Hi, how are you? How’s life? How’s the pandemic treating you?
Honestly, leveraging some creativity has been difficult more recently, but continuing to write, create, do, and live during an extremely weird time seems important. 2020 may exist in the dumbest of timewarps, but it’s not time wasted.
What’s been happening, you ask. Well, work continues and almost entirely satisfactorily. Travel to the States was cancelled (for what I trust are obvious reasons) and we’re going a bit stir crazy as a result. I’ve been reading absolutely everything under the sun, but especially a heaping batch of “trashy” romance novels – more on this in another post. After all my protestations to the contrary, I went straight back to baking on a weekly basis and not worrying too much about it. I had a depressive dip immediately follow an anxiety spike and fell off the health wagon for a bit, but am firmly back on it. I’ve had long phone dates with Hannah and Caitlin and my little sister in Japan. Jeff and I have been gaming and watching TV together. Therapy continues and continues to help me heal my brain in lots of important ways. We’re attending protests and switching up heavy news with reading amusing Twitter threads at one another. Every morning one of us makes coffee for both and brings it to the other with kisses. We celebrated our 11th anniversary in a year no one expected and neither of us could have predicted.
That’s us. I’m trying to write more, so figured an info dump was as good a place as any to reconnect.
Tell me how the hell you’re doing, kittens.
Small Dog Syndrome 
Miss you!
Well, Jose and I (sheepishly) are having a very good pandemic…in terms of non-stop work that people bring to us, and a $1,000/month COVID-crisis tax break on our exorbitant health insurance, so we have been breathing easier financially for the first time in a while. Last year was much worse for me. Our new sofa will arrive sometime later this month.
I have taken back up 2 former forms of enjoyment — swimming (in our apt. pool) and literally, after more than 20 or even 25 years — have taken out my gorgeous guitar and Jose got it cleaned and re-stringed. Went through all our books and have tossed some and I plan to splurge (on a brief upstate getaway next week) on some new ones. I need some pure FUN reading.
Health a bit iffy. A lot of stomach upset and hoping it’s not COVID (as that’s a symptom). Very very cautious around others but finally enjoying being able to meet outdoors for a meal in a restaurant.
You sound good! Hugs from across that uncrossable pond.
Hugs back, you sound really good 🙂
Thanks!
Pre-pandemic, I was starting to get burned out with the amount of travel required for my job and fearing an incredibly busy, travel-heavy summer. To the point where I was beginning to pursue other options. Enter COVID and suddenly no more travel or even office work. Re-assimilating to working from home was a bit of a challenge especially while also juggling my own online graduate studies and my daughters’ schooling. But since Jason was also already at home as stay at home dad, we quickly found that neither of us were as stressed with the day-to-day parenting duties overall. We function better as a family unit when we are both around during the day.
In March, we were also frantically prepping our house to get it ready to sell. COVID delayed that a bit but it also gave me the motivation/time to really do some serious decluttering. We listed as soon as restrictions began listing and went under contract pretty quick–only to have multiple buyers back out. That whole process has been incredibly frustrating. I may never choose to sell a house again. We are under contract once more and our current buyers have made it much farther along so we will probably be closing by the end of the month. Fingers crossed. Once that’s wrapped up, we’ll be focusing hard core on the next step: where to move TO. In the meantime we’ll be living with my mother–and, as much as I love her, I know I will need a plan to get back out ASAP.
Basically there have been ups and downs. There has been a lot of stress–both new and old. And there is no end to the uncertainty anytime soon. So I have to remind myself of the good a lot. I am lucky to have a job that is allowing me to work from home at least through the end of the year. That my team is re-examining and innovating how we train, meaning less essential travel for me going forward. That I am able to help my kids as they navigate through whatever education will be looking like both from a teachers’ perspective as well as a parents’. And so I can keep putting one foot in front of the other.
What an update, and wonderful to hear from you as always. It sounds like you’re able to make some good decisions for your family in spite of hilariously less than ideal circumstances. Where are you thinking to move, staying in state or going elsewhere?
Heh, what can I say, I read your post whilst in a venting mood. We’ll most likely be staying in the state (family has a really strong pull in combination with my young kids), but we are keeping options open. The determining factor is going to be what Jason chooses to make his next career step.
I deeply respect the need to vent. Good luck and def keep me updated!
I started work as a surgery resident a couple weeks ago. A very exciting time for me personally and professionally! But it is scary being a new doctor and operating on covid + patients or having to exam them in their rooms on the covid floor.
Very exciting and scary at the same time, but I bet it’s really rewarding as well. Love reading your updates, and hope it continues to go well!
Glad to hear you’re doing well. I agree with you that it’s important to keep going and try to keep as much normality in our lives as we can. Luckily, my work is fine and I actually think my team is working even more effectively than we did pre-pandemic! People are being great at supporting each other while we work remotely and, to be honest, I’m reluctant to go back into an office again. Maybe one or two days a week but the WFH lifestyle suits me much better. And the extra time I have from not commuting would be useful, too, as I’m investigating postgrad study for next year.
I’m also reading more, and I’m watching more series. I just started Mrs America, which is a drama about the fight for the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s. It’s on the BBC iPlayer and is definitely worth a watch. I’m also watching Call My Agent on Netflix, which was a recommendation from Caitlin. It’s set in Paris and I think you’d like it. So fun!
Great to hear! WFH is working well for me to, and I’m really advocating for it and my team in the long term for a lot of the same reasons. More reading and viewing, more time for personal projects – yay!