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COVID, week 11 and ‘summer’ beckons

COVID, week 11 and ‘summer’ beckons

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In any other normal time of life, we’d usually be marking Memorial Day as the beginning of summer, and we’d be excitedly counting down the remaining few days of school. In these parts, this time of year is usually when we begin having ridiculously HOT weather and when beaches, water parks, and amusement parks (as well as nearly anywhere with great air conditioning) all look reeeeeeeally good. 

Of course, we’re still far from normal times, as we’re in the thick of COVID life (week 11 here, but who’s counting), and basically all of the aforementioned is still off the table. There are some exceptions — like being able to go to the beach but not sunbathe (or put stuff down) — but by and large, at least in SCC, all that stuff (public pools, waterparks, splash pads, and the like) is still off-limits. From what I can remember, as of a couple days ago, the entire state is now in Phase 2, and some counties (none in the Bay Area) are creeping toward Phase 3, marked by the very exciting developments of being able to go get “personal hygiene and grooming” done. Services that require coming into close contact with people’s faces, though, such as eyebrow threading or waxing (or whatever) or facials, are all still offline.  

from a family walk sometime last week

Oh, and effective last week Friday, in SCC and in SJ specifically, folks *have* to wear masks when they’re out in public, though if you’re exercising outdoors, it’s not necessary. The caveat, of course, is that if you’re hiking/running/cycling/whatever outdoors and you go to a park that’s frequented by others, then it’s strongly urged (or maybe even ordered? I can’t recall) that you have a mask on your person that you can easily put on if you find that you don’t have ample space to physically distance yourself from others on the shared path. 

Got all that? If you’re confused and can’t keep everything straight, you’re not alone. 

And as it pertains specifically to my family, my eldest’s principal hosted a videoconference the other morning to field questions from parents, and of course people want to know what next school year is going to look like. (This makes me think of my grandma, RIP. She had this ongoing joke that my grandpa always thought she could read his mind or somehow always know the future when the reality was [of course] that she couldn’t. One year, we got her a crystal ball candle from Spencer’s as a joke. I think Spencer’s could make a killing on crystal balls right now). How in the world is the principal supposed to know what next school year is going to look like when she doesn’t even have the power to know what tomorrow or next week is going to resemble? This stuff continues to be hard for everyone. Everyone wants answers, some clarity, a modicum of confidence, but no one can give it because we’ve never been here, with this, before.  

In addition to the principal’s videoconference, the district office is currently surveying families to get feedback from how distance learning went this year and to learn about which supports, resources, and the like families still need (or need to have continued access to) so their children can be successful with distance learning. It’s very challenging to imagine a (physical) school environment that’s in accordance with CDC guidelines pertaining to COVID-combating sanitation and health, so it seems all but promised that distance learning will continue in some manifestation for next school year. We’ll see. 

#seenonmyrun

Here’s a funny story: with both girls being in school full-time beginning next year, in the past six months, I had finally begun to update and revamp my resume for the first time in many years. My original grand master plan was to still be the primary parent tasked with doing all the kids/school stuff but pick-up a local job during the school hours; the assumption was that with both girls in school, I’d have all types of time on my hands. (HA!) I might not be able to get a job closely aligned with my degrees, but just getting out there, getting my feet wet, and putting myself out there again would be a good start for this transitional period of life… and then COVID hit, and yeah, I don’t see any sort of outside employment happening if I’m going to continue to educate my children part- or even full-time. Again… that crystal ball… 

Regardless, I think we’re definitely at a place where complacency and COVID-fatigue is beginning to rage within people. (Again: it’s a virus, it doesn’t care that you’re tired of it. I get that that is so hard to hear, but still, I think we all need to remind ourselves of this from time to time). Maybe it’s just a coincidence, or maybe it was simply because of the Memorial Day long weekend, but I’ve observed way more group gatherings on runs, rides, in parks, and the like than I have in the previous weeks. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’d also love to go run with friends right now, or go run in parks that require that I drive myself there, but I’m choosing not to; the idea that we’re having “physically distant” runs or rides or whatever with our closest five friends is garbage. That’s just me, though; to each her own, I guess.   

Fortunately, as has been the case for the previous ten weeks, my family and I are supremely lucky to continue to be healthy and well during all of this and hope that all’s the same for you and yours. 

On occupying time and settling mental unrest:

Watch: Bohemian Rhapsody. I don’t know why it took me a couple years to see it (because I most definitely wanted to see it when it came out), but man I loved this. A and I have been jamming to Queen for the past week on our thrice-weekly runs together, too.  

