Thursday, April 16, 2020

Current State of Affairs

I was sort of taking stock of how things are going and how we are dealing with our "new normal" as people like to say.  I feel like we are doing okay, although "thriving" would be the wrong word - we aren't making bread, doing many crafts, or growing a vegetable garden, and there is no such thing as a day without screen time.  And that's all fine, not looking for praise or criticism, but here are some things that have changed and some things that have stayed the same.  (I'm focusing on my own experience here, not Dave or the kids really).


What has changed:

No reading.  I don't have my subway time to read and I am having a hard time finding time fitting it into my day, and to be honest it's just not a priority now.  I have one library book to start so if I do get some time later, then I will have something.

No regular blogging.  As I said a couple of weeks ago I didn't have as much to offer to my regular posting routine, that could change as we go forward, but for now I'm still just posting two or three times per week.

No alarms. Since Q is up usually at 6:45 but certainly no later than 7:30 then we don't really need to set any alarms.

Eating habits. I usually bring tons of food with me to work and I snack in the morning and in the afternoon, but I find here I don't usually eat snacks, maybe I am eating bigger meals or maybe I'm too busy to eat.  We have also been indulging in some snacks in the evening which is not our usually practice.  (I had been so good for three weeks in preparation for our Jamaica trip, but when we cancelled that, I was kind of like "oh the hell with it, give me all the drinks and snacks!!")

Doing urgent work only.  I find it difficult to do work that isn't urgent because as soon as I'm done with something that I have to get out to someone, or finish up with a phone call, then I transition over to the kids to keep them occupied with something, until I have another urgent matter that comes up.  I don't have a full day at "the office" to just work on regular things.  I'm hoping I can catch up one of these days.

Seeing more friends and family.  We live in Toronto away from our family so we don't see them much anyway, but on Easter we got to speak to my aunt and cousins (and my mom who I speak to all the time) which was nice and something we may not have done if it had been a regular Easter.  I also do trivia each week with some high school friends that I haven't seen a lot of in years, and we "attended" a Zoom birthday party on the weekend with lots of friends from the East Coast.  And since everyone in our neighbourhood is home we often see people out for walks and we can have a quick chat out by the sidewalk.


What has stayed the same:

Working out.  My workout routine is pretty much the same, if not improved.  I am able to get to the online classes in the evening and on the weekend mornings.  Since I can go anytime, and it doesn't matter if Dave is home or not, then I have no excuses :)

Getting after E to do his work.  School work has usually been a struggle for E and although he doesn't really complain about it, it just takes him a long time to get focused on something and then complete it.  He has enjoyed checking out his Google Classrooms.

Meal planning.  Although we don't go to the store as often as usual and we have a lot stocked up, I am still trying to plan for meals so we aren't just eating boring things.  We are doing pretty well at eating well.

Evenings.  The kids are still going to bed at roughly the same time, even though E may stay up a bit later, but our evening routine is the same, and Dave and I will get to watch our shows in the evening after they go to bed.

Attending church.  Our church has been good at sharing a worship - scripture and liturgy (short sermon), music (our choir singers are so talented!), and a children's story and activities.  Although it doesn't always go as smoothly as I would like, the kids usually do the activity and I get to listen to the worship part.

House is not spotless. Some people may have found extra time to clean and tidy, and aside from me being about to make the beds while I'm upstairs on phone calls, our house looks pretty much the same as it usually does.

Love. We are all still getting along and loving each other!  Q is the most emotional of the bunch, with Dave in second place (hah!), while E and I are more easy going, but we all have our moments of frustration. I keep thinking of this time as an event in our kids' lives and how they will look back on it when they are older.  If the memories are ones of love and fun, spending time with us, and taking it pretty easy, then we have succeeded. I don't really care if they've learned all of their school lessons or been trained to clean the house and cook their own meals, I just want them to feel loved and safe.



2 comments:

  1. Love the last point, my sister in law who is also an attorney btw, feels exactly the same way! Loved and safe is the most important!

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  2. I would agree that we are "okay" but also not "thriving." Some of us are very social and need in person interaction with our friends and we are sorely missing that right now.

    Our house is also not spotless. I am definitely not spending much of my time at home cleaning!

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