Thursday, September 24, 2020
Sometime before my alarm: B wakes up and starts scratching, like is his MO these days. Of course, that wakes up C, who then jumps on the bed. I let him stay and pick up B too – the only way to get him to stop scratching is to put him on the bed. Of course, they both have to be touching mama, so B is by my head and C is on the opposite side by my knees; I’m totally boxed in and don’t sleep well the rest of the night.
730: ALARM!! Ugh, I’m definitely not ready for the day. But I get up, take the boys out, brush my teeth, and feed the beasts. M makes coffee and we head back to bed. This ritual of coffee in bed for the first hour of the day is by far the best thing to come out of COVID. We used to do this on the weekends, but for some reason started doing it every day once COVID started, and we’re lucky enough to have the flexibility in our schedules to keep it going. We talk about our plans for the day (M doesn’t have to go into the office today, so it’s a practice day, which is good because he didn’t do a lot over the weekend and that makes him kinda grumpy), play with the boys, and just generally ease into the day.
830: Take the boys for a walk, have breakfast, get ready. I have to actually get ready today – like, wear nice clothes and do my hair and makeup. I mean, I guess I still do those things normally, but I haven’t really put that much thought into it since COVID because I so rarely go out and see anyone. Today I’m being interviewed, though, and I need to look mostly presentable and professional. It’s a strange shift – this whole week I’ve had to be “on” in a way I haven’t been since March and it’s exhausting. It does give me an excuse to finally wear the new work clothes that I’ve bought since the shutdown. It does take me FOREVER to get ready though …
10: It’s a really gorgeous fall morning, so I sit outside to work while I wait for the interview crew. Work emails. Done. Write the monthly president’s column for my church’s newsletter … ugh. This is absolutely the worst part of being president. I don’t even know why – I mean, I’m a writer. This is part of what I do! I write for work, I write for fun; being a writer has always been part of my identity, so why does this suck so much?!!?? I have to do it – just focus on it. It was due yesterday and I didn’t haven’t written a damn word. Okay. Get started … thank god, the interview crew is here!! LOL!!
1050: I chat with E while B sets up the camera equipment. They are gushing about my house and the backyard, which I love so that makes me happy. My space is definitely part of my love for Muncie, which is what the interview is about, so it just makes sense to have the interview here. We talk about all sorts of things in relation to Muncie: volunteer opportunities, finding community, housing, the good, the bad, the ugly … I really didn’t think it would take the whole 2 hours they scheduled for it, but it does, and then some. I just have enough time to gathering my thoughts and sign onto my next meeting.
130: The meeting starts off well, I’m liking the potential direction of this new partnership. My internet isn’t working well in my office though (ARG!), so I have to move downstairs closer to the router. But downstairs I have to deal with the boys freaking out about everything that passes by the window – squirrels, people, cars, leaves … then, a Stanley sighting!!! Ugh! S is their frenemy from down the block, and they freak the fuck out whenever they see him. C is barking up a storm, B is howling and crying, I’m trying to have an important meeting with an organization that is, hopefully, going to be a new partner. This is working from home, I guess. There’s no point in getting mad, I just mute and the kerfuffle passes soon enough. It does give me empathy for parents working from home though. It’s tough enough with dogs, I can’t imagine having to manage this with actual human children.
230: Finish the blasted column for church and send to C. It’s about how I don’t like writing these stupid things, but least it’s done! Ha! Time to take the boys for a walk.
330: Work, work, work. M is in a meeting in the dining room (because that’s where meetings take place during COVID) and comes in to say someone is at the door. Weird. No one ever comes to the door anymore. I get there right as they are heading down the sidewalk (it must’ve been weird for them, seeing M at the dining table, but he didn’t come to the door). A little kiddo wearing a Brownies sash!! OMG!! I never was in Girl Scouts, but I loved being in the Brownies!! She is just the cutest thing in the world!! She’s selling candies with her mom and dad. Literally the only thing I can eat that she’s selling are those horribly sweet (and amazing) fruit salad gummy candies, which she’s totally thrilled about because no one ever buys them but they’re her favorite! Ha! She must’ve thanked me a dozen times. It was so precious!
