I went into work on Monday and Tuesday so Ryan was in charge of homeschooling while also trying to work and then I worked at home Wednesday and Thursday doing the same. Friday, I don't work anyway, so I did my best to focus on getting the major chores like grocery shopping, cleaning the house and doing laundry done while helping Sam too.
On Tuesday, I picked up a packet of materials at school for Sam to work on, although we had already laid out a loose framework of an "at home schedule" together on Sunday night and laid down some ground rules for this new venture in homeschooling and social distancing.
Since this is real life, I'll admit that there was a bit of whining here and there, but overall, Sam really did a great job this week of rolling with this crazy change and understanding that there was still work to be done on all our parts. I think having a schedule and expectations really helped us all! Hopefully we can all stay sane and focused and won't want to be socially distancing ourselves from each other by the time all of this is said done! 😆
Monday: School work, work work, and a walk around the block with Sam once I got home. (1.0 miles walked)
Gigi is helping
Cat-opoly time (being the banker is good math practice!)
Tuesday: More of the same, except with a pre-dawn morning run on the roads around town for me and no afternoon walk as it was rainy and kind of nasty out. (6.0 miles)
Wednesday: It was cold enough that everything had a thin veneer of ice on it in the morning and I decided I'd feel better if I just started off the day stocking up the fridge and pantry instead of running anyway so that is what I did before I settled in to work at the kitchen table.
Coworker #1 does not appear pleased with the situation 😸
And this one is trying to get out of working 😂
Later in the afternoon after our work was done, Sam and I headed outside for recess and to check out conditions on the powerlines. Nice to get out for a walk in the sunshine! (1.6 miles walked)
Thursday: Waited until it was light out to head out under overcast skies for my run. Kind of dreary with semi-frozen ground and some ice making for variable conditions out on the cart paths and down to the river, but most of the ice patches are small at least. Started drizzling in the final 2 miles. Two deer seen. (7.5 miles)
Moody sky reflected in the Heath
Then it was on to school work and work work. Took a break later in the afternoon to make blueberry muffins. Yum! 😋 And finished up the day with a walk around the block. Yes, it was drizzling but being physically active is extra important in times like this when we are out of whack, so yes, I'm the mean mom that took the kid out for a mile in the rain 😆 She might have dragged her feet a bit at the beginning but she chatted the whole way, so it couldn't have been all that bad! 😉 (1.0 mile walked)
Then it was off to pick up a few other items at the store, clean the house, do laundry and help Sam with math, science and writing.
After lunch, we started a game of Cat-opoly which was trending towards going on forever, so we took a break to drive over to one of the local farm stands and support our farmers by picking up some greens, eggs and potatoes. Still drizzly and damp and cold, so I didn't push a walk.
The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent relaxing and enjoying some yummy pizza from Portland Pie and gelato from Gelato Fiasco for dinner. So many restaurants have closed and/or had to reduce dining options, so we are going to try as much as we are able during this crazy time to support those businesses that do stay open and hope that we can make a difference. We also attempted to finish up the previously mentioned game of Cat-opoly, which Ryan was clearly winning and which was annoying me to no end. I like games but this was just endless. We played for like 3 hours over the course of the day and it had still not ended! Ridiculous. I finally said we needed to call it at 8:30 and go to bed!
Saturday: Didn't set an alarm and just took my time getting out the door in the morning, finally heading out at 7:30. Windy and cold but bright and sunshiney at least. I ran the cart paths and did a slightly bigger loop down on the Cathance trails, but they remain a bit too icy to be truly runnable right now. Still, the river is flowing nicely and it is always nice to get out in the woods for a bit. Grateful as always for running, and thinking I need it more than ever right now with the apprehension and uncertainty of this pandemic, even if trail conditions and social conditions aren't ideal right now. Looking forward to a time when both have improved but for now, I'll continue on and try to remember how lucky I am in this moment, both on and off the trails and roads. (10.0 miles)
Mid-afternoon, the three of us headed over to one of the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust's new preserves, Woodward Point. A gorgeous stretch of land, with wide open fields leading down to the water, and several different trails out to different points. The fields were rather squishy and muddy but it was quite nice to walk out in the sunshine and check out the mud flats and rocky beaches at the edge of the water. A really cool spot and we all enjoyed our meander! (2.7 miles walked)
The water was a gorgeous turquoise color!
Neat conch shell!
Lots of barnacles
Humming at the periwinkles
Back up to the fields
Woodpecker activity!
Neat steps down to the water's edge
Neat shell and sand bars
💗
Sunday: A whole mixture of feelings this morning. Flat out tired, anxious in general about the overall state of the world, sad that I won't be running the Mountaineer Rumble 100k next month and won't be getting the chance to visit my parents either unless there is some sort of miraculous reversal of this pandemic, but knowing that overall I am lucky and not wanting to feel sad about not running a race, which seems like a silly thing right now in light of the larger things happening in the world. Part of me wanted to finish up the next few weeks of this training cycle just to do it, but honestly I just did not have the mental energy for a lot of miles this morning and so 20 became 10, and that is OK. Trying to give myself space to feel all the feelings, and thinking that this next month will likely become just a time to get out and run to enjoy it, to stay healthy and active, to hopefully see spring begin to bloom in the woods, to stay sane, and ideally get in a few longer efforts if it feels right. Obviously my short-term spring goal is gone, but the overall goal of consistent, happy running remains, as do the long-term 2020 goals of 2,000+ miles for the year and No Business in October. I don't know, it's a crazy world out there and like everyone else right now, just trying my best to acknowledge, adjust, and not panic.
So, with all that said, ran on the roads around town and then hit the Highland trails on the return. Still icy in the shade but overall, not bad, even if, once again, road shoes weren't quite the right choice for that short trail stretch 😆 Bright and sunny, cold morning. (10.0 miles)
After lunch, we headed out for another family walk, this time out in Harpswell at Skofield Shores Preserve. Sunny and bright once again, with a bit less wind and a much more brisk feeling in the air. Brrr! Enjoyed the views out onto the sparkling waters and mudflats of Middle Bay and enjoyed a meander on the trails through the woods. Good to get in more outside time with my favorite two people 💗 (1.6 miles walked)
A lot of downed pines out in the woods
Ice along the shoreline in the shade
Happiness is an empty shoreline to explore 💖
Love this view
And with more time at home, it means more time to pet the kitties and watch the world go by out back. Lots of grackles and red winged blackbirds flitting in and out and chattering up high in the trees, goldfinch changing color, the white breasted nuthatch cautiously making its way down the tree trunk and the juncoes, sparrows, blue jays and cardinals coming in to eat the seed and nuts I throw out each day. We've also had a few visits by a groundhog, a skunk and the pair of mallard who first came into the yard last year as well! Hopefully the fox and possum are coming by when we just aren't looking too!
The kitties did not get the memo on social distancing 😆💗
Chomp chomp
Early morning visit by a skunk friend on Saturday morning
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