Read: The girls and I knocked off another Beverly Cleary book (Henry and Beezus), started another Cleary work (Henry and Ribsy), started Ivy and Bean, and I’ve continued to make progress on Dr. Murthy’s book (Together) and also picked up Mindy Kaling’s book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (though I may have read it before but can’t seem to recall).   

Run: I enjoyed last week’s down week after a super voluminous and hilly week the week before, and I’m planning for this week to also be a down week in advance of Wolfpack’s month-long elevation challenge in June. Somewhat miraculously, I think I’ve finally found a rhythm that is sustainable for my ancillary work — something that I’ve been terrible at doing consistently in the past — and that stuff will definitely become even more important if I try to get stronger and faster a la hills and climbing in the next month. In the absence of racing, doing little virtual challenges, like the elevation challenge, with my team has been a lot of fun. My training continues to be of the “training for life” variety, with very little planning ahead of time, and it’s liberating and one of my favorite parts of my day.  

A’s 5k training is progressing well, and this week she has bumped up her run/walk intervals from 3/2 to 4/2; she’ll also be bumping up her time from 30’ to 36’. We got our first taste of really hot running weather over the past few days (like 95-100+ degrees), but it looks like we’ve only got a day or so left before it breaks for cooler temps and (dare I say) rain. And in the interest of helping out my fav local races and the RDs whom I adore, I signed-up A for the virtual Mermaid Races challenge for late June, adding to the mix of she.is.beautiful, Wharf to Wharf, Girls on the Run, and Big Sur’s JUST RUN challenge. 

Eat: Just like most people, we’re still eating at home a ton, though lately I’ve been less motivated to cook stuff than I have to simply pull whatever we have from out of the freezer. Over the weekend, though, I got a little inspired to create and made some pesto, a homemade Dutch Baby pancake, some mushroom zucchini taco mix, a spinach-chickpea saute, and today, yogurt banana bread. Remarkably everything has tasted pretty good, so I can’t complain.  

Hang in there, friends; take care; be well; and stay safe. xo

from tonight’s run; 1/3 of us apparently didn’t last
COVID, week 10 and a gentle reminder that the virus doesn’t care about your feelings

COVID, week 10 and a gentle reminder that the virus doesn’t care about your feelings

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Apparently I’m late to the party here, but it just occurred to me within the past week or so that my kids only have a couple weeks of school left before summer break begins. Needless to say, with the current homeschooling/distance learning/MomSchool setup we have going, the transition from what remains of the school-year (and thus, some semblance of the notion of “structure” in our day) to the summer will be … interesting. 

throwback to the last day of school for the 18-19 school-year. we’ll do a reenactment this year (and throw in a preschool promotion/graduation/step-up for the little one)

Summertime with the kids, all day, every day, in the absence of all the usual summertime activities (camps, sports, parks, amusement parks, libraries, the beach, visiting family on the other side of the country, and the like) is overwhelming to consider. Like anyone else, I’m eager to see how and where and which parts of SJ (and by extension, of SCC) open during the coming weeks and months. Vaguely thinking about what the heck the kids and I will be doing for all the long summer days and nights, even (but especially!) under moderately or severely-modified circumstances, makes my head spin. (And obviously, it goes without saying that I love my children deeply and unconditionally, but I’m also acknowledging the difficulty that comes with parenting two young children all day, every day, as one’s main occupation. Clearly, I am privileged enough at this point to stay at home and not have to juggle the demands that come with managing work and home. That said, this shit is hard and demanding. The mental load that accompanies full-time, all-day, it-is-my-actual-job of mothering — as well as the even less talked about guilt for having angst toward said mental load — is fierce).  

According to Dr. Cody, our county’s medical health director, SCC will slowly begin to enter phase 2 that Governor Newsom outlined in previous weeks by Friday of this week. As I understand it, it means that retail can begin to open with curbside pickup options, that associated manufacturing can open, and that car parades can happen (for graduations, special events, or whatever) with some restrictions (no bicycles or motorcycles in the parade, only household members can ride in a car, and the like). In other words, we’re passing another week with not a lot of huge change, as far as I can tell, which is fine.

Anyway. Despite everything that I’ve already described — particularly about how tough all of this is and has been for those of us navigating it with young kids — a) my luck’s still not lost on me that my family and I are in the position that we’re in and b) I’d rather that we (societally) do things right the first time around, instead of kowtowing to pressure and profoundly and royally screw ourselves and needlessly hurt or kill people. It’s hard to be patient, sure, but people’s lives are literally on the line here. All of us (probably) know someone who has been deemed an “essential employee,” someone who has been going to work throughout all of this, and as much as we’re all feeling our feelings, imagine what they’re thinking every single day when they report to work and later come home. 

