I don’t know about you, but I am feeling a lot of mixed emotions right now. And they range between joy and terror. With the recent announcement of school closures and both Eric and I spending the next three weeks working from home, there is a sense of excitement over hunkering in and being together as a family. At the same time, the cost of this ‘hunkering down’ is a lot of hardship, sadness and suffering around the world. 

We have personally had to let go of Nicholas’s trip to Italy and France, two Raptors’ games, Mia’s basketball season (so far) and potentially all of our volleyball seasons. This, of course, makes us very sad. And while there are far more serious problems because of this virus, it is ok for us to have these feelings. I am also aware, again, of how lucky we are that we have all these great opportunities in our life in the first place. 

In an effort to look On the Bright Side, here are the things I am looking forward to over the next few weeks, barring we don’t get sick.

Family Time

Sleepy mornings, pancakes for breakfast, family games and just being together without rushing from place to place is going to be really nice. I hope we find the right balance of time all together, time for just Eric and I and time to ourselves. All equally important!

Eating!

I have a lot of great recipe books and now I will have time to cook some great home cooked meals for family and friends. I also hope to eat home cooked meals made by other people at their houses! I am a better baker than I am a cook so there will also be lots of that. A homemade donut day is coming. I also stocked up our pantry (and by pantry I mean the homemade shelves beside the cat litter) with fun food – candy, chocolate and chips – for when the need for it hits. 

Fresh Air and Exercise

Running is my exercise of choice and what great timing for that – it’s feeling more like Spring and I don’t need to be around anyone! I am hoping the kids are inspired to spend more time outside as well – shooting hoops…or maybe just walking to the corner store. 

Binge Watching

As the winter begins to fade to Spring, I need to transition away from watching so much television. And I will miss those dark, cozy nights on my couch. I will use some (lots) of this time for the very end of my binge watching before bright spring and summer nights make watching the tv for hours each night socially unacceptable. 

Spring Cleaning

Now is a good time to tackle the junk drawer, and junk closet and junk room. It will feel good to have some time to tidy, organize, purge and clean. 

Shopping Local

No better time to avoid the craziness of big box stores. Walk or drive downtown and get your bread and meat and coffee and chocolate and cheese and flowers and gifts from local business owners. Going downtown is part of my daily routine and it makes me happy. It will make you happy too!

What will you be doing to keep your spirits up over the next few weeks?

A bit more..

A great read on sports…The Day Athletics Stood Still and How to Actually Work When You’re Working From Home from the Harvard Business Review. 

My latest favourite series/movie suggestions…

Netflix – The Stranger and Safe are British thrillers and they are the perfect evening binge watch. Love is Blind – try and watch just one episode 🙂

Amazon Prime – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – just the most amazingly funny and charming show! We liked Hunters – it is about Nazi hunters in Brooklyn in the 70s.

Movies to Rent – The Peanut Butter Falcon. We LOVED this movie. So special. And Ford v Ferrari was a movie I surprisingly liked a lot.

Current TV obsessions – Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, American Idol and Survivor