More quarantine puzzling

Two more puzzles done...and it brings the family together : )

Peaceful Productive Mornings

I think more than ever it's so important to have a peaceful morning as it sets the tone for the day.  So here's what I do.  

When the kids were in school, I had to get up by 6:15.  But now that there's no specific time I have to get up, I usually wake up between 7 and 7:30. 

Then I read a daily affirmation from my favorite book...

This was today's message...

Before I head downstairs, I always put my work-out clothes on.  Otherwise if I hang out in my PJs, I'll never exercise.  

When I come downstairs, I do a quick clean up of the first floor.  Messes just stress me out.  Getting it done first thing is a huge de-stresser for me. I empty the dishwasher, load any dirty dishes into the dishwasher and wipe down all the counters, appliances and the table.  

I straighten up all the rooms...

and definitely stay away from the morning talk shows and news channels which is all about the virus these days.  QVC is always a safe bet.  I don't actually watch.  I just like to hear the talking for a little company (as the teenagers in my house don't get up until about 10:00).  I also love to listen to a Podcast or one of my favorite YouTubers.   

Then I have a light breakfast of my favorite peanut butter cereal from the Cereal School with a banana and 1/2 cup of 1% milk (a 3-point WW breakfast)...

After that I head to the basement to walk/jog on the treadmill for about 30 minutes, lift some light weights, do some sit-ups and stretch...

Then I make a cup of tea and take a relaxing shower.  I still do my hair and make up and get dressed every day...even when I'm not leaving the house.  Well, I usually have some Zoom calls so it does help to have my hair and makeup done.  Regardless, it helps me feel put together.  Since quarantine, I've decided to let my hair dry naturally instead of straightening it.  That was really drying my hair out.  I'n actually liking it wavy...

When I go back downstairs, I make my "to-do list" for the day.  Just listing the most important things I need to get accomplished that day.  I try not to over do it.  

And then...I have to work.  Blah!!!  

Encouragement

Long ago

My friend sent these pictures to us last night during our weekly zoom call.  Some I had never seen before.  It really feels like a lifetime ago.  I remember what we were doing and where we were in all of the pictures except this first one.  I don't even remember those clothes but I was told we were at Marcy's bridal shower.  We were about 22 or 23 in this picture...

And here we are 30 years later...still great friends! 

Here we're headed out for a night on the town...probably to Boston.  I do remember wearing that outfit and actually remember that picture being taken. I think I look kind of cute! (I'm in the middle by the way)...

Look how young Patty and I look in this picture!  Wow!!  And Patty's Dad!  He was such a wonderful man and the best Dad...

Me and Michele.  I'm not sure where this was taken but I do remember that top.

This picture cracks me up!  I'm giving Michele (who was taking the picture) the finger!  Bad girl!  Haha!!  We had rented a house on the Cape for the week and were taking a day trip over to the Vineyard.  Such a fun week!  So many awesome funny memories!!

I think this was my high school graduation party...

So glad I'm still in touch with everyone.  Such great memories!

April 23

The Class of 2020

This breaks my heart.  Today school was officially cancelled for the rest of the year.  Although I knew it was probably going to happen...I still held out hope that the last week or so of school would be salvaged and he would somehow have his high school graduation.  But our senior won't have his prom...he won't have his all night grad party...and he won't have his graduation.  The irony of being born one month before 9/11 and his senior year there's a pandemic. Just unbelievable.  

BUT...looking on the bright side...he has so much to look forward to the next few years making his dream come true playing junior hockey and starting his college classes.  His future is bright and it will get better.  That I know for sure.  

Dear High School Senior,

There are probably a lot of emotions running through you right now. At some point in the not-too-distant-past, you felt a jolt of electricity when the announcement first hit – school was cancelled for two weeks. Although there were other important milestones that fell to the friendly fire, they were usually accompanied with terms like “postponed” and “rescheduled.” As the days mounted but before the Netflix shows became stale, those words morphed into one reverberating clanging – “cancelled.”

The mourning began. There’s a prom dress that is still veiled in its plastic sheath. There are cleats in the closet that have barely pierced the grass. But there was one that you kept up home of adorning – your graduation robes. For some schools, it’s a white dress or a suit. For others, it’s a robe emblematic of your school’s colors. For some it’s a neatly pressed uniform. Whatever you were supposed to drape over your shoulders or pin to the top of your head will remain behind your closet door with the rest of your academic year.

You have every reason to be upset. The parties, the pomp, the circumstance – it’s all a right of passage that nearly every adult in your life has taken a part in. This was taken away from you not by a government, not by a school administrator, but by a freak event no collective memory can empathize with you. The loss of the end of your senior year is a loss no matter what anyone says. You can grieve for it because it is now and will continue to be an important part of your life as it is an important part of everyone’s lives. It’s unfair. It sucks. Do you hear me? It sucks.

But I write to you now so that when you take your entitled time to grieve, to look back at your mom. As she reads the governor’s orders, she will need a hug too.

