Me, recalling that Mark seems to periodically show up with a new balloon: Hey Mark, do you have balloons somewhere?
Mark: Yeah. I bought a bag at the dollar store when California went into their lockdown. I figured we'd be needing something for entertainment.
I love the way he thinks.
This week we're entertaining ourselves by making our own Easter baskets.
More to come....
The only item on this week's wipe-off calendar was last evening's: 6pm Zoom Archery Tournament
Being as I am the only one in this home that has not yet been invited to a Zoom meeting, creating feelings of unessentiality (it will be a word by the time this is all over), I decided I should take on the very essential role of setting up the camera angles.
I put them both where Brian told me to.
Also, it was cold out and I went inside right after taking this picture.
He stayed true to practice rules and didn't wear a hoodie or jacket. Like the one who commented that those who wore their jersey should get a 10 pt advantage, we think that those who shot outside, in short sleeves, should also get an advantage.
It was for fun, and it was fun. It motivated us to order a new target for his practice. It was a math lesson for Brian as he worked on creating a bullseye to put on his bag by converting measurements. It was fun to hear everyone's banter. It's always fun to see our kids participate, and light up, in those things that they are interested in.
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As for today:
More Clouds
A Walk
Guitar
Yearbook
Laundry
Cleaning
And Mark is currently making waffles, PROMISING that he did not accidentally substitute salt for sugar like he did last week. Those were eye watering.....
That's about it.....
Last evening, I snuggled up on the couch and called a coworker.
When I hung up, Mark said, "Did you seriously talk on the phone about Coronavirus for an hour"
Yeah. I guess I did.
We talked about missing the kids
We expressed worry about those we know to worry about
We mentioned our fifth graders, a class near and dear to us both, and (pending the expected announcement from the governor) not being able to say good-bye
We laughed, wondering if their parents have yet realized that 5th grade reproductive health is on the April curriculum
We wondered what it's going to be like when we go back after five months gone
FIVE MONTHS!
Five months is such a long time for our young friends who crave structure and routine. What will the adjustment be like next fall?
Will everyone come back? Will those close to retirement, retire early? Will others have found value in staying at home? Will....
Does the planned remodeling of the office fall under essential?
When can I go in and catch up on my filing?
Are the mice feasting?
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Others -
Got my walk in yesterday. The wind was brutal when walking west, so I didn't go quite as far as I planned, but I met my quota and got a few more streets scratched off my map.
I saw Jim again. "Hey - you get all the streets walked yet?"
Close!
I made four more loaves of bread. My husband might be guilty of having overbought a few things. I had some milk I needed to use up, so the bread recipe worked out well.
Mark and I renewed our exercise challenge.
I puttered with yearbook.
The bills got paid and some laundry got done.
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I could really use another sunshine day to motivate me.
As for today - it'll be similar to yesterday. Walk, bake, clean, putter.....
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My mom, part of our family unit, lives six blocks away.
It's the perfect walking distance, and either Mark or I have been there every day. It's the perfect destination for when we need to get out of the house. Of the four of us currently here, Mark and I are the most apt to need an escape. I didn't know if we'd get it yesterday with the rain, but there was a pause in the afternoon, so we walked together.
Confession: We were also curious to see Mugg & Bopps, our local gas station/Dunkin Donuts. We'd seen pictures on Facebook of a van that had gone straight through the front door and landed just shy of the Ho-Ho's. No injuries, and hey, interesting! We've reached a new low.
We took that route, nodded our heads approvingly at the new plywood storefront, and continued on our way.
My mom had a quilt laid out when we got to her apartment. Her and Mark were in agreement about the unmatching squares that'll need to be ripped out.
I mentioned the very little I got done and my lack of motivation to do more, and then there was silence - but only for a few moments, at which point my mom got the giggles but managed to verbalize: "It's a good thing you cleaned your shower and that guy drove into Mugg & Bopps, or we'd have nothing to talk about today"
Greg is fifty today.
The AARP mail has been coming in steady.
Today's goal - get an updated photo. One where he isn't juggling or getting bunny ears from the boys.
