I had a realization late last week Thursday afternoon – in order to meet the April 30 guideline of practicing social distancing, it would be at least 3 more weeks of being quarantined at home. I’m not sure if I’ve just been so busy with work and not paying attention to the calendar or what, but I seriously thought it was only one ore two more weeks. And, the closer we get to May 1, I’m having a hard time thinking we will all actually go back to work then.

I did a lot of thinking over the weekend and came to the conclusion that I’ve been living in a “just get through it” mode for the last 4 weeks, and it’s time for me to accept this is the new reality. What I mean by that is I have been allowing myself to do things I wouldn’t normally do just to “get by” because it’s only for “one more week.” For example, frequenting Starbucks in the afternoon because I don’t normally do that on a work day and it’s a short term thing. Another example is ordering from DoorDash….a lot. I hardly ever ordered from DoorDash before now, but for some reason, it’s comforting to think of ordering food.

I started making a list of things that needed to happen asap in order for me to get it together, and here goes:

1. Spending Freeze

I’ve been doing some major retail therapy lately, all while knowing that the industry I work in has taken a terrible hit. The company I work for has implemented a furlough and part time program with the threat of taking wage cuts looming as well. I should be saving every dollar possible right now, but instead, I’m wasting it on items that aren’t needed. I have to really get myself thinking in the mindset of being prepared and saving up for things that are needed such as doctor’s appointments, food, paying rent and other bills, etc. I am putting myself on a spending freeze…..even typing it is hard 🙂

2. Starbucks Coffee

Do any of you remember in January when one of my goals was not to go to take away coffee places, specifically Starbucks? Not only is it a financial hit (yes, $3 – $5 adds up!) but think about all the one time use cups. Well, I was allowing myself to go to Starbucks a couple of times a week because it was an “outing” and a treat for myself. But I’m putting an end to that as well and only drinking coffee that I brew at home.

3. DoorDash

Here is another big one – I hardly EVER ordered from DoorDash before the great quarantine. Now, I’m finding myself ordering two to three times a week. While I do think it is important to support the local restaurants, I need to find a better strategy for this. For example, the twins’ daycare sends out a weekly newsletter and has a restaurant of the week to support. I will start supporting this weekly restaurant and use this as my time to order in food.

4. Take Inventory of Food

I’m pretty sure I blew my grocery budget the first two weeks into quarantine. I loaded up on tons of food that is just sitting in my pantry and refrigerator. I sat down earlier today and made a list of all the food I had and put together a rough calendar of meals for the rest of the month. I will still need to buy fresh fruits and veggies, milk, and things like that, but I have a good amount of food that needs to be eaten. I mentioned this in my stories earlier today and am holding it very close to me as I type this – there are so many hungry people out there, and while I have made several donations to different organizations, I also feel a little hypocritical by not eating the food I have in my own house. Maybe hypocritical isn’t the right word, but it just makes me feel a little weird, to be completely honest. I’m fortunate enough to still have a job and paycheck, and the least I can do is not waste the food that is in my own home. Do you remember when you were a kid and if you didn’t eat your food, your parents would say, “There are starving children in Africa right now who would love to eat your food.” Well, there are children probably in your own community right now who also would love to eat your food.

5. Take Lola Walking

This sounds silly, but I’ve totally been slacking on taking Lola on walks. I have been extremely busy with work, but I know I can find some time in the day to walk her. My step count has been WWWAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY down and I think she and I would both benefit from the Vitamin D. Plus, there is this feeling of working from home that I always have to be sitting in front of my computer. But the funny thing is, when I’m in the office I’m not in front of computer 100% of the time. I take breaks, go on walks, socialize with others, etc. The same should apply here as well.

6. Bedtime Routine

I still haven’t implemented one – and we are FIVE weeks into this. Literally every night is different – some nights I shower, some nights I watch TV until 10, some nights I’m in bed early, some nights I don’t know what I do and the next thing I know it’s 10:30. It has gotten a tad bit ridiculous and it’s time to find a routine that works for my new normal. For someone who is so routine driven, I’ve dropped the ball on this one and finding myself getting super lazy. It’s like once I get the twins to bed, sometimes I just crash on the couch and don’t move until it’s time for bed. I am a routine person, and I think this might be why I’m not sleeping that great.

6. Work Out

I have been doing the Fitness Carli workouts on Youtube and love them. She can be a little chatty and there is no music, but the workouts are GREAT! I always work up a good sweat and feel great after the workouts. She’s a fellow twin mom who is totally rocking it! I will work out five times a week and rest the other two days. For me, running falls more into a stress relief/self care category, so while I am doing that as well, I’m not putting a number on it, just because I don’t want to pressure myself and then not enjoy it.

Well, friends, that is all for now. This may seem silly to you, but these are serious thoughts and goals that I came up with over the weekend. I think it all goes back to accepting that this is the new normal, and I can no longer think of it as “just getting by for one more week.” This is life, and this is the way it is, and I have to do these things to survive financially, physically, and emotionally.

Cheers – MP