From the moment you were born, she was told, “the days are long, but the years are short.” She whispered that phrase to herself as she had you laid over her shoulder, wobbling and weaving from one foot to another to get you to sleep. On your first birthday, she spent way too much money on things you don’t remember like high-chair fringe and a small cake that you showed no interest in. But she knew that, “the days are long, but the years are short.” She drove you to your practices at the crack of dawn and then stayed up late at night cleaning your foul uniforms. When you got your blue ribbons, she was proud. When you had your first heart break, she stomped around her bedroom in anger. When you got your college acceptance letter, she wrapped her arms around your grown-up body, shouting happy congratulations, but really thinking, “the days are long, but the years are short.”

In your memories, you see your parents as bystanders in the great milestones of your life. As a matter of fact, they were able to stand by and celebrate after long periods of planning, sacrifice, and personal struggle. The last two months of your senior year were no doubt showered in parties, end-of-the-year banquets, ceremonies, and, lastly, graduation. Each of those necessitated some large degree of planning whether it be dress code, carpooling, invitations, or little trays of foods to have out at your house afterwards. All of this usually goes unnoticed. In the excitement, we tend to overlook that which moms are best at – making sure everything is taken care of.

Your mom is probably disappointed that the trays of food she ordered won’t be eaten. She’s probably upset the fiesta-themed decorations she pinned on Pinterest won’t come to fruition. But what she is most upset over is that this is one thing that her child wants, deserves, and earned but cannot have. No matter how hard she fights, she will not be able to fix this for you the way she desperately wants to. It’s every scraped knee and broken friendship over your life compounded in a huge pile of grief.

So, take heart. You’ll continue to be stuck inside. Your visions of the end of your high school career are shattered. You’re devastated, and that’s ok. Like your mom told herself, “the days are long, but the years are short,” this too shall pass. Just remember that while those long days are surely to be filled with heartbreak, they can also be filled with mutual healing. You might think she just doesn’t understand, but she does. She might not show the way that you want because she’s trying to hold it all together.

Congrats, Senior. And congrats, Mom. You did it too, and I couldn’t be prouder.

Weekending

Mikey has found his new place to sleep at night...on Julia's bed. She made him this cute little nook...

A pretty new couch for our porch...

Julia and I finished our second puzzle.  This time it had all the pieces.  We've already started on puzzle number three right after finishing this one...

Now it's time to start a new week in the longest month of my life...

I'm trying.  

Virtual

This is so true...

I've had endless Zoom meetings lately.  I work for a management training company that primarily does in-class training.  Now we're scrambling to turn into a virtual training company.  And that transition has been exhausting.  Thankfully we had already been doing some virtual classes for a few clients so we had something in place.  I'm just so grateful to still have a job right now.  Hopefully the little company I work for will survive this strange time we're all living in.  I work with very smart motivated people who are all working around the clock to make that happen.

But I could do without all the face to face virtual Zoom meetings...just saying.

Snowing in April

I woke up to this...

Hey, why not?  Nothing is normal about 2020 so why not wake up to snow on April 18th?  The day we were supposed to be leaving for here...

So instead of doing this...

I'll be hanging at home in quarantine with the family doing this...

watching this on Netflix...

and enjoying this view...

instead of this view...

I know it could be worse...but I still think I have the right to be a little sad about it.  

Step into the sunshine of life and forgive

Encouragement

Quarantined Puzzling

A little frustrating but still fun...

The pieces are hiding somewhere at my Mom's house...thanks to her cat...which is now my cat.  Kind of ironic...isn't it?  Doing a puzzle of cats when a cat stole two of the pieces. 

Happy Quarantined Easter

Special delivery from across the street...homemade incredibly delicious chocolate cupcakes by Erin...

Girls enjoying the sunshine and getting creative...

Finished product...

Neighborhood social distancing...

Julia helped me make my Nana's famous 5th Avenue Waldorf Salad.  I haven't had it in years.  It was so good!!

And our first ever Easter dinner at home...

It was a very different Easter this year but we all enjoyed the day and our delicious home-cooked meal.  Happy Easter!

It's only April 11th

I'm really starting to lose my mind.  It's becoming increasingly overwhelming for me.  Just thinking about how much my kids are missing out on their lives (socializing with friends, school, dance, hockey, Cancun, college tours, banquets, proms, high school graduation and ALL the end of year activities)...and how housebound I'm feeling (and I'm sure how they're feeling)...and all the people who are being financially ruined by this...it's just too much. I knew April was going to be tough...and it's only the 11th...and looking at all the days ahead...and not knowing when this nightmare/groundhog day situation is going to end...it is just all so incredibly daunting and overwhelming.

And to top it off...I miss my beautiful Mama.  It's so painful to think about her.  There's nothing in my life right now that is "normal".

I'm praying that this virus can be controlled, caregivers and essential workers will be protected, the economy will strengthen again and life can finally finally go back to normal.

Let the Love Dissolve the Fear

Porch

New furniture and a new ficus tree with a few more new pieces on the way!  I'm really looking forward to the summer...

It's a Beautiful Day

I woke up today to sunshine and blue skies.  It'll be in the 60's today!  Spring is here!