We've been on lockdown since March 17th. Being May 8th, I guess we've been at it for almost two months.
I try to get up every morning Monday through Friday around 7 AM. Or at least, that's what my alarm is set for. Usually, my wife is already out of bed and working out. She is training for a full Ironman Triathlon this September and is hoping that it will still happen, although she has reservations about it because she is unable to do any swim training. The unknowns of Corona Life make all of this so much harder.
Anyway, unless I stayed up late the night before playing NHL 20 on Xbox One, I get up at 7 to my alarm clock. 7:00am is because my older son, a 7th grader, starts school at 8:30, so I want to make sure that he is able to get up and have breakfast before checking the morning announcements at 8, then go through his school emails and write down all of the things that he actually has to turn in and when he should do all of it.
My son loves to have waffles or chocolate chip pancakes and bacon for breakfast. So, that actually helps motivate me to get up and start cooking. As I did before Corona Life, I make enough so there are usually leftovers. He's eating and growing so much (it's the age you know,) that he often will eat a double batch. I use Klondike Cakes pancake mix, which is higher protein than regular homemade or Bisquick, and also add protein powder. I only buy uncured bacon (Coleman's from Costco is really good, as is the house-made from Whole Foods at the meat counter) and serve it typically once or twice a week, as it's expensive and not the healthiest thing in the world. And, again pointing to the age, he'll down a pound no problem.
(My recipe, because the box recipe is WAY too thin: put a mixing bowl on a scale. 2 scoops of Vega protein powder is around 50g, then I add enough mix to get to 240g. Whisk in 2 cups of milk until just combined (don't go crazy whisking.) If you don't have a scale, the ratio is 3/4c. milk for every 1c powder. The batter should stream, not drip, from the whisk. If dripping, add a tablespoon of powder at a time until it does stream and not drip. I transfer it to a measuring cup because I find it easier to pour than scoop then sprinkle chips on the cakes on the griddle, but a 3oz ice cream scoop does a good job for dollar cakes and a 1/2c ladle does a good job for larger cakes, in which case you'd fold 1/4-1/2c chocolate chips into the bowl.)
After he gets going for his day, I wake my daughter up at 8:45. My son's morning wake up is borderline miraculous. The moment I say, "hey hey it's time to get up," he sits up, gets out of bed, gets dressed, and gets to the kitchen in less than 5 minutes. My daughter, on the other hand, is not quite so quick. It is all I can do to keep from going crazy every few minutes saying, okay! Time to get dressed! Time to get dressed! Time to get dressed!
By the time I'm done with her, it's around 9:15 or 9:30 and her day begins at 9:40. Being in fifth grade, she has less to do during the day. She usually has a read-aloud, read by one of the fifth grade teachers, from 9:40 to 10, then a live meeting at 10, and then usually one more live meeting and focuses on two subjects during that day. Once she's going, she is actually more independent than my son.
For both of them, I definitely need to check in on their work to make sure it's being done to completion, with comprehension, and giving more than 50% effort. Just like any of us, they can try to skate by doing the bare minimum, or, need a little help seeing the full scope of what can be done. I'm trying to continue to hold them to a high standard even though Corona life makes that difficult.
When I'm not checking in with them, I'm doing laundry, preparing our meals, cleaning the kitchen, going shopping once or twice a week, and trying not to go crazy. It's hard to not be depressed as I don't have my usual outlets, just as everybody else is feeling. I'm usually on two hockey teams and sub on a third, so I usually have one or two and sometimes even four hockey games in a week.
Now there's none of that which is why I've been playing Xbox so much more. I had all but given up playing video games, at least as much as I had in my youth, because there simply wasn't time to both play real hockey and to play video games. Playing games online is fun and I get pretty riled up with elation and frustration. Wanna go? Downtowndad1203 is my handle. I know - shocking.
For our meals, I am a short-order cook. I know it's not necessarily the right thing to do and isn't necessarily good for the kids' development - giving them whatever they want - but it does give me an opportunity to have some control over what they eat - I insist on a fruit or vegetable at both lunch and dinner - while also giving them some control during a time when we all feel like so much is out of our control.
I've been playing a solitaire game called shisen-sho probably more often than I should. But, I found that it's an amazing way to kill 5 to 10 minutes and keeps me mentally active. My wife and I have also been doing the Sunday Chicago Tribune crossword puzzle every week. And, once we run out of answers, I get on a video call with my mom and she can usually help get me through the rest of the crossword. That makes it a really nice way to keep in touch and have a reason for the call that isn't just a mundane, "How are you?" Because we all know what the answer is.
The answer is that this really sucks. And at the same time, we have so much to be thankful for, or at least for those of us who continue to be healthy. And for those of us who are not in financial dire straits. I am very conscious of how fortunate my family is to have those things going for us. And so, we have our Xbox, we have Netflix and cable TV and Disney Plus. We have high speed internet. We have a smartphone for each of our four family members. Both of our kids have iPads. We all have headphones that also have microphones so that we can stay out of each other's way during the day when we have these live meetings or video chats.
The weather is getting nice, so it's a lot easier to get outside and go for walks, or shoot baskets in the alley, or go for a run. Just last Sunday, we got our bags (or cornhole) set and play as a family. I also bought a similar game called Hockey Sauce which is essentially the same thing but instead you use hockey pucks and hockey sticks and shoot into a miniature net.
I think it's really important that we make sure that we keep getting outside, and not just so that we are being active and not staring at screens all the time, but also so that we have an opportunity to simply see other people and say hello.
I'm trying to do more homemade food items. I made pretzel buns yesterday (Thanks "My Baking Addiction!) and they were fantastic. I've also been making beans from dried beans using my Instant Pot.
I wouldn't say that the house is tons cleaner than usual, but a little bit. I probably should be cleaning the bathrooms more often, and the showers, but those seem like such daunting tasks just as much or maybe even more than usual. And then I get depressed thinking about how lazy I'm feeling. But then I try and give myself a break.
We are all struggling to keep our minds in a positive place. I know that playing video games and watching TV is not always the answer, but at least it's a little something. Making food that tastes delicious and executing something that works out gives us something to have confidence in and to feel some sense of accomplishment.
Maybe that's what we all need to find are not necessarily big ways to feel accomplishment, but small ways. So maybe cleaning the bathroom does not give you a sense of accomplishment; maybe cooking doesn't give you a sense of accomplishment; maybe clearing out your closets doesn't; but maybe one of those does for you. Maybe wood-working projects will make you feel good, or sewing or knitting or learning a new hobby, or picking up the musical instrument you used to play or even a new one; or writing or journaling; or taking a free online class or reading a book or writing to friends.
Should we be more like children and just try lots of different things and not feel bad about starting and stopping things? As long as it doesn't cause clutter, it's okay to start things until we find the thing that we want to stick. Or, we just end up being dabblers where we do one thing one day, and a new thing the next day and never master any of them - at least we've been exposed to lots of things. There just isn't a one-size-fits-all and I don't think we need to make it so.
Today, I'm getting out my Spaghetti Sauces (Biba Caggiano) book and trying the Tomatoes, Pancetta, and Hot Pepper Sauce Roman Style. Because, why not?
