Welcome to the place where I share what I’m up to each week and a bit of my real life outside of the blog.
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Doing
I’m staying informed and doing my best not to lose my mind. The area we live in pretty much shut down as of last Thursday. We did do a pretty big stock up on Friday to prepare for being home for two weeks. It was like shopping before Thanksgiving and a blizzard all at once. However, we were pretty lucky. Most of the fellow shoppers were friendly and tolerant. It could have gotten ugly really fast, especially since we were shopping with a very cranky toddler who desperately wanted to nap. But it was fine.
Now we’re hunkered down at home. My daughter’s been home since last Thursday. To say she is getting bored is an understatement. However, she’s been a trooper.
We’ve done a bit of learning time each day. It’s really self directed. Yesterday, she wanted to learn about turtles so we found out what turtles eat (fun fact: some turtles eat poo- this delighted her), about their hibernation habits, and how to write turtle.
We’re also lucky enough to live in an area where we can go on nice walks each day. We’ve been looking for spring things like dandelions and clovers while we walk and we always make sure to bring carrots with us so we can feed the horses that live nearby.
And to keep it real, omg thank the heavens for Disney+. We’ve watched a lot of Disney+. Frozen 2, Zootopia, and she’s currently on a Brave kick. I did make a rule that we can’t watch the same movie 2 days in a row after like a week straight of Zootopia broke me.
How are you all holding up? What are you guys doing to keep busy?
Reading
I finished The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver, the author of One Day in December, which I read last year and enjoyed.
The book follows Lydia Bird, a young woman who’s dealing with her fiance Freddie’s death. She has gotten totally caught up in her grief and can’t sleep until her doctor prescribes her medication to help her sleep. When she finally does sleep, she meets Freddie in a hyper realistic life where he has not died. Dream Lydia is totally aware that in waking life Freddie is gone, but dream Freddie doesn’t know it’s all a dream and what has happened.
Warning spoilers:
As Lydia moves through her grief and changes as a result, she finds that she can’t be the woman dream Freddie knows and loves anymore when she is in her dream world. Realizing the amount of personal grown she has undergone since his death allows her to find a sense of closure and even find new love.
Possible too deep warning:
This was one of the most compelling accounts of grief I have ever read. I deeply related to Lydia’s journey. While grieving your significant other is very different than grieving your child, the undeniable truth is that grieving like that changes you. You can’t live through that kind of lose and not come out on the other side a different person.
For me that transformation isn’t quite as clear as it eventually becomes for Lydia, but the book has got me thinking about how I changed. I know my life has been fundamentally divided into a before and after. But what about me? What is fundamentally different about who I am now than who I was before? I know I have changed. I see the lines in my face and the sadness in my eyes in the mirror as physical proof. I feel older, wiser. I have a sense of perspective and newfound sense of calm now than I did before. But beyond that? I don’t know. It’s something I’ll be thinking about a lot as I continue to make sense of everything I just lived.
Switching from a really heavy book to American Royals next. I need some levity right now.
Watching
I FINISHED SEASON 5 OF SCHITT’S CREEK. I don’t know what to do with myself. I need to find out how to watch the 6th season because I deeply miss the Roses.
I’m currently catching up on all the stuff on my DVR. Brooklyn 99, the whole last season of This is Us, A Million Little Things, and Single Parents. Nothing is quite as satisfying as Schitt’s Creek was. I think we might go back and rewatch it for nuances and quotability other than, “Ew. David.”
Eating
Lots of comfort food. We’re planning on doing some homemade bread and homemade pasta as a family activity. Thinking about making a big batch of this crockpot chicken soup over the next few days. Also coming up a really yummy Instant Pot chicken recipe and some air fryer favorites and updates to my favorite chocolate chip cookies.
That’s it for me this week! What are you up to? How are you all holding up? Leave me a comment and let me know!
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