SO much has changed since my last post!! Not really.
VACATION
There was a brief half-week where we considered bailing for the summer and going to visit family in Upstate NY. You see, we both know several people who travel all summer long. They go visit family in other countries, and work from there.
Thanks to COVID, we now know that we can basically work from anywhere with an internet connection. For the last few years, I've dreamed of making a long summer away a reality. My husband mentioned the possibility. His family has a couple of camps on a lake in upstate NY. Now, because of COVID and elderly grandparents, we'd have to go long enough to actually quarantine for 2 weeks after we get there. And same on the way back. But we started talking about it. Fly? It's definitely faster, but you don't know if the planes are packed (all that recycled air) and it's 3 flights in each direction. Drive? It's 5 days, nobody wants that (but we could take the dog!) - especially in a Matrix. Maybe we could rent a minivan or buy a used one?
We talked it over with the kids, slept on it a few nights, talked it over some more...didn't ever get to the point of bringing it up with the NY family. We decided, unsurprisingly, to stay home. It just feels like it is too soon to be gallivanting about cross country, staying in hotels, etc. However, we did agree that we should bring the topic up with the family as a possibility for NEXT summer, if things are calmer.
Thus, our next vacation is next weekend + 2 days. A staycation. I have many many friends who do all these fun things on the weekends (or weekdays). I'm jealous. I started stalking their IG feeds and writing stuff down. You see, working FT during the week means we use weekends for household chores and not much else. I know others manage to "do things", but we don't. We've penciled in some family kayaking, a couple of hikes, a visit to the local creek to take a dip (there's still water!), some takeout. I made a list of things I like to do on vacation (water play, walks, hikes, meals out, followed by an afternoon of relaxing, games, and reading). So, there you are.
SUMMER CAMP
Week 1 of summer camp is coming up, and it's cooking. Each kid has to learn how to make a breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert.
Little kid: scrambled eggs and bacon, grilled cheese and salad, beef stew in the crockpot, cupcakes
Big kid: scrambled eggs, quesadillas and raw veggies, instant pot pasta and kale chips, lace cookies
Week 2 coincides with our stay-cation, so we will prob make that "adventure week".
We are also starting a family "book club" to keep big kid reading. We are starting Ready Player One and will have 3 weeks to finish it.
FAMILY FITNESS
Vacationing in upstate NY with family (cousins!) at a lake would have taken care of a lot (we would have still been working). Alas, it's not to be. Our kids complain, but they do get used to the new world order pretty quickly. Case in point: they are now used to: helping with dishes 2x a day, folding their own laundry, cleaning every 2 weeks. They are starting to get used to the daily exercise. Today big kid asked to do the dog walk instead of the family mile. Fine with me. We've got exercise schedules worked out for everyone, and I expect after a week it will just be habit.
Little kid: running, walking, yoga, biking, video game exercise.
Big kid: weight training with Dad - LIIFT4, running, walking, and hopefully biking.
I hear the gyms are opening up soon (this week) but I think we are going to pass for awhile longer.
Running has been hard. Most of my brain recognizes that I am intentionally running slowly on weekends to build a good base and keep my heart rate in zone 2-3. Of course, the running watch thinks I'm out of shape. I know this is better for me in the long run. It's more enjoyable. I can function for the rest of the day, am not exhausted, sore, or headachy. Constantly running at tempo or above cannot be good for me. But devil Marcia looks at a 13:30 long run pace and cringes.
Still have to figure out the birthday thing. Ordered a big gluten free carrot cake. Planned to invite friends over for a "physically distanced" slice of cake and glass of wine. Bring a mask, stay 6' from each other in the back yard, come by any time...then I realized that my birthday is on Thursday, and people will be working (I'm taking a vacation day). So, I guess ... come by for a slice of cake whenever you can? Or...after 6 pm? I dunno. Husband has to figure it out and since I already told 2 friends we were doing something...he cannot bail on me. Also, I ordered a big cake.
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