Will my kids have in-person hybrid school with intermittent quarantine breaks or will they be all virtual for a while? Will we all go back to baking sourdough and banana breads and zoom wine nights? How will we handle this? How will cope?
The second wave is truly here across the whole country. It's scary. One week into my appendectomy recovery, our school district closed for 2 weeks to try to get ahead of the number of cases in the schools and community. We were also notified the same day that Matt had been exposed to COVID through school (wearing masks, so the risk was low) and was required to not only stay home, but fully quarantine for 2 weeks. And he came down with another cold, which resulted in a ton of stress and 2 COVID tests 5 days apart to make sure it really was just a cold. It was. But managing the worry on top of both kids doing virtual school, during my first week back at work while still recovering from surgery definitely put everything into trial by fire.
So here's my list of what I'm doing to prepare for the long winter ahead. It's helping me feel proactive, knowing it's going to be challenging.
Plan ahead
I checked off all those necessary doctor appointments, oil changes, dental cleanings, vision tests and flu shots in September and early October when the numbers were low. Of course that meant nothing when it came to my appendix or COVID tests at the pediatrician, but at least we got the regular stuff out of the way so it's not something we have to deal with now in addition to everything else.
My big plan for the winter was to figure out how we'll use the house in winter and set things up. Most importantly - a plan for the possibility of having to quarantine for 2 weeks if there's a school or work exposure and how we'll handle that. Since we're literally in the middle of that now, I'm so glad I took the time to figure it out ahead of time so the kids have spaces to do school virtually, where I can work, where we can be close enough together that I can help them but also have enough space to get my own work done and our meetings aren't conflicting with too much noise pollution.
Stock up.
I'm not talking toilet paper and paper towels (but maybe I should be?). I'm talking board games, our favorite popcorn, indoor craft projects and cooking projects for those days that will be too cold or rainy to be outside. Having a few "special" activities on hand for the extra-hard days will help get us through.
Every year I also stock up on a few things for cold and flu season, so we have supplies on hand if we get sick. I've been doing this long before COVID. Gatorade, homemade chicken soup for the freezer, jars of chicken bone broth, saltine crackers, raw honey, favorite teas. An extra box of tissues and saline spray help too. Normally I keep our cleaning supplies topped up, but I know that is extra hard this year. Finding a single container of bleach wipes is like winning the lottery.
Stock up on cozy. My kids love those union suits (one-piece fleece pajamas with a hood) and I will admit they are perfect for chilly lounging days at home. I ordered some new ones during an early Black Friday sale. Everyone has slippers. We have throw blankets everywhere.
Get into a healthy routine.
Healthy habits will become second nature if started early. This includes a bunch of daily vitamins and supplements, daily probiotics (the kind that have to be kept refrigerated or are in kombucha or kimchi), drinking plenty of water, getting exercise every day, sunshine and getting enough sleep. And of course vigorous handwashing. The kids change their clothes as soon as they get home from school. We wash our hands for 20 seconds when we come in from anywhere and we sanitize our hands the second we get in the car. We have been wearing masks when we leave the house for months, and hopefully you have too, but if you haven't been - it's time to start. Now.
Figure out better indoor exercise options for the whole family.
It was been easy to fill the rings on my apple watch when we were outside all the time, doing a million different things. It won't be easy when it's cold and icy outside and there are too many of us crammed into a small space. And now that I'm in the middle of appendectomy recovery and can't lift anything over 10 lbs for 6 weeks or even bend over right now, my exercise plans are totally different than originally intended. But eventually I'll be feeling much better and I'm going to need quite a bit of strength training to get back to where I was. We have zoom classes booked, exercise videos to stream, morph boards and fit boards and rings and mats and are looking into additional fun options. My boys have SO MUCH energy to burn and hopefully they will have plenty of days where they can do it outside... but we already have had to test out some of our alternative ideas to prevent them from using the couch as a trampoline and running around the house in circles screaming at the top of their lungs while throwing entire foam chairs at each other.
Get creative with socializing.
Zoom game nights for the grownups and mommy wine time are definitely coming back into the rotation. We already have the propane fire pit ready to go for outdoor social distancing. I have a feeling we'll be sitting around the fire in blankets this winter more than ever.
Optimize spaces to be together...and apart.
This year we've set up a desk in our playroom so the kids can do school in there. I'll be close enough to help but we won't all be on top of each other at the dining room table either. It's worked really well for Oliver last week - he can close the playroom doors when he needs privacy but can also come get me when he needs help. And when Oliver really needs to concentrate, he also has a desk set up in his room for schoolwork when he needs a quiet place to go. Matt does his schoolwork at the dining room table with me because most of his activities require full parental assistance anyway. He does his preschool zoom meetings in the playroom, at the table or even in the living room.
I'm hoping to get the basement cleaned up enough at some point so they can play down there as well. Especially when they are feeling wild.
The dining room table is our hub for most activities. Eating, working, crafting, board games. The living room is our hub for relaxing, watching movies, playing. I'm so grateful that we have a couch that fits all of us - cozy movie nights with throw blankets has been a lifesaver.
Plan holidays for just the four of us.
This one really stinks, and I don't think enough people will follow it. But we all need to accept that to stop this new wave, we need to do our part and stay home. Or get creative and maybe do a social-distancing BYOB cocktail hour outside for Thanksgiving for an hour without food and with masks. I know I'm probably in the minority doing this, but at least around here most of the spread has been from small group gatherings indoors and to me that means we need to give each other the gift of health.
My biggest challenge is Christmas shopping. I need to heal enough that I can support our local small businesses. I've already pre-stocked our house with extra holiday soap (festive excessive handwashing!), spare twinkle lights, wrapping paper, tape, large festive gift bags and baking supplies. Depending on what happens in the next few weeks, I feel fully prepared for our holiday celebrations to be of the drop-off-then-zoom and/or of the outdoor variety this year.
Self care stuff.
Friends have had so many great ideas here, their plans to brighten the coming months for themselves... things like a 3 month wine subscription, a bouqs flower subscription, a huge supply of bath bombs, a new chocolate recipe book with things like homemade truffles and mousse to try. Or things as simple as carving out time to meditate, new scented candles, a new pillow for better sleep. A fun new podcast to listen to on the basement treadmill. A heated blanket and house slippers for working from home.
For me it's a digital book subscription. A refill on my Nest fragrance diffuser in Grapefruit (seriously the best smell in the world and helps diffuse the smell of living with 3 boys and a hound dog). The new greenhouse - a daily escape to go check on my plants and be in the land of greenery for a bit. A series of small projects to make me happy - using the herbs I gathered and dried this summer, learning and using my new DSLR camera, a few art project ideas I want to make, planning the garden, using my new rock tumbler. And making/fulfilling a winter bucket list of little happy things for me and the family that will brighten our days.
Make a winter bucket list.
Happy: Fairy lights, sparkles, candles, making rainbows, flowering plants, diffusing essential oils
Fun: Sledding, snowmen, snow forts, blanket forts, game nights, couch snuggling and movie nights
Yummy: citrus, chili, soups, stews, homemade bread, popcorn, homemade cookies
Let go of expectations.
This is going to be really hard, even in the best case scenario. And just getting through, in any shape or form, will be a huge win.
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