Brownies are on the menu.
A few laughs from yesterday:
Regarding his old, dying, creaking recliner
Greg, upon sitting down: One day this chair is just going to collapse under me.
His wife, while sitting in her year old recliner, reaches down and sets her small camera closer to her side, and responds, without even looking up: I'm ready
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The kids and I practiced using Zoom yesterday.
Mark begins laughing uncontrollably
Me: What did I miss? What's so funny?
Mark - aka the Host: I just learned that I can change your name
My new name? Led Zeppelin's Backup Singer
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My husband has been adjusting to working at home, but the workload is now larger and more difficult.
Mark: Too bad you can't make a clone of yourself.
Husband: Work has already told me that one of me is all they can handle.
Once again I struggle with what response to go with.
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Mark: When is dad's birthday?
Me: Tomorrow
Mark: Cool. A Friday birthday.
Me: Saturday
Mark: GAH! I keep mixing up the days!
Like last week, a few of my favorites from the week....
Reads that held my interest:
CBC: Recovering COVID-19 patient describes what it was like to have the virus
That Discomfort You're Feeling is Grief
Interactive Coronavirus-19 Dashboard
Local Resources
Local COVID-19 Counts/Percentages
Livingston County Health Department Coronavirus-19 Page: Hotline numbers/up to date executive orders/local response actions
Howell Schools Covid-19: Includes all the mailings and resources
Resources for Families During COVID-19: This is a live document and updated regularly. It has information on available food, housing assistance, childcare, employment opportunities, social/emotional support and more.
Emergency Childcare for Essential Workforce
And, of course, music.....
It helped for me to write down a short to-do list yesterday.
It helped me, even more so, that the sun came out.
As Mark told my mom, I was cleaning like crazy yesterday. There is no doubt in my mind that two jaws are going to drop at the above photo. My mom's and Wendy's.
From my to-do list: Make a creating space.
There it is. Now, you'll laugh, because the next thing I was preaching was 'if you use this space to create or make something - it has to be cleaned up afterwards'
We all know that I'm the biggest culprit. Before yesterday, that clear spot on the right of the printer was a towering pile of avalanches waiting to happen.
And yes - it's making me twitch that the curtain isn't pulled that bit to the left there in the photo. I'm learning to roll with things. twitch
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Having gotten caught up in my projects, I only took one walk yesterday instead of two. EVERYBODY was out walking, running, jogging and/or biking yesterday. Besides all the closed businesses and the ease of being able to cross Grand River and Michigan Avenue at any point at any time - walking feels normal.
Oh. And besides constantly working on avoiding interceptions.
I stopped to talk to Mark on his way from a walk as I was heading out, and I knew it was making him uncomfortable. I asked him when I got home, "Did it make you nervous when we stopped and talked to each other on the sidewalk and that cop drove by?" Totally. To know Mark is to know he's forever afraid of breaking any rules. To know Mark is to know he was pretty upset yesterday when he got an automated overdue message from the school library, even tho he knows these are special circumstances.
To know me is to know I've purposely thrown him curve balls to help him learn how to handle them better, because - as we all well know - life is full of curve balls. So I stopped to talk to him about nothing at the busiest corner between here and there.
Anyway. Walking lately has had me feeling like I'm in a giant video game or maze where the goal is to get home without intercepting with anyone. Yesterday, being nearly 60 degrees out and the first day walking without my winter jacket and hat, was the most challenging day. Gorgeous. And challenging. Everyone seems to be following the rules and giving distance by crossing the street, walking on the road for a bit or pausing in a driveway for the other to pass by.
I was in sight of one couple - and older gentleman with a very slow gait and a younger companion who I assumed to be his daughter, walking their dogs. At one point in the walk, there was a family outside with their dog and little one. Their dog immediately approached the older gentleman's dog, and as the mom went to retrieve the dog - I could overhear the old gentleman saying, with obvious worry and concern, "Backup. Backup. Backup!" to the woman, not the dog.
I think it was a bit of a reality check for that young mom.
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As for today:
Census (top of the list, since I didn't get to it yesterday)
Guitar (going for day 3)
Answer some emails.
