We interrupt your regular quarantine programming to bring a post all about Arthur. This is mostly recording his current status so I don’t forget. If you want to hear all about an adorable 15 month old, read on. If not, I’ll catch you next time for more of the emotional roller coaster of lockdown life.
Month: April 2020
Our top quarantine hacks
Please know that I say this with all the eye rolls. I’m not winning at quarantine. I’m not a life hacker. These are just some things that are working for us right now.
As a recap, we are under the Movement Control Order here in Malaysia so we’re not going outside at all. One family member leaves as little as possible for essentials (grocery store, pharmacy).
Thought this was neat-o mosquito? Would love for you to pass it on!
Tiny signs of acceptance
Last night I didn’t have a snack in front of the TV before bed.
This would not be noteworthy in any way except that this is the first night in about a month that this has happened. We’ve been snacking. Popcorn. Ice cream. Chocolate. This has been an adult time ritual that has made the day feel more manageable. You made it through another day in quarantine. Here, treat yo self. I haven’t even been hungry some of the time, but that isn’t even the point. It’s like an adult pacifier. I do this, and I feel soothed.
And I’m not saying there is anything wrong with that. Not in the slightest. As a wise friend said, we need ALL of our coping mechanisms right now.
I just thought it was interesting that I was able to pull away from it. Even a tiny bit.
We’ve also ventured into new TV.
Again, whoop di doo, but this is the first time in weeks. We’ve been doing a ton of rewatching. And rereading too, for that matter. I’m not entirely sure why. Maybe it seemed like more information would be too much. Maybe we weren’t sure we could count on new shows to be the calming break we needed. It seems crazy to say that we didn’t have the mental bandwidth to invest in new programming, but that’s exactly where we were.
We’re still doing some rewatching. But some new shows and movies are starting to slip in. Nothing too crazy. I don’t know that we’ll ever get around to watching Mad Men. But we did watch Ladybird and Logan Lucky. We saw the first episode of Sex Education and will go back for more. We’re starting to put ourselves out there again. Mentally speaking. Definitely not in a physical way.
These are pretty tiny examples. Maybe they mean nothing. Maybe I’m grasping at any sort of pattern or normalcy or anything to make sense of all this. But I do think that they show signs of acceptance. Of making a tiny bit of mental peace with the situation. We still have plenty of anxiety and rage and sadness. Just existing, however, isn’t fully taking up all of our mental space. At least all the time.
I don’t think this is a linear process. I may feel despair this afternoon. I may be snacking tonight and every night this week. That’s OK. I just found it interesting that maybe there is a tiny mental shift. Maybe.
Thought this was neat-o mosquito? Would love for you to pass it on!
Another ode to joggers
Are you shopping these days? Online I mean. I know many of us are struggling on this. On the one hand, I do want to support business that I love. On the other hand, when I think how many people have to be out there to send a package, it doesn’t make me feel good. So I haven’t been shopping. I don’t know if that is the right call, but that’s where I’m at right now.
I have found myself perusing sales though. Particularly for cute clothes. There are SO MANY SALES right now. And then I remind myself to back away from the website. Even before the lockdown, I was trying to limit clothing shopping. I have a whole closet of things I don’t feel like wearing right now (zippers, and buttons, and nonstretch fabric, oh my!). I really don’t need any more.
I was close to declaring an all out shopping ban, but I decided to limit myself to shopping from a list. Are you curious? This was the list:
- Workout sneakers to replace my 5+ year old ones
- Fashion sneakers to replace ones with a hole in the bottom
- Black tank top
- Jeans
- Cream/white high quality sweater
I’ve made some headway on it during 2020. I found a black tank top that I love. (So much that I bought two which is not great for the point of this exercise, but it really is all I want to wear these days.)
I bought some black workout shoes that I love so much I wear them when I would need any “fashion sneaks.” Two birds with one stone! Also, I keep marveling at the advancements in sneaker technology. The new sneakers are so much lighter than the old ones. It’s insane.
The jeans and sweater I am deliberately holding off on. Right now all my jeans are of the skinny, stretchy variety and might not even fit. I’d like to dabble in some of these other denim silhouettes and styles the kids are wearing these days. But do I need jeans right now? Nope. Same for the sweater. I’ve identified a wardrobe hole, and I think this item would be useful. But not right now. No matter how many sales I see.
This lockdown lifestyle has made me thinking about an addition to the list. Yup. I’m talking joggers.
I’ve loved joggers for a long time. They are comfy travel pants. They are helpful for getting into churches and temples. They are fantastic for when you want to feel comfortable but also show that you tried.
They are also the only thing I want to wear these days. I have two pairs of pajama pants that I love, but they both SCREAM pajama pants. Wearing them all the time does not help my mood. And they both lack pockets so I misplace my phone even more than usual.
I’ve also found that I don’t like to wear leggings all the time. I think they start off as comfortable, but then they switch to being restrictive. Also, many don’t have pockets as well. (Although shout out to the best leggings ever at Four Athletics that do have pockets.)
And we’re back to joggers. My beloved black joggers also have over five years of wear and have developed a tiny hole in the backside. It’s not super noticeable, but I was self conscious enough about it that I stopped wearing them out and about. I started searching for a replacement before reminding myself that, conveniently, I’m not going out and about these days. The joggers are fine.
But I would like to add them to the list. Black joggers. #joggersforever #joggers4lyfe They are the best.
What are you wearing these days? Do you have an amazing brand of joggers I should investigate? How are you handling shopping these days?
Thought this was neat-o mosquito? Would love for you to pass it on!
Hoot: Volume 24 (Lockdown Edition)
My kids say some pretty hilarious things. I’ve been told that I used to say hilarious things once, but my parents didn’t write it down and cannot remember even one witty anecdote. Inspired by YHL’s Clara Conversations, I wanted to share some isms as I collect a critical mass.
Thought this was neat-o mosquito? Would love for you to pass it on!
Our lockdown routine
Do you guys have a set quarantine routine? For us, each day is a little different, and our schedule is always evolving, but we’ve started to fall into a normal routine. It mostly, kinda sorta looks like this.
Thought this was neat-o mosquito? Would love for you to pass it on!
Can we just talk about distance learning?
OK, this might get whiney. Let me preface by saying that I heart our teachers so much, and I truly appreciate all that they are doing. I’m really not trying to whine about the teachers. It is more me struggling with how to act in an unprecedented time. We’re definitely struggling, and I know many other parents out there are as well.
Roman Reboot 