1. Walking … a lot. We are walking a ton of miles. As in 4 – 6 miles per day. The rings on my Apple Watch are very happy. Partly because we have 2 high-energy dogs (one being an 11-month-old puppy) that can’t go to daycare to tire themselves out. And partly because what else are we going to do? Let me make a few observations from my miles of walking. First, thank you to most for maintaining social distance. People (more or less) have been really good about keeping six feet of separation. Secondly, people have been really nice to each other. Lots of, “How are yous” from total strangers (from a socially acceptable distance). Thirdly, it appears that many people do not think kids can carry or catch COVID-19. Because I’ve seen lots of kids playing together in close groups (basketball, football, walking, etc.). Parents, I know this sucks for your kids. It’s going to suck more if they transmit this virus to each other. Please, let’s try to maintain social distance for a few more weeks, and we can all start to get back to normal socializing again (although it’s going to take me a while to feel comfortable shaking someone’s hand or getting in an elevator).
2. Cooking and baking. Because we always seem to be running around a lot, we are always grabbing food out. We must eat out four times a week. Without nowhere to go, I’ve been cooking every night. I’ve also been baking (a combination of comfort and nesting, I think). The cooking is starting to get old. I really do love to cook, but I also love the option of not cooking. When this is all over, I think I’ll be exercising that option a bunch. Also, if anyone wants the world’s greatest gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipe, hit me up.
3. Grazing all day. One of the downsides of working from home (aside from the a-hole puppy who barks, and goes crazy, and generally likes to annoy us and his big sister) is the easy availability of food and constant snacking. Thankfully, no. 1 above makes up for these added comfort calories.
4. Virtual Cocktail Hours. Since we can’t connect with people in person, we’ve been connecting remotely via Zoom. We have weekly check-ins with family (real and our Fake ID band family). We’ve also connected with friends as far as the West Coast and as near as across the street. It’s been a great (albeit different) way to keep in touch and re-connect. And, cocktail hour.
5. Slowing way down. One of the unintended benefits of sheltering at home is that we have been forced to sloooooow down. No longer running to and from place to place, we have the time to sit and play a family game or watch a family movie (***** for Almost Famous, even though I forgot that Kate Hudson shows her boob; ***1/2 for Onward, not one of Pixar’s best, but still enjoyable and sweet.) It’s not like we weren’t connected as a family pre-coronavirus, but this has forced us to reconnect in a good way. And no one is sick of anyone else … yet.
What are you doing to fill your non-working time in this era of social distancing? Share your top option(s) in the comments below.
Finally, if you missed yesterday’s Zoominar (happily Zoombomb free), or enjoyed it so much you want to rewatch it, here it is:
Be well, be safe, and enjoy your weekend! Also, happy holidays, whichever you celebrate (or never mind if you don’t celebrate either … that’s cool too).
* Image by TanteTati from Pixabay