Our quarantine life has become our new normal, for now. I feel a lot more settled than I did when I shared my first update. It’s been almost five weeks now?
I’m feeling so many things! First of all- I lowered my standards (on almost everything!) and it feels good. I’ve been diving into things that feel like “me time” even though alone time barely exists in my world. Jeremy and I are both introverts who thrive on routine and it took us a few weeks to realize that the stress (and sometimes anger) we feel in our hearts purely from not getting enough alone time is normal.
I started running, which feels amazing and so different from any other running phase I’ve had in the past. I’ve run for all the normal reasons- to feel athletic, to lose weight, to train for a bigger run- but running JUST to get out of the house… haha… that is new to me. But it feels so good to have something to look forward to. And then I started roller skating. It’s so much fun! But I have a really horrible story about a police officer watching me skate for forty minutes and then coming to “chat” with me afterward- who does that? Augh.
I have been working on planning and decorating our home in every spare moment, whether it’s unpacking boxes or obsessing over room designs… it’s a good creative outlet. Jeremy is REALLY sick of me asking him furniture opinions though, but unfortunately for him- he’s stuck in a house with me 24/7 and it’s my only hobby.
I’m grateful to be in this new, unfinished house during a time when I have SO many hours to think. Since we have little kids we don’t have unlimited DIY time- like we have to switch off to paint or anything like that, but we definitely have unlimited time to think and plan… and stare at blank walls.
This is a tough season- I’m not trying to pretend like it’s not anymore… it’s very challenging. There is a bright side for sure, but every day is pretty exhausting.
Our kids are happy though. They’re learning things and we’re having fun. I’m (not-so-secretly) grateful that they’re not in school yet so I don’t really have to “homeschool”.
We’ve been going on a family walk in our neighborhood almost every night. It’s kind of an athletic walk for us (our kids are in a stroller) because our neighborhood is really hilly. I love seeing all the other houses since it’s all new to us. There are some really cute ones.
Not being able to plan ahead, even a few months, is killing me. It bleeds over into every aspect of our life- work, family, home stuff… everything. I really love to plan.
This time of year we usually went to Palm Springs and for our anniversary in May we usually take a trip. I never realized how much I attach joy to feelings of anticipation of my next trip. I’m trying to think of something special to do for our anniversary in a few weeks.
This is random but, I miss the news being about politics. I never thought I would say that! I do love politics but I also complained to my therapist a lot that we consumed too much politics news, and now I miss it.
There’s a lot of things to miss right now. We each have a very long list, don’t we. Some important, some petty… and everything in between.
I have to say it’s kind of cool to feel myself adapting to this new world. I hope you are finding the most love and joy you can in your world too. I hope you’re taking care of yourself in the best ways you can. I’m sending you so much love. Go easy on yourself. Let go of guilt that’s not helping you grow.
Someone messaged me this week and asked how I was getting so much done with my kids at home- the truth is- I’m not. I’m getting a little bit done every day, but it’s not exactly “productive” over here. So if you’ve got little kids, don’t feel bad if you’re not getting much of anything done. I promise you- none of us are.
We’re all in this together! Love you.