Walk (as my map fills in - I'm having to go further and further, as all walks start at home)
And something else. I'm still undecided.
Time is what we want most, but what we use worst. - William Penn
A few days ago, I sat myself down and made a long list of all the projects, hobbies and corner cleanings that I could potentially be working on right now.
I've not touched a single one of them. For the moment, I'm blaming the lack of sunshine. The truth is, I've never done well with a wide open schedule. It's one of the reasons I went to work when the kids went to school.
Both boys received scheduled online class gatherings this week, and I could feel an instant boost in my energy. Mark's meeting is late this morning. My brain went straight into my time management habits - okay, you can get this done before your class, and this done after your class. It's how I operate.
I'll get there. It's not like I've not been doing anything. I've gotten out on two walks a day. Our clothes are clean. The dishes are done. I'm working on finding my new groove with my husband now working from home. I think that, more than the lack of sunshine, has been what has made this week more challenging than last week. I have to get used to his routine before I can start formulating my own. That's exactly it.
Yesterday, a Facebook post about Fender offering free online lessons during coronavirus popped up. I have a guitar. A Seagull with a beautiful tone. I play very very little. Uncle George has used it far more than I have. (Hey Joanne - tell George I pulled out my guitar. He'll never believe you) My dad used to try and encourage me to become a picker, very much the same way that my husband tries to encourage the boys to learn juggling. Sharyn, he'd say, everyone learns chords. Focus on picking. Practice just a little bit each day.
Pulling out the guitar didn't even make it onto my long long list of projects, hobbies, and corner cleanings.
But there it is. I trimmed my fingernails, started my callouses, the living room cleared right out and went through over a half hour of lessons so far. Instead of putting it back in it's case, I've got it on a stand right here in my little corner.
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Goals for today:
Two walks
Guitar
Make a space for creating
Clean
Work on Yearbook
Complete Census
Should be doable.
We woke up to a beautiful coating of snow.
It was a bonus that we didn't even have to sweep it off our vehicles.
Mark checks his school stuff first thing in the morning. Brian prefers the afternoons.
Okay - this one is from Sunday, but the days are blending together already and we laughed SO hard.
This is the classic. He loves that old beat up chair. It's rocking funny now, so he flipped it over to see if he could figure it out. He questioned out loud what he might do to make it better.
The responses were quick.
Use it for target practice.
Blow it up.
Burn it.
He thought he might call Johnie, the brother-in-law that sold it to us twenty years ago - give or take a year.
Replacing it will have to wait. Chairs are one of the things I won't order online. How do you test them? I'm extremely chair fussy.
One item on our calendar for this week, and I had to keep reminding myself so I wouldn't be late.
It was supposed to be a virtual appointment, but even though it was supposed to work on Android phones - it didn't.
I quickly installed the Chrome Extensions on my laptop, and it still didn't work.
We did a phone consult. I'm officially set on inhaler refills now.
Brian woke up in time for a snow fight.
Mark lost.
Greg's first day of working from home. He had a stressful day. The newest executive order had him scrambling, rerouting truck drivers and finding warehouses in other cities and states. He put in a lot of hours yesterday. He'd come down the stairs, and turn around and go right back up to a ringing phone.
He did a quick trip to Meijer. My mom had a few things on her list, so when he got home - I put on my backpack and carried over her sugar, lettuce, chicken and walnuts.
I love that she lives so close. Mark walked over there in the afternoon as well. I love that we can still get our walks in under the newest orders.
Brian had built up his library book stash on the last day the library was open. He was purposely reading slowly, and still finished his last book yesterday. It'll be e-books for awhile.
Greg still thinks the boys should learn to juggle.
I showed the boys a video that my mom had shared. I predicted incorrectly. It was Brian that laughed and Mark that rolled his eyes.
I went for another walk.
Mark did some baking. We pulled a Christmas mix out of the back of the pantry.
I walked a bit too far yesterday, but hey - my map is getting filled in.
My end of day total was 11.45 miles walked. A new daily record.
I should have taken a Tylenol before I went to bed last night.