Covid 19 in our little bubble

Well, just as the world shut down in February, so did my blog apparently, again. But alas, I owe a long overdue update to any of you still around on how we have been managing Covid-19. 

Hubs never stopped working. They modified operations at his place of employment and after a brief couple of weeks of rotating three man teams in the building, they switched to a Will Call system and kept things running. Since then, they have let the contractors into the building, but the wear masks, and only the staff can pull things for customers. Surprisingly, his store is set to have the BIGGEST profit year since the great recession. (apparently confining people to their homes makes them yearn for home improvement).  

Little Dude's school shut down. Yup, they shut down like all the other schools and since it was pre-school, there wasn't a ton of "homework" to do remotely, so we lucked out seriously. Little dude started kindergarten remotely from a daycare center and has sense gotten to go back to campus for 1/2 days, with 1/2 his classmates. He's horribly loud on zoom, so in person instruction was a HUGE blessing to get back to. Thankfully, I was recalled to work and didn't have to "zoom" from home.

  

We found ways to help others. I can't sew very well -- but I can cut a mean fabric square.  In fact, I cut 962 panels for a sewing group to turned them into masks for first responders and members of the community before I went back to work... and we organized food drives, drove meals on wheels, and took care of the community.

We also got creative in our small space. We managed to go "camping" in the living room for hubs birthday, and find creative ways to eat and work that were "fun." 

 

 

My center shut down, but opened quickly. The first few weeks being at home and not knowing what was going on was really difficult. Luckily for me, we got creative with necessary work for a few weeks, and the Governor deemed Tennis as a safe activity. Despite closing down March 17 and dealing with a mess in April with part time hours and work justifications, we re-opened our tennis center on May 8, and I was back in the office full time keeping 1 center open by cleaning, disinfecting, and running a Skelton crew where we did it all and got creative to make it work. It was rough closing and then opening the next day and if it weren't for the YMCA daycare centers, I don't know how we would have made it through. I stayed at that location until last month, when we reopened my center for limited services. We are currently taking it a week at a time, addressing demand, and eventually preparing to return more operating hours as we are able.

We Survived home improvement... Yup, a whole flooring post is in the works recapping what happened, as we are still waiting on final decisions with our HOA on who pays for what. 

Emotionally, 2020 has been rough --but not without hope. Along the way, I felt the love of my heavenly father, reassuring us we would be okay. From double rainbows on a rough day, to finding over 20 four leaf clovers in a grass patch by our front door, when I needed those reassuring moments, they came... and I'll be forever grateful for them. 

When our Bishop called to see if we were laid off, could make our mortgage payment, or needed assistance, we got to tell him we would be alright because we did the things we were asked to do when times were more certain. At first he didn't believe us, but by the second check-in call, he realized we would whether this storm. We know we are extremely fortunate to have been able to be as prepared as we were for the unknown.

Society Changed. We waited in line with masks on to enter grocery stores, and banks with lines wrapping around the buildings.... We got close to running out of toilet paper before we found more and hub's boss ordered in bulk for the business, offering rolls to employees if they got in a bind.... We did our best to stay apart from the rest of the world -- including birthdays. Before car drive-bys, lawn signs, and door drops were a "thing" -- we celebrated with the power of three in our home, making the most of what we could.  

Our priorities changed.  Nothing like a pandemic to teach you about what matters most right? Well, weren't immune to that. 

I made some BIG health changes.... I realized I needed to get serious and reached out to a health coach to get to the bottom of why I couldn't loose weight. 5 months later, and I've lost 38 lbs on my five foot self, so I'm about 5 lbs shy of my pre-pregnancy weight without access to a gym... and the best thing is,  I can MOVE again. My migraines are gone... I don't need naps, and I have balanced energy. The downside and upside is that I have had to replace every single piece of clothing in my closet as a result... and if you have every had to buy clothes without access to a dressing room since they are all closed due to a pandemic, it can be pretty darn stressful... especially when you need to do it every 6 weeks after you loose another 10 lbs.... So I'm getting really good at eyeballing sizes, lol.

We also measure time differently. Weekends don't feel long enough, and time off is valued since its more difficult to manage and I know more about what I enjoy working on and what feels more like a chore.

 We spend more time outside as a family, but I also have made a point to carve out time for individual self care, which was practically non-existent before. I've learned to say no more often too. 

We didn't go to church for 8 months... and now, we only go every other week as they split the congregation in half. Masks are mandatory, there is no singing, just instrumental music, we do a shorter service, and ushers seat everyone 6 feet apart in both directions, blocking off pews and rows to ensure social distancing. Heck, we even park every other car in the lot, use one entrance and a separate exit, and they clean the building afterward each group is through with the service.

Towards the end of summer, our immediate family began to gather together for outside stuff because the separation was just too hard and they were ready (we were the riskier ones in the bunch, having to work outside the home with little dude at a daycare). My Sister and Brother in law are working from home, caring for their kids, my mom lives alone and helps them with their kids a couple days a week, but they said it was time, so this has been our concession. Still, we keep it to a minimum. 

Halloween will be an at home event this year. Costumes and a candy scavenger hunt while we do movies and some crafts. We carved pumpkins for the first time too early, but they lasted 2 days or so and looked cool. Thanksgiving will be a trio event as my sister will be hosting more family on her husband's side, and we are staying home. Christmas will be immediate family only at my mom's house (sister, bro in law, her two kids, my mom and us most likely -- and we won't stay all day either).     

California is on Fire. Yup, as I write this half our church boundaries have been ordered to evacuate, and little dudes school and daycare are closed due to the ash in the air. There are road closures too close for comfort by our home, and so we did something we didn't think we would in 2020 after everything else the year gave us ... we pulled important documents and packed go-bags with the basics. It made me really evaluate what I could live without if a fire were to run through and take away everything. Thankfully we remain in our home for the time being, with sleeping bags and a duffle of clothes by the door if we have to go... but fire season in 50 mph winds is no joke. 

We have 65 days left for 2020. I'm not sure what else we can endure, but we will meet it when it shows up because we are resilient... 2020 is the year you put on your pants despite the "zoom attire" and get in the trenches and come out better then before.