Day #95: A Phase 2 Road Trip
My best friend came up today and we piled the two of us and the kids into a car and went on a road trip. Not a long one. We got some Starbucks, we went to half a dozen little free libraries, we walked through a neighboring downtown, we got some takeout lunch. All fairly standard. We have done much more ambitious things.
It felt so weird.
We cried when she came into my house and hugged my kids. She lives alone. The number of people she's been able to hug is tiny. They adore her.
At one point...after spending the day in the car...we were walking and I had this instinct to pull the kids away from her. I had to remember we are doing this now.
Now, Phase 2 is not a free for all. We aren't hanging out close to most people. We plan on going to see Grandpa this week, we will still socially distance from him. We were still working hard to socially distance from people and we didn't walk through the beach park because there were just too many people. A lot of places were open but many were still closed and most restaurants I saw were still takeout only. This virus is gonna be with us for awhile. We're hardly gonna pack stadiums or climb on airplanes. We aren't even planning on going to gymnastics even when they can open. The list of things we do is still very small.
But it is a tiny step. Just being out in the world, seeing open signs, hugging my best friend...this life is going on and we are going with it.
Are we ever going to be the same? I can't imagine how we could. This thing has changed us all, there can't be any doubt about it. It's gonna be a LONG road back. We are a long way away from Major League Baseball and concerts and parties and travel...and I don't know what the future holds for my choir and for singing, much less when we'll have a normal church service again. Someday we will find whatever post-COVID version of those things there is.
For today, though, there were 15 new books (mostly for the kids and we gave away more than we took home which was the goal,) big hugs, smiles, snuggles. Max for hours after she left kept opening the front door, walking out and saying "Marmee?" which is what he calls her. We will see her again. Soon. There are more road trips ahead.
When I was a kid, my mom used to use the word "adventure" a LOT. We were never on a road trip because we were broke and there was no vacation money, we were never lost, things were never going to heck camping in the rain. It was always an adventure. That was her word. I have learned through the years that calling it that doesn't make it fun but it does change the way you look at it and it does decrease the whining and complaining. A little bit.
We're on an adventure. And today there was sunshine and hugs and walking and books and it was awesome.
Today's media consumption: I'm working on that book Hillbilly Elegy. It's sort of weird to be reading a poor white people book right now but also feels like an important time to be talking about people who don't think like us. Plus I want to finish it because I just ordered a bunch of new books and need to clear the decks. That and bad TV, my old friend.
Today I'm grateful for it all. For sunshine, road trips, neighbors, little free libraries, walking, snuggling, Max's new game, my kids, my friends, this wonderful day on this planet. Today made me smile.
It felt so weird.
We cried when she came into my house and hugged my kids. She lives alone. The number of people she's been able to hug is tiny. They adore her.
At one point...after spending the day in the car...we were walking and I had this instinct to pull the kids away from her. I had to remember we are doing this now.
Now, Phase 2 is not a free for all. We aren't hanging out close to most people. We plan on going to see Grandpa this week, we will still socially distance from him. We were still working hard to socially distance from people and we didn't walk through the beach park because there were just too many people. A lot of places were open but many were still closed and most restaurants I saw were still takeout only. This virus is gonna be with us for awhile. We're hardly gonna pack stadiums or climb on airplanes. We aren't even planning on going to gymnastics even when they can open. The list of things we do is still very small.
But it is a tiny step. Just being out in the world, seeing open signs, hugging my best friend...this life is going on and we are going with it.
Are we ever going to be the same? I can't imagine how we could. This thing has changed us all, there can't be any doubt about it. It's gonna be a LONG road back. We are a long way away from Major League Baseball and concerts and parties and travel...and I don't know what the future holds for my choir and for singing, much less when we'll have a normal church service again. Someday we will find whatever post-COVID version of those things there is.
For today, though, there were 15 new books (mostly for the kids and we gave away more than we took home which was the goal,) big hugs, smiles, snuggles. Max for hours after she left kept opening the front door, walking out and saying "Marmee?" which is what he calls her. We will see her again. Soon. There are more road trips ahead.
When I was a kid, my mom used to use the word "adventure" a LOT. We were never on a road trip because we were broke and there was no vacation money, we were never lost, things were never going to heck camping in the rain. It was always an adventure. That was her word. I have learned through the years that calling it that doesn't make it fun but it does change the way you look at it and it does decrease the whining and complaining. A little bit.
We're on an adventure. And today there was sunshine and hugs and walking and books and it was awesome.
Today's media consumption: I'm working on that book Hillbilly Elegy. It's sort of weird to be reading a poor white people book right now but also feels like an important time to be talking about people who don't think like us. Plus I want to finish it because I just ordered a bunch of new books and need to clear the decks. That and bad TV, my old friend.
Today I'm grateful for it all. For sunshine, road trips, neighbors, little free libraries, walking, snuggling, Max's new game, my kids, my friends, this wonderful day on this planet. Today made me smile.
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