A little perspective can go a long way sometimes. 

I know it’s super challenging to stay the course during this shelter-in-place time, and that so many of us are getting tired and salty and frustrated (and whatever other emotions we’re feeling — all valid, by the way), but the fact of the matter is that we’re dealing with a virus that has no feelings and is literally incapable of caring how we feel about our modified lifestyles right now. 

Yes, thinking about “doing summer” with my kids at home most of the time (or more than what we’re usually home, anyway) is intimidating; yes, thinking about an impending summer where we may not have as much out-of-the-house-fun to look forward to can be depressing; and sure, trying to “do life” still can be mega frustrating right now because none of us are getting the answers to our most pressing questions (how much longer do we have to do this??????) and our national leadership seriously leaves much to be desired… but again. Perspective. 

What will history and thus, future generations, make of all of this, of all our actions (or inactions), of where we threw our time and energy and priorities as we tried/are trying to navigate this whole new world for which we have no real blueprint or playbook on which to base our decisions? I’m of the mindset that science should be guiding policy here, not money, but I also acknowledge that that’s a hard sell for many in our ridiculously embittered and politicized society in the states right now.   

Deep breath. 

So. Another week behind us, another week of MomSchool down, another big volume week of running (70+ miles and lots of climbing), another week of feeling all the feelings (some conflicting), and another week of (despite aforementioned feelings) being grateful for my family’s and my health, all the while thinking of those who are doing so much for our society right now.  

Here’s your friendly weekly reminder that it’s (still!) ok to be feeling all the feelings with all of this, but for everyone’s sake, we also have to remember that this virus doesn’t give a damn if we’re “tired of it.” We can’t just arbitrarily decide today, tomorrow, or next week that life can go on as normal, like everything we’ve done for the past ~10 weeks, was for naught simply because we’re “over” all of this.

Time is moving both glacially slow and dizzyingly fast. 

On occupying time and settling mental unrest:

Reading. Talk about emotional whiplash: I went from reading Melinda Gates’ The Moment of Lift last week to reading and finishing Ali Wong’s Dear Girls this week. Admittedly, I know who Ali Wong is, but I’ve never seen any of her stand-up specials on Netflix or anything that she has written or produced. The book was funny enough though (and super crass and raunchy, which I guess is her style?). I just began Dr. Murthy’s super prescient book, Together, and so far, so good. 

Watching: War Games. I have no idea what inspired us to watch this with the kids last weekend, but it was entertaining. Young Matthew Broderick!

Running: Wolfpack hosted an elevation challenge Thursday through Sunday last week, and I posted over 5,000 feet (and over 7,000 for the week), strictly running from my home since I don’t want to drive anywhere to run during SIP. All the climbing was super fun and made for a sore booty (which has since transferred to a sore high hamstring) and a ~73 mile week, a new high during this COVID-filled time (and the most I’ve run in a week in a long time). Needless to say, after building and building for the past 9 weeks, including back-to-back-to-back 100k+ weeks, it’s time for a cutback.  

from Wolfpack’s UpUpandaMay challenge last week

A’s 5k training is going well, too, and she has done well with the bump from 25’ thrice weekly to 30’. She’s having a lot of fun and seems to enjoy the structure that training gives her. I’ve signed her up for some kids’ virtual challenges that races here have organized, like Girls on the Run Silicon Valley, the Kids’ Summer Wharf Challenge from Wharf to Wharf, and Big Sur International Marathon Foundation’s JUST RUN! Challenge. She’s pretty excited about all the opportunities, even in the absence of a traditional race setting.  

Cooking: Tacos have now gone the way of bowls, so it’s nothing exciting or especially pretty but damn delicious (and so easy to customize). In exciting news, we have flour! A has been itchin to make edible cookie dough, so she was thrilled.  

Listening: Lots, and always while I’m running; I’m pretty sure I’ve inadvertently created a Pavlovian effect on myself. A sampling from the past week-plus that I can remember: International Women’s Day panel on Ali on the Run; Lindsay Crouse on the Clean Sport Collective; No Stupid Questions (a new podcast!) and their first episode, “Did COVID-19 kill the handshake?”; Amelia Boone’s old episode (October ‘19) and new episode (last week) on I’ll Have Another, as well as Michael Wardian’s episode on the same; Freakonomics’ episode on what college will look like in autumn ‘20; and “the art and practice of science” on the Growth Equation, last week’s episode. That’s what I can remember, anyway.   

Hang in there, friends; take care; and be well. xo