The girls started school last week, so I suppose the summer is well and truly over. We enjoyed two vacations, had plenty of weekend downtime, went to the pool a lot, treated ourselves to copious amount of ice cream and popsicles. All in all — a good summer.
We kicked off August with Emma’s 9th birthday. She is such a kind, curious, and conscientious kid and we love her to bits. On the day of her birthday, she went to camp and enjoyed hanging out with her friends there, then came home to presents and cake and celebration.
That weekend, we had a small party at the neighborhood pool with a half dozen friends. With an August birthday, the only viable option for an outdoor party is the pool, so it’s nice that she is at an age where pool parties are both doable and fun! (As opposed to when she was younger and she and her friends all had more questionable swimming skills.)
And then it was time for SCHOOL! Charlotte started kindergarten last Monday and we were all pretty excited about it. She did an “extra” year of pre-K because her birthday falls right after the school cutoff date, so kindergarten has felt very overdue for months now. This year, the district had 1st year students — Kinder, 6th, and 9th — start a day earlier than everyone else, so Charlotte and her new friends had the whole school to themselves for a day.
Emma started 4th grade last Tuesday. She had some nerves and initial disappointment about not having many kids from last year in her class this year, but after a week she seems to be adjusting just fine. I’m super excited to have both kids in the same school. We only have two years with them both in the same place, so I plan to enjoy it while it lasts! Since I’m still working from home, I go over to pick them up in the afternoon and seeing them come out the door hand-in-hand is making me so happy.
Another happening from this month — we sold our treadmill and got a Peloton. (Or, as I joke, we got rid of the old coat rack and got a new coat rack.) We got our treadmill back when Emma was a baby and I used it reasonably often for the first few years. But I hadn’t used it much at all since we moved to this house 5 years ago, and Jose hates running so he never used it either. I still have intentions of running again at some point, but the reality is that running was getting harder and harder on my knees and for at least 6 months of the year, running feels like a slog through truly unpleasant heat and humidity.
So when Jose mentioned the idea of ditching the treadmill and getting a Peloton instead, it didn’t take much to get me onboard. Jose was able to sell the treadmill back to the same fitness store we bought it from 8 years ago, which worked out well. They picked it up on a Wednesday, and the Peloton arrived the next day! That was almost 2 weeks ago and I’ve ridden it 10 of 13 days so far. I’m sure the novelty will wear off at some point, but so far I’m really enjoying it.
Things I like:
- Low impact workouts that feel challenging, yet don’t leave me totally exhausted or achey or overheated afterwards.
- Tons of class options — spinning of course, but also strength, yoga, stretching, and even running/walking if/when I want to try that again.
- Someone tells me exactly what to do! I love a plan, but hate having to figure out workouts on my own.
- The instructors are super positive and motivating.
- Both short and long classes. There are a lot of 20 minute classes which makes it very easy to fit around work and family. I also love all the 5 minute stretching and 5-10 minute strength options. And then as I build strength and endurance, I look forward to trying the longer 30 or 45 minute classes.
- The monthly fee is cheaper than what I was paying for Orange Theory (pre-covid), plus I don’t have to drive anywhere to use it.
(Also, the Peloton takes up less space in the corner of our bedroom, which is an added bonus.)
Birthday, school, Peloton…that pretty much covers August! Amidst it all, the pandemic rages on and I am oh so tired of it. We all are. It is difficult not to succumb to feelings of utter hopelessness, and I admit that I have spent my fair share of time wallowing as the delta variant wreaks its havoc. But the only thing to do is keep putting one foot in front of the other and make the best decisions I can with the information I have. We keep on keeping on.
I definitely hear you on the feelings of utter hopelessness. We are super close with my in-laws and used to see them every 3 months or so. It’s now been almost 2 years, and it’s been so hard. They were going to come visit in October but due to the flights have decided it’s time to cancel. It’s a bit heartbreaking, but we all agree it’s the right choice for now.
As for workouts – yes! I have been struggling to figure out cardio for myself here in a new climate. We used to be able to go for nice 3-4 mile long walks every day, but with so much rain it’s not as much of a possibility here. I just got a compact stair stepper that fits on our porch and I’m really glad to have that to use (almost) every day. :Having shorter options that you don’t have to plan for yourself sounds perfect to me, too!
I hear you on the hopelessness, in some ways this year has felt even harder than 2020. I am so tired.
On a happy note, as I mentioned to you, I also splurged on a Peloton recently (after using the app for over a year) and I am obsessed. It’s such an awesome piece of equipment and the classes and the community are really, really amazing. I was afraid of the upfront cost, but I think I proved to myself that I am going to get much use out of it. We should ride together sometime!