430: M is done with his meeting, so we go over to S’s house (4 doors down from us) to move her shelf. It’s a huge, old, rusted thing in her garage. Neither of us are really dressed for it – I’m still in my interview clothes and M just always looks nice. We’re only moving it down to the end of her drive so that the garbage people pick it up in the morning. She’s so appreciative and wants to pay us back, which is ridiculous. I tell her that our entire family is 2,500 miles away, and so we have to make our family where we are. She actually tears up, and says she’d love to be our grandma. I love her; she’s just the sweetest lady, and it’s been so hard for her since her husband died. Her kids are in the state, but not nearby, so we all kind of need each other. She says she loves us (she’s been saying that for a couple of months now whenever we talk); we say it back, and head home.
5: S knocks on the back door, which startles me because no one ever knocks back there! She just came by to tell us that she went out to clean the shelf off (why it needed cleaning before being taken to the dump I have no idea!), and it was gone! Someone must’ve come by and decided they wanted it! She was so tickled by the idea.
530-630: Cocktail hour with M. This is my second favorite thing about COVID. We start the day together with coffee in bed and end the day together with cocktail hour before dinner. It’s still gorgeous out, so we sit on the back porch. I’m soaking up as much sun and warmth as possible before the winter comes, and it’s a perfect fall evening. I’m just so at peace – the weather is perfect, I’m in my favorite place with my favorite person; life is pretty damn good. After cocktails, we walk the dogs together.
730: M is making dinner, but he won’t be done before I head to K’s for drinks, so I heat up some leftovers and watch Pen15 while he cooks. This show. I swear, it’s like they watched a real of my middle school years. It’s so hilarious and awkward and cringy! I love it. This episode is when Anna gets her first kiss, and she’s describing it to Maya afterwards, “he just put his whole mouth over my lips and kinda … sucked.” BAWAHAHAHA!!! Then she says his tongue was like a torpedo darting in and out of her mouth. I just lost that. That’s exactly what kissing is like in 7th grade. Oh my god. This show.
8: I walk to KR’s house for drinks. I’m surprised how dark it already is at 8! I guess I’m not usually outside at this time. KM isn’t going to make it tonight, but 2 new people will be there. E, KR, KM, and I have been getting together for socially distanced drinks in our backyards for a couple of months now, and tonight KR and E both invited their neighbors to join. We’re all roughly the same age (KR, KM, and I are all 37, and E is 5 years older), live within a couple blocks of each other, are socially engaged and liberal. It’s nice to have another group of friends here, especially ones that live so close.
When I get to KR’s, her older 2 kiddos are still outside – they wanted to see her friends come over. L had seen me taking C and B for a walk earlier in the day, so she asked about the boys. They also know me as the Lion Lady, which they love, so they were happy I was coming over.
We all have a great time. I really enjoy chatting with them all. AD swears like a sailor, which I love. We all have so much in common too, and we talk a lot about our fear for the future of our country. That’s such a common topic of conversation in my circles these days … I really am scared. There’s a constant knot in my stomach thinking about the election. It feels almost inevitable that there will be violence regardless of who wins, and I can’t imagine that Trump will give up power easily if he doesn’t win. But what if he does win?! That’s a distinct possibility, and one that makes me utterly sick to my stomach. It literally keeps me up at night …
1145: AD doesn’t want me to walk home alone, which is kinda ridiculous because I live a block ½ away and literally know every single person on my block. Regardless, her, R, and AU walk me home so they can all walk home together (they’re all neighbors). AU is pretty quiet, but when we get to the house she says, “I really appreciate how often ‘fuck’ was said tonight.” We all busted up; I was thinking the same thing. By the time I get inside and settle the dogs, who freak out when I open the door, I’m definitely feeling the G&T, cider, and 4 glasses of wine! Ha! I get ready for bed as quickly as possible (M is already asleep) and am in bed about 10 minutes later. I realized that I didn’t put my retainer in, but I’m definitely not getting out of bed for that now! I’m asleep before I even remember laying down.