My job is an oversight role, and maintaining a good connection with the people and teams I talk to each week is tough.

So. Whine, whine. I am fortunate to have a job that continues to pay me while I listen to telecons in my pajamas. But everyone has their own set of challenges right now, and the work-from-home-with-kids thing is definitely one of mine.

I also hit the point last week where wow, I really just need a break. Charlotte’s daycare is closed but Emma’s after-school care is still open, and I find myself debating things like “hmm, what reallllly would be the risk if we sent her there for a day, just to have a break?” Of course it doesn’t make much sense to breach our social distancing strategy after adhering to it so well this far, and without anywhere to send Charlotte it wouldn’t really give us a break anyway. So, guess not. Sigh.

I love Jose and I love my kids, but I also love having some space to myself. Last night I counted the times in the last 5 weeks that I have NOT had a family member within 20 feet of me. They are:

1. When I went to the doctor for strep on March 30
2. When I drove to pick up a prescription on April 8
3. When I go for a run or walk

That’s it. (Jose has been our designed grocery store person, so he’s done that but otherwise he’s in the same in-your-face-all-the-time boat.) Thank goodness for running, though. I’ve been able to get outside by myself at least 4-5 days per week and boy do I need those few hours.

The girls seem to be doing ok, all things considered. They haven’t complained much about not being able to go anywhere, and other than saying a few times that they miss school, they seem pretty happy overall. That’s not to say there hasn’t been plenty of sibling bickering, which is starting to get realllly old. This morning we walked to the mailbox and as they each carried packages back to the house, they argued about whose package was more beautiful. I mean, ugggggggh.

(Although Charlotte is making me stifle laughs with her responses these days. When she is mad, she says things like “You are the worst, and I don’t like you, and I will call you poop and pee and you are NOT invited to my party!!” Then when reprimanded, she comes to me with pen and paper and asks me how to spell “I’m sorry.” It’s pretty cute, despite also being infuriating.)

Despite all that, we had a nice Easter yesterday and Emma even declared it the “best day ever!” so I’ll take that as a pretty huge win. I had the foresight to order two Trolls Lego sets a couple weeks ago, plus a box of candy and stickers and trinkets from Target, so they each had a nice basket. Jose and I made a scavenger hunt that took them around the house gathering clues and then eventually to their baskets, and they both LOVED that.

We dyed pancakes pink and blue and purple for breakfast, and in the afternoon we had an egg hunt in the backyard. I had put Hatchimals in some of the eggs as a surprise and when Charlotte discovered that, she literally screamed (eeeeeeeeee!) with excitement. We wrapped things up by dyeing eggs and even though we only had brown eggs (oops) they actually turned out ok.

Other miscellaneous things:

• I started following Art of Islamic Pattern a while ago but all their workshops were in-person affairs. Until now! They’ve started offering weekend online courses on how to draw patterns and I’m loving it.

• I’ve also started another 100 day project. In previous years I drew patterns, made scrappy improv quilt blocks, and sewed on a variety of projects each day. This year I’m making and sending fabric postcards! I let people sign up to receive one and within three days, I had 108 people — so I guess it’s a 108-day project now! I’m really excited about it and looking forward to trying new things on a small postcard-size scale.

• I will write a post about my postcard-making process soon. There are plenty of other online tutorials available, so I’ll share some of those as well as the different tweaks I’m trying.

• Jose bought a homebrew kit and started his first batch of beer. There’s a bucket in our guest bathroom fermenting as I type. Fingers crossed it turns out to be decent!
• I have made a few face masks and will be making more, but just for my own family. I have mixed feelings about mask making in general.
• Charlotte rode her bike around our neighborhood loop recently, which is a full mile! I didn’t think she’d have the stamina (or attention span) for it but I’m glad she did.
• We had our lawn guys come a week ago and clean up the entire yard for spring — weeding, trimming, mulch, the works. It looks great and we are enjoying it even more with so much time at home.
• I’ve gotten back into puzzle mode. I finished the one I started pre-spring break, and then did another one over the weekend. I have two or three more waiting in the wings.

Ok then. The weather is gorgeous today and is supposed to stay that way all week, so with any luck we will all be feeling back at 100% and enjoying the sunshine as the week goes on.